Product of course wants a new product out in market ASAP. Do you have any tips on how you can negotiate with them to prioritize a solid launch which may mean a couple extra weeks of planning? What's a solid timeline in your opinion?

Of course! And for the record (and in case my product team is reading this ::waves::) that is a very healthy and constructive tension. Coordinating launches is all about tradeoffs. How I would approach is: Articulate the tradeoffs: Clearly lay out what PMM and other stakeholders could produce with another weeks vs at the proposed launch date. Ideally, you have examples of launches that have been rushed and ones that have been done “right,” with results you can point to. Make this pre/post as cle ...Read More

Lauching too soon is a major red flag internally and to the market and it is often why 50% of product launches that fail to meet business targets (McKinsey). When you are being pushed to launch too quickly (which happens all too often) I recommend helping to build understanding of what the characteristics of a successful product launch looks like:   - a company-wide initative with executive buy-in  - press-worthy moments that are decoupled from a PR  - a program that was planned well in advance ...Read More

I agree with Jodi's criteria here, and from her blog I particularly agree with messaging being validated (clear, compelling, credible and competitive.) Other potential go/no-go criteria could include whether CS and Support are ready to answer questions, SalesOps/RevOps is ready to process an order (for short sales cycles)... Having these (or other) criteria agreed to in advance by leadership and baked into the launch process is a big help to avoid the situation in the future, less so if you have ...Read More

Launching too soon is a major red flag--I wrote all about it in a recent post ! What distinguishes a "meh" product launch from a great product launch?  1 - Showing the product in your assets and launch material 2 - Having customer testimonials that your product is as good as you say it is 3 - Having a product that meets the needs of your customers  If your product isn't ready enough to meet one or more of those criteria, it's not going to be a successful product launch. Both product management a ...Read More