“No, don’t do it! Don’t create a massive spike in traffic and run-up in sales that blows through your numbers.” said no one, ever.
But really, I get it, you’re not looking for empty calories, you're building a business. Here are a few thoughts.
1. Understand what might drive a short-term spike that doesn’t carry through.
Is your media spend too front-loaded?
Do you not have the right product-led growth motions to create sustainable growth?
Are you taking pricing action along with a product launch?
If you are worried about this, list out assumptions of what might cause the spike, assess the potential size and how likely it is to happen. Look at your large scale+high likelihood assumptions and evaluate the impact and how you might change your go-to-market to address it?
2. Don’t prevent a spike if you can get it, just plan for it.
Is your conversion funnel fully developed? Are you engaging non-converting traffic with customer journeys that convert deeper in the funnel? Leverage traffic spikes with additional conversion downstream.
Oh, and is the tech ready? Don’t let the site go down on the big day.
3. Don’t pull all the levers at the same time.
I know, we all get focused on the launch date and it’s exciting. In your go-to-market, play the timeline out beyond the launch moment…you can use a “rolling thunder” strategy for the message or if you have a massive email list, phase the size of audience you’re targeting.
You can also use this approach to create more focus and do fewer things bigger, over time.
4. If you get an unexpected spike, something really worked…take those learnings forward to the next campaign.