What product launch KPIs do you set and track and how long to you track them for?

Track a mix of leading and lagging indicators, with revenue impact as the ultimate measure.

It's challenging to measure the impact of product marketing and launches, but we try to move beyond simple activity metrics. We look at ACV (Annual Contract Value) impact, and I particularly focus on time to first revenue associated with the launch - if you can accelerate this, it indicates your message is resonating. For event-related launches, we examine marketing-driven pipeline as a leading indicator, with revenue as the lagging indicator. Even earlier leading indicators might include web traffic to updated pages with proper CTAs, which shows you're getting attention and awareness. Social impressions that lead people to learn more about your product are also valuable signals. While it's not an exact science, finding the right mix of metrics helps you gauge success without waiting months for definitive results.

Focus on long-term adoption metrics rather than launch-day vanity metrics.

Sometimes we get distracted by vanity metrics like PR impressions, web traffic, newsletter click-throughs, or other immediate indicators. Instead, we should anchor on longer-term success metrics around feature adoption - what percentage of users have tried or are using the feature, package mix shifts if the feature is attached to a paid plan, or attach rates and impact to average order values for new sales SKUs. These metrics won't show up in your week-of or month-of reporting; they take longer to materialize. However, they're essential because they reveal whether your launch is actually moving the needle on business objectives, which is ultimately why we launch products in the first place.

Set one primary goal with secondary goals beneath it, and consider 'number of fires' as an important KPI.

You should clearly document the problem you're solving in a brief that's socialized across the organization. Establish one primary goal with several secondary goals beneath it, maintaining this hierarchy throughout the process. Beyond traditional metrics, I consider 'number of fires' to be a crucial KPI. When a launch goes smoothly, people often don't realize how well it went. We create scenario plans for unexpected situations - what happens if the product is delayed by an hour, a day, or a week? While the organization might not explicitly recognize a smooth launch, your marketing team can take pride in minimizing fires. This is a valuable indicator of launch execution quality.