Checklist before launching a new product

On a verge of launching your product or reaching a stage where the launch is near this checklist would help you out in planning upon what's to come as it is very easy to get ahead of yourself envisioning all the sales, recognition, and success that will stem from your offering. But as every business plan launch strategy comes into account before a smooth launch, as without a proper and dedicated plan it's very easy to step into a disaster.

To assist you in a good launch here is a curated checklist you should be going through before a launch:

1. Tested and verified

You should be testing out the product and make sure it passes all the test processes and not launch a poorly tested product as it could diminish the user experience and first impression always define how user engagement would be. Even after a launch, you should not stop testing the product as there is always room for improvement and enhancing user experience. You can always go for a soft launch or a beta release to see how users are engaging with the product.

2. Defining a target audience

Clearly defining the target audience gives you a base on how to reach the market as demographics change and the same market strategy won't be as effective on every market. You can customize your product's display or language according to different marketplaces. Giving customized information according to various locations allows you to get the user's support and retention.

3. Stick to the solution offering

As we reach the market or understand the requirements on the beta release it's very easy to go off track and start developing features that don't even support what we were offering as a core product, just to fulfill the market demand we are receiving. But remember the core product is something which you are offering unique and not the other way around. You need to do a deep analysis of what new features should be done just to penetrate the market and not wasting time on useless features.

4. Understanding the buying journey

it's very important to understand what affects the user's buying habits, how they engage with the product, from where they get their information. The pain points allow you to define and identify the triggers which then allows us to enhance and make our product user-friendly. Getting thorough reviews and having good research on the market helps you out in the long run.

5. Identity security

In the current era and explained in my previous post, it's becoming increasingly common for cybersquatters to steal information from products that do not have secured identities and security policies in place. The leak could cost you a lot if not managed carefully as you are no more in a test environment but playing with real users' data and information. The cost could add up very fast than you imagined and business could be brought down.

6. Competition analysis

We often have seen new brands coming up just like the one already persisting in the same market without much difference just to encash the opportunity as the trend emerges. But trust me that is not a long-term sustainability model as a trend emerges it's not only you who would be offering the same product and would turn into cut-throat competition. Always define what you are offering and how different is it from your competitor and the specific unique problem it is solving.

7. Product Validation

Before even developing the product try to make first sales on what you know would be built. If people won't buy the product or service based on a pitch, they probably won't buy the product or service when it exists. An easy way to do this is to develop a landing page. Run ads. See if anyone clicks the 'Buy Now' button. If so, you've got validation.

8. Free trial or demo

Be fast on offering a free trial or demo, a free trial allows your product to be experienced by users and making sure it's standing on the grounds we thought it would, and if not it always gives you space to retain users and improve the product. And more the feedback, the better is the improvement strategy. Understanding if your product or service can deliver its expectations in the marketplace can determine its success or failure.

9. Get everyone on the same page

The entire product team, company, customer support should be communicated every strategy and product information relevant to the market so everybody has the same level of understanding and communicating a unified message and allowing users to understand and engage with the product at the same level by anyone from the company. A unified system ensures stability, lesser conflicts, and better engagement.

10. Device farm testing

You can use a cloud feature that allows you to test user engagement of all the possible devices in the market as its impossible to test all the features of the product and engagement on every available device manually. Device farm allows you to test and record the features and find out the inconsistencies in the product which can be used to improve the product on specific devices in any issues arise. And guess what now you are very well equipped to handle problems on every device.

11. Early use incentives

We need as many users as possible on the initial soft launch of our product and nobody expects the product to be perfect in a beta version. An early incentive like discounts, free first users can bring in more traffic and allow us to get the best of feedbacks and improve our product before we hit the market at large and go full-fledging.

12. Knowing the Unknowns

Always be keen to know what you don't know about all the aspects of the product. Knowing more involves hiring experts or consulting with a consultant regarding expertise on the field and product, which in turn enhances your product and makes sure it is sustainable in the long run. Rapid success can lead to failure if you haven't thought through this first. You don't want to be solving problems you don't understand on the fly.

13. Start planning the next version

Taking a long time to perfect your product before going to market could be the reason it fails. Release it, and start planning the next model. Keep an active system on taking the user feedback and improve your system on the next version, its fine to have not all sorted out but owning your mistakes and improving it will allow your product to gain users' loyalty and makes sure you are taking every feedback to heart.

A consultant could help to go through the product lifecycle smoothly and makes your life easier. You can book a free session to know how your product can be planned for the best launch strategy and make sure the objectives are achieved in an effective and efficient manner.

Rohan Girdhani Your Sherlock Holmes