Product Launch Planning & Execution

Complete guide to planning and executing a successful product launch.

🚀 Launch Timeline

12 Weeks Before Launch

Week 1-2: Launch Strategy

• Define launch goal and success metrics
• Identify target customer segments
• Competitive positioning strategy
• Launch date and milestones
• Key stakeholder alignment

Week 3-4: GTM Planning

• Sales enablement plan
• Marketing campaign outline
• Partnership strategy
• PR and media outreach plan
• Customer success plan

Week 5-6: Content & Collateral

• Launch announcement draft
• Sales one-pagers
• Case study/testimonial collection
• FAQ documentation
• Demo video script

8 Weeks Before Launch

Week 7-8: Campaign Preparation

• Marketing assets finalized
• Email sequences written
• Social media content calendar
• Press release finalized
• Event planning (if applicable)

Week 9-10: Team Training

• Sales training (product, pitch, objections)
• Customer success training (onboarding)
• Support team training (common issues)
• Marketing team review
• Executive talking points

Week 11-12: Beta Program

• Beta user selection (50-100)
• Beta communication plan
• Feedback collection process
• Bug tracking and fixes
• Support channel setup

4 Weeks Before Launch

Week 13-14: Launch Preparation

• Content calendar locked
• All marketing assets ready
• Sales collateral printed/digital
• Support documentation complete
• Customer success playbooks ready

Week 15-16: Final Preparations

• Beta feedback incorporated
• Product stability testing
• All systems tested
• Infrastructure scaling verified
• Support team staffed up
• Communication plan reviewed

Launch Week

Monday (3 days before)

• Final product testing
• Teams in position
• Communication channels ready
• Support team briefed
• All stakeholders aligned

Tuesday (2 days before)

• Pre-launch announcement (if applicable)
• Final team meeting
• Monitor systems (no changes)
• Prepare for launch
• CEO/leadership ready

Wednesday (1 day before)

• No code changes
• Confirm all systems operational
• Team on standby
• Final content review
• Marketing queue ready

Thursday (Launch Day)

• 6 AM: Team standup
• 9 AM: Launch announcement goes out
• 9-5 PM: Close monitoring
• 5-9 PM: Continue monitoring
• Evening: Celebration! 🎉

Friday (Day after)

• Performance review
• Customer feedback analysis
• Bug fix prioritization
• Media mention tracking
• Next week planning

Post-Launch (Week 1-4)

Week 1: Close Support

• 24/7 support monitoring
• High-priority bug fixes
• Customer success handoffs
• Early feedback collection
• Daily performance reviews

Week 2-3: Growth & Optimization

• Second wave marketing campaign
• Customer interview collection
• Performance optimization
• Sales pipeline building
• Influencer outreach

Week 4: Retrospective & Iteration

• Launch retrospective (what worked/didn't)
• Performance review vs targets
• Roadmap adjustments
• Team celebration
• Next priority planning

📋 Launch Day Checklist (Complete)

24 Hours Before

Product & Infrastructure

• All staging tests passed
• Database backups confirmed
• Monitoring alerts configured
• Rollback procedure documented
• Load testing completed

Communications

• Email sequences scheduled
• Social media posts queued
• Press release with embargo
• Slack announcement ready
• Customer notification ready

Team Preparation

• Support team briefed
• Sales team ready
• Marketing team ready
• Executive talking points reviewed
• War room setup (Slack channel, call info)

Launch Morning (2-3 hours before)

Pre-Launch Checks

• Product staging environment final test
• All team members logged in to war room
• Status page updated
• Monitoring dashboards live
• Communications (email, social) ready to send

Team Alignment

• 15-min standup with all key stakeholders
• Launch goals and success metrics reviewed
• Key contact phone numbers confirmed
• Escalation procedures reviewed
• Everyone knows their role

Launch Hour (30 min before to 2 hours after)

Go/No-Go Decision

• Final product readiness check
• Infrastructure stability confirmed
• Team confidence 100%
• Decision: LAUNCH ✅

Launch Execution

• Launch announcement goes out
• Social media content posts
• Email campaign sends
• Sales team notified
• Customer success team ready

Real-Time Monitoring

• Server metrics (CPU, memory, latency)
• Error rates and exceptions
• User signups and activity
• Support tickets and issues
• Social media mentions and sentiment

Response & Support

• Quick responses to questions
• High-priority bug fixes (if needed)
• Customer hand-holding (for key accounts)
• Media monitoring
• Sentiment analysis

Post-Launch (Week 1)

Daily Reviews

• Performance metrics review
• Issue triage and prioritization
• Customer feedback analysis
• Media mention tracking
• Next 48 hours planning

📊 Launch Metrics & Success Criteria

Launch Week Goals

• Customer acquisition: [Target #]
• Sign-up conversion rate: [Target %]
• System uptime: 99.9%+
• Support response time: < 2 hours
• Customer satisfaction: > [NPS target]

Tracking Dashboard

• New signups (real-time)
• Customer feedback sentiment
• System performance metrics
• Support ticket volume/resolution
• Media mentions
• Social media engagement

🎯 Sales Enablement Launch Pack

For Sales Team:

• Product one-pager (2 pages)
• Feature/benefit matrix
• Competitive positioning doc
• Objection handling guide
• ROI calculator (if applicable)
• Demo script and slides
• Pricing and package details
• Customer success story/case study
• Win/loss analysis framework

📢 Marketing Campaign Outline

Pre-Launch (4 weeks)

• Teaser content
• Beta testimonials
• Countdown posts

Launch Week

• Launch announcement (multi-channel)
• Feature highlights
• Customer testimonials
• Thought leadership content
• Media outreach

Post-Launch (4+ weeks)

• Customer success stories
• Use case content
• Webinar/demo
• Community engagement
• Influencer outreach

🤝 Customer Communication

Pre-Launch

• Announcement (existing customers)
• Beta user invite
• Beta feedback incorporation
• Sneak preview for key accounts

Launch Day

• Launch announcement email
• In-app notification
• Webinar/demo session
• Customer success calls (for key accounts)

Post-Launch

• Follow-up education
• Success stories
• Feature tips and tricks
• Community engagement

🛟 Support & Success Plan

Support Structure

• Hours: [Define support hours]
• Channels: Email, chat, phone (prioritized)
• SLA: First response time, resolution time
• Escalation: Clear escalation path

Customer Success

• Onboarding guide
• Training materials
• Success metrics
• Engagement plan
• Check-in cadence

Known Issues

• Document known issues
• Create workarounds
• Communicate clearly
• Set fix timeline
• Follow up when fixed

🎉 Launch Party

Don't forget to celebrate! 🥳

• Schedule team celebration
• Thank key people
• Reflect on learnings
• Recognize contributions
• Start thinking about next launch

✅ Complete Launch Checklist

• ✓ Launch strategy document
• ✓ GTM plan
• ✓ Sales enablement materials
• ✓ Marketing campaign plan
• ✓ Customer communication plan
• ✓ Support readiness plan
• ✓ Success metrics defined
• ✓ Monitoring dashboard
• ✓ Team training completed
• ✓ Launch day checklist
• ✓ Post-launch plan
• ✓ Escalation procedures
• ✓ All systems tested
• ✓ Stakeholder alignment
• ✓ Contingency plans

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Ready to launch? Start with the Launch & GTM Agent or use this checklist!

Good luck! 🚀