Because Nobody Remembers the Generic Product Made For Everyone, Focused on No One

Launching a B2B product isn’t just a sprint to market; it’s a calculated strike. In this guide, we’re cutting through the fluff and breaking down the steps to a product launch that not only gets noticed but dominates.

Although product marketers are generally leading and coordinating the effort, product launches are a team sport. You will win or lose as a team - so make sure your internal relationships are strong and there is a desire to win for each other.

Some of these ideas may challenge your existing playbook - good. Let’s disrupt the disruptors (I had to 🙃).

1. Start with the Audience, Not the Product

Most product marketers make the mistake of falling in love with their product. Don’t. Fall in love with your audience, their jobs-to-be-done, and pain points. Before your product is even in beta, you should have:

• A defined ICP (ideal customer profile) that includes pain points, purchase behaviors, and market gaps. Basically what keeps your buyer up at night 🌙
• A competitor intelligence report so thorough it makes their marketing team seek therapy and questions if there's a mole on the team.
• A clear understanding of the category you’re playing in - or the one you’re creating.

If you can’t define why your market exists without your product, you’re already losing 🤷🏽

2. Build a Special Ops Team of Product Launch Nerds

Not everyone in your GTM team is built for the fast-moving, often chaotic world of product launches. Handpick your team:

• A PMM who lives and breathes positioning and messaging - and is a master at sales enablement.
• A scrappy, agile sales lead who can cut through objections like butter and get their team fired up about the opportunity.
• A product manager who’s not married to their roadmap and is flexible to adjust when needed.
• A customer success leader who gets that launches are as much about retention as they are acquisition.

Forget “cross-functional buy-in” until the launch team agrees on priorities. Democracy has no place in launch strategy and staying focused is critical.

3. Craft a Personalized Narrative That Sticks

Stop treating messaging like an afterthought. Your narrative is the foundation of your launch. Build it, test it, and then shout it from the rooftops.

Again, make sure it's personalized and focused - keep it narrow. Your target audience must think "wow, that's me".

• Positioning statement: Clear, concise, and customer-focused. No jargon or fluff. Speak their language.
• Value proposition: A mix of rational and emotional. Make sure you understand what this means for your target audience and the jobs-to-be-done they represent. Your buyers are humans, not lead scores.
• Tagline: Memorable enough to make its way into a LinkedIn post from your ICP.

Sorry, your product name doesn’t matter as much as your narrative. Spend your budget on the story, not the trademark lawyer.

4. Beta Test for Buzz, Not Only Bugs

Your beta phase isn’t just for testing functionality; it’s for creating FOMO and testing resonance.

• Traditional PR releases are not enough in today's market.
• Recruit customers who are influencers in your space. Get them rocking on LinkedIn to gather pre-launch insights - and post-launch sharing too.
• Leverage the exclusivity of beta access for PR and early user acquisition.
• Use beta feedback for testimonials and early case studies.

A private beta with the right 10 customers is better than an open beta with 100 tire-kickers.

5. Launch Like You’re Throwing a Party, Not an Old School PowerPoint Presentation

Your launch event should be a multi-channel experience, not a snoozefest. Activate employees, influencers, and customers to celebrate on channels like LinkedIn.

• If it's in-person, live stream it to a relevant digital channel to expand access.
• Create a countdown campaign that teases, excites, and converts.
• Depending on budget parameters, go all-in on production quality for the launch itself.
• Surprise your audience - consider giveaways, influencer endorsements, or even bold PR stunts (Think: Good ole Salesforce.com's "No Software" protest campaign from the early 2000's).

If your launch doesn’t have people talking for days, you didn’t launch - you just posted a product update.

6. Prioritize Sales and Customer Success Enablement and Training

I get it, you're overwhelmed with launch planning, mediating between GTM and product teams, and putting out fires.

However, please avoid the classic mistake of glancing over the effective enablement of sales and CS teams.

• Sales and CS leadership must be aligned and prepared well in advance of a launch to collaborate on the most effective enablement methods. Get sign-off from all stakeholders involved in this planning including top-performing reps from past launches.
• Work with revenue leadership to align on giving sales and CS reps extra incentives tied to this particular product launch.
• Produce a comprehensive enablement plan that includes group sessions with Q&A, enablement material like product one-pagers, decks, and videos, and even a dedicated Slack channel.
• Paint a clear picture on why this product launch matters to them hitting their goals, how the new product integrates into their current storytelling, and the best value points to highlight based on target buyer.

Enablement is not a one and done. It's on-going and requires your leadership as a product marketer.

7. Post-Launch Isn’t Post-Mortem

The launch is day one of a long, on-going campaign and internal effort. Plan for:

• Reviewing all learnings without unhealthy judgement - for example, what went well, what to avoid next time, and the key areas to keep the momentum going.
• Follow-up content like webinars, case studies, and blog posts to nurture interest.
• Enablement materials for sales and customer success teams to ensure consistent messaging.
• A feedback loop that keeps your product team innovating and your marketing team iterating.

One of the main reasons product launches fail is because the team stops selling the story after launch day and the momentum fades. Don’t let that be your GTM team. Advocate for your newly launched product and the effort that was put in.

Top Tools For B2B Product Launches

• Product One-Pagers: AssetMule allows you to quickly create, manage, and track sales assets like product and feature one-pagers that are perfect for product launches.
• Interactive Demos: Tools like Storylane, Navattic, HowdyGo, Arcade, Walnut, DemoStack, Tourial, make it easy to create interactive product demos without needing technical help. These are awesome experiences to add to your one-pagers or digital sales rooms made with tools like AssetMule or to embed into your website product pages or campaign landing pages.
• Project Management Tools: Asana, ClickUp, Trello are easy to use task and project management tools that are awesome for managing product launches.
• Internal Communication: Slack and Microsoft Teams are great for team communication and creating dedicated channels for your product launch campaign and on-going efforts.

Now Let's Get Ready To Plan Our Next B2B Product Launch!

Product launches aren’t for the weak or risk-averse. But if you’re ready to be bold, break a few rules, and craft a launch strategy that gets remembered, you’re already ahead of the pack!

If you have any questions about vertical marketing, sales assets, or product marketing -- please reach out to me or my Co-Founder Justin Dorfman!