Sanjna breaks down three types of product launches: marketing soft launch, GA launch, and pilot-to-GA transition. The key moves are understanding your goal, knowing the product deeply, and staying nimble. Customer research and cross-team collaboration with product and sales matter most.
What's up everyone? I'm Sanjna. Today we're talking about product launches. We'll go over the different types of launches and show how Salesforce has used them. And then I'll give you three tips that'll help you plan your next product launch. If that sounds good to you, let's jump right in. Welcome to Salesforce. On Salesforce, an inside look at how we run our marketing, sales and service businesses. For marketers, we have tips on things like how to create a great voice and tone for your brand, how to build product messaging and positioning, and even how to uplevel your lead strategy, and so much more. As always, you can learn more on Trailhead, which is linked on the screen right now. And don't forget to subscribe and turn on your notifications so you never miss an episode. A product launch can simply be defined as a moment in time that drives demand for a product. It's a fantastic opportunity to tell a broader narrative about your product. It's about storytelling. And when you can nail the right story that is relevant to your customers, you build trust that turns into that buzz and awareness for new features and capabilities. At Salesforce, storytelling is our superpower. We have a lot of products that provide a lot of value for different types of businesses. But with such a large product portfolio, there is an added need to tell stories that are not just compelling, but highly relevant to our customers. So that's why as product marketers, we always need to have our ear to the ground, listening to our customer pains and finding innovative opportunities to impact customers with our products. Now, a product launch isn't just a one size fits all here. There are different approaches to consider depending on what that overarching goal is that you have. But we want to help. So we've compiled a list of recommended assets and strategic steps that will give you a guide to use as a starting place. There are nice to haves and need to haves in every launch and we've included them all in one handy checklist which you can find in our blog, linked below. Alright, so let's get into it. Let me explain the three types of product launches that we have here at Salesforce. Now these might be called something else in your company, which is fine, but the essence of each launch will remain the same. First up is a marketing launch. A marketing launch is also known as a soft launch and it typically is used when introducing a brand new product to market. And while the product itself might be in a pilot stage, this is really the time to listen to how customers are responding what the market is demanding and to form that really compelling story. Market research, customer feedback, and even analyst inquiries are really key here. These inputs will give you an idea of what customers truly care about and how to tailor your message accordingly. Products alone in a vacuum don't tell a great story. It's all about making that product story highly relevant and compelling to your audience. Communicating the value of a new product to the media is also an incredibly important part of this type of launch. The more you can make the value just click for the media, the more awareness you'll gain. And don't underestimate the value of a really clear and concise story that everyone can understand. For a deeper dive into the various deliverables that are associated with the launch, you can check out our blog linked in the Description so once your product has been launched externally, what's next? Well, here's where it gets really interesting. Usually products are in pilot stage when they're first launched. This gives your product team the chance to offer the product to early adopters and offer product marketers that golden opportunity to listen and learn about how customers are using the product and what can be improved. Once your product has gone through a robust pilot program, the product team is ready to make that product available to the masses. Which brings us to our second type of launch, a GA launch at Salesforce. GA stands for Generally Available, and preparing for a GA launch is no small feat. It involves having a keen eye on how pilot customers have been using the product and a close partnership with the product management and sales teams. Your main audience for a GA launch is your sales team. Now that your product is ready for primetime, you want to make sure it is super easy for your entire sales army to articulate the value and sell this product to their customers. This enablement motion varies from company to company, but at a large company like Salesforce, keeping it simple and relevant is the key. The best way to do this is by focusing on use cases. How are customers adopting the product? Are there any industries to focus on more than others? How did this product tie into the rest of the portfolio being sold by your sales team? And let me tell you, sales can be a tough audience. You want to make sure you're being clear and direct, no marketing fluff. This planning process can take a varying amount of time depending on your product release cycle. At Salesforce, we have three major releases a year, so the delta between a marketing launch and a GA launch can be between three and six months. A great way to drum up excitement and show the product in action is at an event. At Salesforce, we love our events. We have Dreamforce and Trailblazer DX Connections and our World Tours which we use as launch dates to showcase to our customers the newest versions of our products when they become ga. Taking advantage of times where you have these large audiences of customers in one area keeps your launch top of mind and allows you to have relevant and meaningful conversations with them. All right, now that you know what types of launches exist, let's dive into three tips that you can use to help you plan for your next product launch. Tip number 1 Understand the goal now this might seem like common sense, but understanding your goals up front will help you determine which deliverables need to be done. Are you entering a new market? Are you creating momentum for an existing product? Are you showcasing a new feature or capability? It takes a lot of people across many different teams to make a launch successful, so you wanna ensure that everyone is singing the same tune. Tip number two Know the product inside and out. Become besties with your product teams. No one knows the product more than the people building it, so you wanna make sure that you're collaborating early and often with your PMs to understand what's on the roadmap. Roll up those sleeves and get hands on with your products. Study that roadmap and ask all of the questions that you have so you can fully understand the product. The more you understand the EAs will be to lead various teams through a launch. Tip number three Be nimble. When you're launching a product, things can change like that, so it's being nimble and adaptable when change becomes constant will help you be focused on the end goal. I always say there is nothing precious when you're launching a product and you must be willing to take in all of the feedback and make the right decisions to drive the project forward, even if that means a different direction than what you had initially planned. All right, those are three tips to help you plan for your next product launch. Click the links on the screen to see other videos in this series and be sure to check out our other resources down in the description. We'll see you next time.
