One example of a successful product launch includes a new Purchase Order and Receiver product my Procurement and Inventory teams collaborated on for a tech start-up within the construction and rental space. The new Purchase Order and Receiver were completely redesigned, and the new product would greatly change how everyone in the company, including customers, made and received purchases.
BETA TESTERS
The business was pushing for a fast release; however, given the wide-spread impact to daily transactions, the development teams put a premium on getting the code right. I collected a group of Beta Users, spanning multiple user groups, to test an MVP for 2 months prior to our full release. This allowed the development teams to iterate based on user feedback, and allowed high-quality change management to occur internally.
While product marketing includes communications, I also wanted compare current-state with future-state efficiencies using data in the training materials. To do this, I conducted pre- and post-launch time studies with a Beta Testing group to help quantify the time savings the new product would provide end users on a daily basis. In the case of the new Purchase Order/Receiver product, the time savings ended up being about 50%.
MARKETING
The specific marketing and promotions around our final release included:
- Creating a 90-60-30 day communications plan to all internal business owners and end-users.
- Met with customer-facing business areas to conduct change management sessions and clearly communicate release impacts on daily business activities.
- Created high-level talking points, FAQ documentation, and email messaging.
- Assisted training team members and attended all training sessions as Product Owner and expert. Training occurred over a 4 week period, as part of a phased release based on the company's regional footprint.
- Documented a formal release procedure for product, as well as development teams to follow in current and future product releases.
Screen capture of Kate doing virtual training, which was recorded and shared with all users.
See what's next...
Click here to read about how internal change management plays a critical role in bringing a product to market.