It's happened to the best of us - that frustrating first call after a major solution launch.  The phone rings, and a sales rep start asking...

• "Where's the price sheet?" 
• "Competitor abc is setting this trap for us. How do you recommend we respond?"
• "Do we have a case study on that?" 

If your response is… “Launch?  What launch?”  Ooops.  Like the best laid plans, the best laid launches require military-like planning.  Major launches should involve nearly everyone in the company.  Yet rarely do companies have a quarterback whose sole purpose in life is to lay awake at night and worry about huddling the team around launches. With no one in charge, launches escape, followed by a circus.  Here's a (true) story to illustrate. 

Chapter 1, The Escape.  

Years ago I was working for an organization where engineering was able to include code in a release for an often-requested feature a month ahead of schedule, but forgot to let others in the company know.  The only mention of it was deep in a help file in the release notes, and one very-happy customer happened to find it, and called the support desk with a question.  Our support team, along with the rest of the company, was not aware that the feature was on the street just a wee bit early. 

Chapter 2, The Circus.  

Teams company-wide had to drop what they were doing and backfill. Sales needed prospecting profiles, pricing, FAQs, brochures, PowerPoints, updated proposal language, contracts, warranties, demo tools, and more.  Executives needed talking points.  Finance needed sales forecasts and costing.  Support need FAQs, hands-on demos, and detailed product notes.  HR needed revised quarterly goals by department, and outlines of special training needs.  Partners needed camera-ready materials to repackage. Marketing needed have media plans, news releases, and campaigns ready to drive demand.  Everyone felt disrupted and understandably annoyed.  

A booster shot for brand

A bad launch, like the one shared in this story, hurts brand.  So why is it a coordinated launch is something everyone wants and no one is willing to champion? There's a real opportunity for marketing to champion the coordinated launch cause, like a booster shot for brand.  A little pain ahead of time goes a long way upon go live.  With a tried and true approach, great communication, and a little project management - it's not hard to pull off.  And wow does it save headaches--most importantly, for customers. The payoff in service upfront will yield dividends for years to come.

A killer checklist

The secret to a great coordinated launch is having executive support, working a killer checklist, anticipating challenges, and leveraging the strengths of your team.  At Quantum Age Collaborative, we use a 60+ item checklist with our clients that has been refined over the past two decades and will be in perpetual refinement for decades to come. Each launch is unique and offers little best practices that collectively make for big impact.  

ROI that keeps on delivering

When staff are fully empowered to stand behind the launch, executives can expect to see faster ROI for the company-wide investments that went in to it. Sales is ready to spin, marketing is ready to drive demand, finance can forecast, and support is ready to take calls.  The ROI comes a whole lot earlier, and with far fewer headaches.  A little military-like planning really pays off. 

Oh one more thing… when you're calculating ROI for a coordinated launch effort, don't forget to include savings on aspirin!