Introduction
In this blog I will go over the different activities involved in a SaaS product launch. In a SaaS model, businesses offer software as cloud applications on a subscription basis. Customers can access these applications over the internet from anywhere. As a result, this model has many advantages for both the businesses selling the software (producers) and customers using it.
Benefits to companies:
- Recurring revenue – easy to predict cash flow
- Easier to offer free trials
- Lower costs to develop the MVP as the cloud provides cheaper hardware and software. The software also does not need to support different devices and operating systems.
- Easy to scale the software as the customer base grows due to the advantages of being in the cloud.
- Makes upgrades easier as you need to update the software only in the cloud and it is available to all the users. This allows for faster feature development and reduced costs.
Benefits to customers:
- Reduced costs as subscription costs are way lower than one time licensing costs. It is easy to cancel anytime as well.
- Easy to use as there is no installation required. Generally, all you need is a login as the provider does all the installation and maintenance work.
- Easy to try and buy as most SaaS models allow for a trial period allowing customers to see if the product fits their needs.
- Multiple subscription options based on the features you need allowing for more flexibility.
- New features available instantly without having to do the work of upgrading the software as the provider does all this work for you.
The SaaS business model is very attractive to both producers and consumers. The SaaS industry is therefore highly competitive in all product categories and therefore the importance of a successful product launch cannot be understated.
SaaS companies are everywhere and they target every industry and vertical. Some examples are below:
Airtable: Easy to use app-building platform.
Canva: Easy design tool that anyone can use
Aisera : Customer service automation
Salesforce : CRM and other tools like Slack and Tableau
Adobe: Creativity and Design tools
Google: Google Workspace
Miscrosoft: Microsoft 365 office tools
Workday: ERP solutions
Grammarly: Writing assistance across devices
Market research and product development
Market research is critical to understand if you have a product market fit. Collect data and analyze to validate that your product has enough of a market for it to be a viable business. This is where you also identify your target persona and their pain points that you plan to solve with your product. Research the competition to see if your product has enough differentiation to appeal to the target audience. Define the unique value proposition that your SaaS product provides its potential customers. Once this is done then you have the product development phase where you build your Minimum Viable Product (MVP) with all the essential features. While the product development phase is ongoing you also need to plan for the SaaS product launch.
3 stages of a SaaS product launch
A successful product launch requires planning, execution and analysis. It can be divided into 3 phases.
Pre-launch phase
This is the planning phase and it takes a lot of time and effort in this phase to come up with the activities involved in a product launch.
Product launch
This the actual product launch itself which is set for a specific day where you announce your product to the world but the work itself continues for a longer period of time.
Post-launch phase
In the post launch phase you monitor and analyze the KPI’s against the business goals of the product launch and continue the marketing efforts to grow the company. Once a product is launched the marketing team can use the momentum to accelerate the marketing cadence. This will allow the company to retain customers and attract new customers to fuel the growth of the company.
A product launch requires 3 main resources:
- People
- Time
- Money
For a startup all three would be at a premium so it is important to plan ahead and decide what is possible and plan accordingly. It can start as a small scale but focused launch and then if it is successful and attracts a lot of customers the company can use the money to add hire more marketing people to increase the marketing efforts. For example, you can focus on just the landing page on your website and one social media channel. This will allow you to be more razor focused. Being creative in you marketing efforts will pay off here.
Refer to the following article for how some SaaS companies have utilized creative marketing:
Pre-launch phase
This phase is where all the planning and preparation for the launch happens. The amount of time spend in this phase will vary based on the product and your approach to the marketing facet of the product launch.
In this phase you identify the timeline for your launch, the goals for your launch, identify the target customers and create the value proposition, positioning and messaging. You also have to allocate a budget for the product launch. This might start many months before your product launch as it takes a lot of coordination, time and effort to launch a product. Underestimating this can lead to hurried execution and derail the success of your product. It is best to start as early as possible and have a plan with targeted activities to achieve before the product launch. Keeping track of these activities along the timeline using a program management tool will allow you to see if things are slipping through the crack and also surface possible issues early. Create an executive summary that includes all the key activities and dates.
Positioning and Messaging
Refer to my positioning blog on what it is and the work involved in creating it like market research and identifying buyer personas. The planning stage should also include the branding. All customer facing content must reflect the brand. This will help customers identify with your brand when they see a piece of content. Once the positioning, value proposition and branding work is done then the work of messaging begins. This is not a trivial exercise and takes a lot of cross functional collaboration with product managers, sales teams and engineering to understand the product and come up with the right messaging that will resonate with the buyer persona(s). Feedback from the sales team is critical as they need to buy into the messaging. Refer to my messaging blog for the definition and the work involved.Executive sponsorship
Creating a launch template for the product launch is very useful as it allows for tracking all the activities. This helps to make sure nothing falls through the gaps. You need to get an executive to sponsor the the product launch. This will engender two things. The stakeholders will be more willing to collaborate on the product launch. Secondly the executive having a stake in the product launch will ensure accountability. . Stakeholders like sales, engineering, product marketing and customer support have their core responsibilities and they need to be incentivized to participate in the product launch planning stage.
Pre-launch activities
Get involved in the beta process
For SaaS products beta testing is a great time to test the messaging, gather customer feedback, get testimonials and case studies. Fine tune the messaging based on the feedback received during the beta. Testimonials and case studies are great in providing proof of your products benefits to future potential customers that you plan to attract with the product launch.
Go to market strategy
Create a Go to Market strategy document that includes the marketing strategy for the launch. This will include all the work involved in the product launch. It will include the executive summary, market research, buyer persona, positioning, messaging, competitive analysis and any other relevant details. This will be a detailed document that will be your guide for the product launch including post launch activities. This is a living document. It needs to be updated based on changing market conditions and product updates.
Channel selection
Choose 1 or maximum 2 channels initially. Creating content is a lot of work and focus is key in having a successful product launch. Focus is the ability to say no. There are a lot of social media channels today but picking the right channels is an important part of the product launch plan. Identify the KPI’s to measure the effectiveness of the content and the channels. This will help to make the changes needed to accelerate the marketing efforts and achieve the business goals.
Content planning
This is a key step for the product launch to be successful. Create content based on the time and resources available to you. Have a content roadmap to deliver content on a regular basis to gain the attention of potential customers. It is better to create quality content which takes time and money than a lot of content that is of low quality. Content can take the form of videos, blogs, case studies, website landing pages, FAQ’s and social media posts. Content can be information, educational, entertaining and inspirational.
When creating content SEO should be considered. Search is one of the most powerful ways customers find content hence the importance of SEO. SEM can used to drive traffic to the content via ads in search engines and social media channels that you choose.
SaaS Product launch goals
Another important step is to define the business goals for the product launch. These goals should have associated KPI’s that are measurable. In the post launch phase, you can report on these KPI’s and measure your success against the initial goals set for the product launch. Share the report with the executives and relevant stakeholders. Make changes to the marketing strategy as needed based on results from the KPI reports. This is an ongoing process done on a periodic basis to keep the marketing process data-driven, measurable and accountable.
Referral and Affiliate Programs
Track the performance of referral and affiliate programs if you have them in place to assess their contribution to customer acquisition. Referrals are a powerful way to get more customers to sign up without too much effort. It may require incentivizing customers to refer their friends and family to sign up for your product. This can come in the form of a free month for example or discounts based on the number of referrals who sign up. You can get creative here with your marketing to motivate people to make more referrals and this can even go viral based on how creative you can get. This will help reduce your CAC (customer acquisition cost) as well.
Select KPIs that align with your specific product launch goals and objectives. Regularly monitor these metrics to assess your product’s performance, make data-driven decisions, and make adjustments to your strategy as needed.
You should also plan to create buzz ahead of the actual launch to generate excitement and anticipation among the target customer base. You can use teasers, sneak peaks, waiting lists and countdowns to generate excitement.
SaaS Product launch
The product launch is scheduled for a specific date but the process itself can span several months. The content you put out on the various channels like website, social media and email takes time to percolate among potential customers. People may not notice your first post of first email. An automated cadence to re target potential customers is required to have a better chance of getting more traffic to your website and to get people to act on your CTA’s. There are lot of tools that allow you to automate this part of the marketing for both email and social media content. The automation tools also allow for personalization which is important in the current marketing environment. Picking the right tool takes time so this should be accounted for in your pre-launch phase based on your budget and familiarity with these tools.
The product launch itself should be made into an event and it should include all your internal stakeholders. It can be given a creative name to generate excitement and interest. You can have an after party to celebrate the product launch. These activities energize employees and can help create social media buzz that can attract more customers.
Launch day activities:
Below are some launch day activities that you can have for a product launch.
Announcement Email:
Send an announcement email to your subscribers with a link to your product and its features.
Website Launch:
Make your website or landing page live with all the necessary information.
Press Release:
Issue a press release to relevant media outlets or bloggers in your industry.
Social Media Blitz:
Schedule a series of social media posts throughout the day to keep the buzz going. Engage with comments and messages promptly.
Live Webinar or Q&A Session:
Host a live webinar or Q&A session to introduce your product, showcase its features, and answer questions from potential customers.
Launch Discounts or Promotions:
Offer launch-day discounts or promotions to incentivize early adoption.
Customer Support:
Ensure your customer support team is well-prepared to handle inquiries and support requests.
Gather Testimonials:
If you have early users, encourage them to provide testimonials or reviews.
Thank Your Team:
Acknowledge the hard work of your team members who contributed to the product’s development.
Post launch phase
The post-launch phase of a SaaS product is crucial for maintaining and growing your customer base. It involves activities aimed at sustaining and improving your product, retaining customers, getting new customers and scaling your business. Below are some key activities in the post-launch phase.
Analytics and Reporting
Measure the KPI’s on a regular basis. If the KPI’s indicate that business goals are not being met you can make the necessary changes to fix the issues. Share the KPI reports with the executives in QBRs (Quarterly Business Reviews) to showcase the success of the product launch and your teams’ efforts in achieving that success. If help is required from executives this data driven reporting will help you make your case using data.
You should also monitor software review sites like G2, TrustPilot and Capterra to gather data on what your customers are saying about your product. This can help mitigate issues quickly that can otherwise fester and affect product adoption and growth. Here you can also find friendly customers who you can reach out to for testimonials and case studies if applicable.
User engagement campaigns
Run email marketing campaigns and in-app messaging to engage users and promote new features. Keep users excited and motivated using gamification. This can help increase product adoption.
Content marketing
Continue to provide valuable content such as blog posts, ebooks, white papers, webinars and case studies to educate and engage your audience. Also share success stories and testimonials. This requires nurturing key customers and getting their approval to use their testimonials on your public facing website, social media properties and other marketing content.
Competitor analysis
Keep an eye out for what your competitors and industry trends and adjust your marketing to changing conditions. Provide competitor battlecards to sales teams to counter prospective customer objections.
Customer surveys and NPS (Net Promotor Score)
Conduct surveys to gauge customer satisfaction and gather insights. Use NPS to measure customer loyalty and to identify promoters and detractors
Learnings from the Creative Product Launches event by Sharebird
Recently I attended an event on Creative Product Launches organized by Sharebird. The speakers were highly experienced professionals in product marketing.
Jodi Innerfield: Senior Director of Product marketing, SALESFORCE
Sally Revell: Director of Product Marketing, GOOGLE CLOUD
Sahil Sethi: Senior VP Product Marketing , BETTERUP
Jason Gatoff: Marketing Consultant and Advisor
The time that you get for a product launch varies from company to company. Sometimes you get only a week or two to launch the product and sometimes you get a couple of months or more.
The time you have to prepare for a product launch is highly variable based on the situation you are in. All of them also agreed that customer testimonials are a must have for a product launch. This goes a long way with potential customers as the product is endorsed by someone else other than you. The absolute minimum items in a BOM (Bill of Materials) for a product launch should be compelling messaging, a social strategy, blogs and website landing pages. Think about what you can achieve with a zero-dollar budget and then add other activities based on the budget you have.
To watch the recording of the event and learn more head over to Sharebird. It is available only to subscribers of Sharebird. The subscription is $15 a month. There is a lot of information on Sharebird that is highly useful to product marketers so it might be well worth the investment.
SaaS product launch summary
A SaaS product launch involves many moving parts. In large companies there are different teams like outbound marketing, product marketing, sales, customer support, brand marketing and content managers to handle different aspects of a product launch. Cross functional collaboration is critical for a successful product launch. In startups there may be just a few people who need to handle the work of the product launch. So the size and scope of a product launch can differ based on the size of the company and resources available. Get an executive sponsor for the product launch as that helps keep the wheels rolling especially when you need to collaborate with other stakeholders.
Planning is key to a successful SaaS product launch. Creativity is essential when you have a small team to create the buzz and momentum for a product launch. In summary there is a lot of work involved and you need to account for problems that will arise. Putting a plan in place based on the time and resources available is the key to a successful SaaS product launch. Once a plan is in place then execution attention to detail can help you have a successful SaaS product launch.
Measure the impact of the product launch to identify if business goals set in the planning stage are being met.
Hope you find this blog useful in creating your own successful SaaS product launch. Thanks for reading.