Create a Launch Worth Talking About – Mark Cuban on Launching

Launching a product, whether it’s a brand new venture for an entrepreneur, a new product release for an existing company or a new version of an already available product, is no small feat. Businessman and venture capitalist Mark Cuban, known for his opinions, lots of money and many successful business ventures shares his thoughts on how you will know when you’re ready to launch.

http://www.inc.com/mark-cuban/how-youll-know-youre-ready-to-launch.html

In the software industry, preparing for the launch of a new solution or an updated release of an existing solution involves extensive time, resources and dedication. A quality launch requires commitment from development, product management and product marketing, quality assurance, marketing, sales, support, finance and full backing from executive leadership. Without proper planning and resource commitment a product launch can fail in many ways. The software may be full of bugs, lack the functionality to solve your customer’s problems, the launch may not align with your roadmap promises, internal resources may not be prepared to sell or support the new product and marketing may not plan buzz building campaigns. Any of these failures can cause extreme customer dissatisfaction, a decrease in loyalty, mistrust and impact revenue.

This can be avoided with proper preparation including resource commitment, executive support, launch project management, market research, competitive intelligence, beta testing and training for internal readiness. Even if you’re relying on a small team or just yourself as an entrepreneur, plan a launch that will impress your audience.

Mark Cuban is speaking in general terms, but his points apply to the software industry too. Be dedicated and have the nerve to move forward, make smart decisions that will mitigate risk and study your customers and marketspace so that you and the team are more prepared than any of your competitors.

If you’re launching a product or service, let us know. We’d love to help you create a launch worth talking about.