What is the process you use when doing a launch for a client?

I'm a firm believer in following a consistent process every time. The process I use helps the launch team think through the launch before the work is done and the money is spent, and it helps keep everyone on the team informed and on the same page during this chaotic time. Each launch has 3 major phases: analysis, planning, and implementation.

The analysis phase includes conducting market research or gathering the results of completed research to characterize the customer and market, along with a thorough competitive analysis. During this phase, I develop a detailed description of the product or service being launched (and hopefully the product or service was developed to meet the needs or solve the customer's problem!) Along with that, the customer value proposition is summarized, and the market size is estimated. The competitive analysis is done to help formulate market strategy and identify key differentiators. From the results of the competitive analysis and the customer characteristics, I then develop a set of positioning statements, from which a hierarchy of key messages is derived. The last step is then identifying the right marketing programs and venues for reaching the target customer and convincing them to buy the product or service. This analysis phase can take anywhere from just 2 weeks (if some of the analysis has already been done) to 6 weeks if everything has to be done 'from scratch'.

The planning phase consists of two plans: the marketing plan and the launch plan. All of the results of the analysis phase are captured in the marketing plan, along with narrative that ties everything together and tells a story. This plan is not only useful for the launch team to use as a guide during launch, but it is also a very useful document to share with outside vendors who may be helping with the launch, such as website designers or P.R. agencies. It only takes about a week to put together a marketing plan because all the analysis was done during the first phase; it's just a matter of compiling the information and writing it.

The launch plan is the 'project management' document for the launch. The first part of this plan consists of the launch deliverables (which are all of the marketing programs identified in the marketing plan). For each deliverable, resources are identified (in other words, the people who will be working on each one; there are usually multiple contributors for a single deliverable such as a designer, a copywriter and a printer.) This is captured in a spreadsheet that identifies the "resource allocation". The second major piece of the launch plan is a detailed schedule that shows the due dates for all deliverables, whether they overlap in time, and the precise order in which they will be done. The schedule can be done using a simple spreadsheet program like Excel, or a project management application. I find the spreadsheet easier, and it has the added utility of being able to turn it into a weekly status report by adding a column or two for status and comments. The third part of the launch plan is the budget displayed in a spreadsheet, with estimates for each deliverable, and by week or by month (usually launches take place over a few weeks, not months, so weeks make more sense). The launch plan may take 2 or 3 weeks to put together, especially if multiple outside vendors are involved; it takes time to get bids in, choose vendors, and get people to commit to a schedule and deliverable.

The final phase is implementation, which can be chaotic if there are a lot of deliverables being developed at the same time (which is usually the case!) If the launch plan is solid and thought through in adequate detail, however, the plan itself will really help to manage the bustle of activity as the launch date nears. One way I've found to make this last phase easier is to understand the review and approval process for launch deliverables such as website content, printed materials, etc. Often, legal review is required for products or services in order to conform to regulations or company standards. It’s best to build in a lot of review time in the launch schedule to allow for this. It's also helpful to build in time for key people who might travel, go on vacation, etc. These are the situations that can hold up the launch during the implementation phase. The implementation phase may take several weeks, depending on how many deliverables there are and how long it takes to create them. Websites, for example, will take several weeks, but a simple printed brochure may only take a week or so.

I've found that this 3-phase process seems to work very well not only in terms of getting everything done, but also keeping the client informed and in the loop about critical decisions that may need to be made during the launch.

Catherine Kitcho
The Launch Doctor