t-6
months
Nail down your message.- Your differentiators (the WOW!)
has got to come out loud and clear. You've got to be different from the pack and
you have to explain why your solution is better than the others.
- Need to show the right balance
of vision, thought leadership and down-to-earth practicality.
- Develop a
messaging pyramid to refine messages for CxO, Director, Manager with business , economic and technical value
proposition.
- Insert messaging pyramid from Abatis
- Build your elevator pitch,
memorize it and test it on customers, Board, angels, analysts, friends
and skeptics.
Build your presentation. Figure out what trade show you
want to anchor your launch around.- Trade shows are not for every
one in every industry. They're typically VERY expensive to exhibit at with a limited
return on investment.
- Quite often there are more vendors there than
customers. Don't
exhibit unless you have to!
- A cheaper alternative may be to attend the
show and set up meetings with media and potential partners/customers
there, but don't exhibit or sponsor.
- Have speakers present at that
show, talking about your thought-leadership vision. Should be thought-provoking,
vendor neutral. Talk about trends, new
innovations in the space, customer scenarios.
- What awards can you try to win?
Builds
credibility. Good visibility. Lowers perceived buyer risk.
Establish your launch budget.
t-4
months
Build your collateral plan.Should be tightly aligned with
sales cycle and should be created with a deep understanding of the sales
process with different pieces focused at the different layers in the purchase process
(e.g. TCO for exec and technical details for the e techie.
Example of generic
collateral plan.There's a tendency for a collateral to be
developed on an ad hoc basis. - Understand the audience
and the message.
Who
is your target audience? In a sentence, what is
the main message you want to convey to the audience? What
is the call to action for your collateral? How
is the piece used as a part of the sales process?
- Build
the collateral plan up front, in the planning stage. Do it in
conjunction with someone representing Sales (after all, marketing is a
resource to improve sales efficiency - higher success ratio and shorter
sales cycle and happier customer).
t-2
months
List the reporters/bloggers and
publications that are on your A-list.. Get their contact info and pitch policy
Test the
presentation with analysts so that they can help refine the pitch and
identify holes. t-1 month
Brief analysts so that they can act as references for the media
to speak to for industry contextConfirm customs as spokespeople
and referencesLine up media and analyst briefingst-1 week
Brief media (daily publications) that honour embargo'sSet up a Google Alert to
measure launch coverageDay of the Launch
Detailed web presence goes live.Press Release goes out.Post Launch
Articles should hit the press in the first 4 weeks of launch.Follow up metrics Planned vs Actual.Do this after every
program or campaign.
Debrief what went well and
what
to do differently next time.
Continuous
improvement is a very powerful part of corporate culture.
Constant learning.
Constant improvement.
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