I want to talk about crafting a successful launch of a product, and how to raise the profile of your company. Remember, this is primarily a marketing event – a kickoff party of sorts.

In the Internet bubble days, you might recall all those big launch parties we used to hear about in the business news. The goal was to build buzz and visibility to get press coverage. But for what? For throwing an expensive party? It’s much better to have a less expensive launch when you already have customers and revenue and problems are being solved – there’s a real story!

When I launched Corporate Computing, we had recently released a product called GUI. To the press, we described the problems and pain our product was solving. We had case studies that showed the many benefits of using our product. This was key – it told our story from the customer perspective. The result was a rockin’ message of the benefits our product conveyed.

Here’s a few more tips for putting together a killer launch…

#1 Make someone a point person to prepare marketing materials (web updates, customer case studies, testimonials, press releases, product fact sheets, etc.). They’ll also distribute PRs, pitch the press, answer basic questions, book customer interviews, and a lot more. These pre and post launch activities take months of dedicated time. Doing it right is well worth it.

#2 Don’t rely on a magic number of customers or sales before launching: If you’re a privately-held company, you don’t have to disclose either to the press. You can launch when you’re ready to gain traction and have the infrastructure to handle increased inquiries and sales.

#3 Don’t pay a market research company big bucks to write a report on you. Instead, build credibility from case studies and show specifically how you’re solving problems as opposed to paying someone to write about you. You’ll be written up a ton once you gain traction.

So forget about a flashy party. Direct your efforts toward making the press aware of your really cool product, the companies that are using it, the problems and pain your product is removing, and the specific benefits it provides. Hunker down, and get to work!

If you’d like to learn from me in PERSON, with a SMALL group of rockin’ CEOs, I’m taking my BAI weekends on the road and building communities of business builders all over the country. Because Business Acceleration is your future and your FREEDOM.  http://bit.ly/ComafordBAI

Christine Comaford, Executive Mentor
CEO of Mighty Ventures, Inc.
NY Times Best Selling Author
http://bit.ly/ComafordBAI

Christine is the leading authority on business acceleration and optimization. She has built and sold 5 of her own businesses with an average 700% ROI.She has served as a board director or in-the-trenches advisor to 36 startups.She has invested in over 200 startups including Google.

Christine has consulted to the White House (Clinton and Bush),
as well as 700 of the Fortune 1000, and 300+ small businesses.
She repeatedly removes obstacles and optimizes performance in companies large and small.