Prior to your solution being ready for the market, you have to create a launch plan.  The complexity of a launch plan varies widely from business to business.  The minimum goal of the plan is to identify the key tasks, timelines, and dependencies required to have a successful entry and ramp up in the market.  Launch plans are relatively easy once you have done all the work preceding this.  You should already know who you are going after, how to reach them, how to engage them, and what to say.  So your launch plan is where you put all your hard work into motion.

The launch plan considers the critical internal and external activities that are key to making your launch smooth and successful.  For many, this begins with trials.  This is when you test your solution with limited exposure.  In technology, this is often thought of as beta testing.  However, that is a limited view, especially for startups.  Instead, you are testing your entire solution (the business and your product/service).  Examples of some critical things to test include:

– Back office tools, such as CRM and order processing
– Product/services readiness
– Lead acquisition & advertising effectiveness
– Content & collateral
– Sales process
– Positioning and objection handling
– Delivery of your solution
– Support