Why You Should Launch your Product Quietly
Less Pressure. More Rewards.
I’m writing this post because I love to read other people’s posts and articles about their experiences.
I’ve been using Quora for years now, and I have always loved reading other people’s articles and their experiences.
I’ve also been a startup founder for the last 5 years, and I’ve worked with some great teams and some not-so-great teams in that time.
I’m going to share my experience, not as a critique of other product launches, but rather to encourage you to launch your product quietly.
You may be aware that there are many different ways to launch your product after you have created it.
Many companies choose to launch their products by creating an ‘announcement day’ where they bring their entire team together in one room, make a big announcement about the product, and then get all of their employees excited about the new product and its features.
This method has some benefits, but there are drawbacks as well
Let’s take a look at the benefits
You can get all of your employees excited about the new product. Having an announcement day where you show off your new product can be exciting for your employees if they are interested in the new product that you have developed.
Most tech companies (and most products) have many different layers or levels of ‘autonomy’ regarding making decisions about the product. The people at the top of the hierarchy make decisions about what will happen with the product, and then they work their way down through the level of hierarchy to make sure everyone is on board.
When you have a new product, everyone in your organization needs to be on board with it, especially if your company relies heavily on teamwork or collaboration.
This is where a big launch day comes in handy: You can show off your product and explain why you are excited about it. People will see the new product and try it out and see how they can improve.
You can get all of your employees focused on what you’re trying to accomplish. If you have a big announcement about your new product that you want everyone to know about, there are no more secrets between employees.
They will know that this is what all of their efforts are being focused towards, and they will be more excited about working on this project than if there weren’t any announcement day or party, or celebration for this new release.
Now, the drawbacks
It costs money: When you have a big launch day that you invite everyone to, it will cost some money. You will have to pay for the location, food and drinks, and decorations.
You will also need to pay for any employees who are not working on the project to attend the event. It can be expensive if you decide to invite everyone in your office that day, or if you plan on inviting any of your important clients or partners as well.
I’ve seen some companies spend thousands of dollars on a launch day that they had specially planned out months in advance, even though they are not actually going to make any money from this product yet.
People don’t always respond well: Sometimes, people don’t respond very well when big announcements like this. If they haven’t been involved with creating the product or feel like they aren’t part of the company decision-making process when it comes to new products, then there is a possibility that people are not going to respond very positively towards this kind of announcement day.
It makes people feel left out: This one goes along with #2 above, but I wanted to point it out again because I think it is important for entrepreneurs to think about it.
If you have a big launch day where you’re announcing your newest product, then there will be people who aren’t invited, and they will feel left out. This can actually make people angry, even if they are not showing their anger directly to you.
Why You Should Launch Quietly as a Startup Founder?
There is no reason why you should have an announcement day when it comes to your new product. In fact, I would argue that it’s actually better for your company if there is no announcement day with this new product that you have developed.
Here are some things that I would recommend instead when it comes to launching your product quietly as a startup founder:
Make sure the new product is ready for public use first
If you’re planning on launching a new website or mobile app, or software application, make sure that it’s ready for public use before you think about launching it.
You do not want to be in the position where the engineers give their ‘stamp of approval on this new release, but then people start using it and start complaining about bugs or glitches or any other problems they may find with the software. This is one of the big reasons why you need to launch quietly as a startup founder.
Get feedback from your customers
Another reason why you want to launch quietly is that that way, you can get valuable feedback from the people who are using your new product, and those people will not feel like they’re being judged or that they’re being put on the spot when it comes to helping you out with this new product.
You want to get their honest feedback and want them to feel like they can give it freely without feeling like they’re put on the spot or that this is going to be a marketing ploy for this whole thing. This feedback will be precious in helping you improve your product even more and make sure that it’s something that people really want.
Let your competitors know about the new product
I think it’s good for startups and founders of startups to launch quietly because it makes things harder for the competitors in that particular industry.
The reason why I say this is because if there are a bunch of news stories about how Company A released their new product, Company B looked at it and said, “Well, what’s this?
We better get our stuff together and make sure that we’re the first ones to get something out.” This is why you want to launch quietly as a startup founder because it makes things harder for them.
Reveal the new product slowly
I think it’s good for startups and founders of startups to launch quietly because you can reveal some details about the new product slowly over time. You don’t have to reveal everything right away.
Instead, you can do it over time which will keep people interested in the new product, which will lead to more sales which will bring you more revenue in terms of sales which will help you grow your company even further.
Get feedback about your marketing campaign
Another reason why startups and founders of startups should think about launching quietly is that that way, they can get feedback about their marketing strategy that they are using with this new product release without feeling like they’re on the spot or being judged for it as well.
You want to hear honest feedback from friends and family members who are using your product because they won’t be as critical as a stranger or someone who doesn’t know you at all. They will give you the honest feedback that you need to make sure that your marketing campaign is on the right track and that your sales are going up as a result.
Conclusion
In conclusion, there are several reasons why you should launch your product quietly as a startup founder. I would recommend not having an announcement day with this new product where you’re just releasing it to the public.
Instead, make sure it’s ready for people to use and then gradually roll out information about it so that people don’t feel like they’re being put on the spot or being judged for giving their honest feedback.
You want to keep the momentum going so that you can get more sales which will help you grow your company even further and make sure that you can scale things up while still keeping them under control at the same time.
About the Author
I am the Founder of Cudy Technologies (www.cudy.co), a full-stack EdTech startup helping teachers and students learn better. I am also a mentor and angel investor in other Startups of my other interests (Proptech, Fintech, HRtech, Ride-hailing, C2C marketplaces, and SaaS). You can also find me on Cudy for early-stage Startup Founder mentorship and advice.
You can connect with me on Linkedin (https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexanderlhk) and let me know that you are a reader of my Medium posts in your invitation message.
