Original article appearing on Medium

Launching new software product is an exciting time for any business. But it is not simply a matter of ‘if you build it, they will come.’

oh sorry wrong movie…

It also means making sure that the product meets your customers’ needs and sets you apart from the competition. In this article, we will explore the top 10 things that a C-suite executive needs to effectively launch a new software product.

Launching New Software Product: Launch Checklist

1. Evaluate Your Legacy Application

This obviously goes without saying. Before putting out a new software product, it’s important to look at your existing software because this will help you figure out what limitations or problems you need to solve for the new product to be a success.

Metrics/analytics, benchmark usability studies, customer service feedback, and customer research are all important. Because this is to get an understanding of the problem and the gaps that are missing in the market.

2. Business alignment

It’s imperative that you get everyone aligned, as the old saying goes if you assume everyone is on the same page — you make an ass out of you and me.

Additionally, prioritization is definitely something that needs to be understood by leadership. Along with OKRs/KPIs and a roadmap that is outcomes-focused vs. feature-focused.

Finally, never have we had any clients in mid to large organizations be completely aligned in vision, direction, and understanding of goals. We never had these clients in our 17 years of doing alignment workshops.

3. Competitor Evaluation

Overall, it is important to understand your competition’s strengths and weaknesses. Because this will assist you in identifying market opportunities and positioning your product accordingly.

This should be done more than just on a superficial level, but at a design and development level (if possible).

4. Effective Product Positioning

Once you know a lot about your target audience and your competitors, it’s time to put your product on the market. This means coming up with a unique selling point and writing messages that will convince your target audience.

5. User Experience (UX) Design

UX design is a crucial aspect of developing software products. It is the process of making a product intuitive and pleasurable to use.

Make UX a part of the strategic process to help identify the biggest risks.

In addition, allow your UX team to gather constant feedback from your users. Enterprise software vs. consumer B2C mobile applications are different types of users and will give you different feedback.

Moreover, enterprise users are legacy users that have developed a method to make their workflow efficient. If you disrupt this, even with good software, their initial feedback and reaction will be negative.

Lastly, don’t design by committee nor do you get feedback by committee. Otherwise, the ‘squeak wheel gets the grease’ or the HIPPO will become the loudest voice in the room.

6. Product and Development Advisory Services

Working with product and development consulting resources can help you identify any limitations in your software development process. They can also help you make necessary improvements. And lastly, this can encompass software architecture, design, and development procedures.

In our many engagements, we’ve seen the worst when it comes to development code…or tech debt. This is an absolute nail-in-the-coffin if you don’t at least have a 3rd party audit your DevOps processes and tech expertise.

Furthermore, it doesn’t matter how good the design is if you can’t execute it in development. Your company will suffer as you wait and wait after that launch date gets continually pushed later and later.

Your engineering team has been in the code for years and hasn’t learned the latest tech stacks. They may have limited bandwidth, but these are all valid reasons that will slow a new software product launch to a halt.

Get an experienced team to help rapidly design and develop a POC for you and then leverage that along with your team for a collaborative and less problematic launch.

This hybrid approach has worked well for our clients.

7. Marketing Strategy

Most importantly, the success of a new software product depends on a well-designed marketing strategy. This includes digital and traditional marketing channels, as well as a robust public relations strategy.

8. Beta Testing

“We know what we know.”

The product killer command generally tends to be shouted by certain leadership to launch faster.

It’s important to conduct user testing before launching the product. As a result, it will help you figure out what problems need to be fixed and how to make the necessary changes. (See UX again…in case you glossed over it).

9. Channel for Sales and Distribution

It is important to have a well-defined sales and distribution channel. This includes a network of partners, resellers, and other channels that assist you in reaching your target market.

Pricing is a crucial aspect of the product’s introduction. Ensure your pricing strategy is in line with your target market and the competition.

10. Customer Service (CX) Strategy

Good customer experience design (CX) involves creating a seamless and positive experience for customers at every touchpoint with a company. It takes the customer’s needs, expectations, and emotions and designs the interactions, processes, and systems to meet those needs.

Additionally, effective CX design takes into account the whole customer journey. From getting to know the brand to getting help after the purchase, and using various channels and technologies. And finally, A good CX design results in satisfied customers increased loyalty and improved business results.

If you have a great product, but the final mile experience is awful, then you are risking leaving a bad taste in your customer’s mouth.

One of our clients asked us to change their packaging and how they handle customer service during delivery. It is because they knew that customers were complaining a lot when they got the product. However, it wasn’t because of the product itself but because it was hard to open.

Additionally, launching a new software product successfully requires careful planning and execution. As a result, you can increase your chances of success and get your product out on the market. This is by following the things a C-suite executive needs to do to launch a new software product successfully

They can improve their software development processes by using UX design and product and development expertise.

Launching Your New Software Product: Tips for a Successful Launch

C-suite executives need to do a series of things that are important for product design and user experience (UX) in order for a new software product to launch well. These steps include doing user research, figuring out what the most important new features are, creating a UX strategy, investing in design, putting user testing at the top of the list, defining success metrics, creating a go-to-market strategy, building a strong product team, and getting executive buy-in.

In conclusion, by doing these 10 things, C-suite executives can launch new software products that are good from a user experience (UX) product design point of view.

Enterprise Software Strategy: Maximizing Efficiency and Effectiveness

Firstly, an enterprise software strategy is critical to maximizing efficiency and effectiveness within an organization. It means making a plan for how all of an organization’s software will be used, taking into account business needs, security, scalability, and more. By implementing an effective enterprise software strategy, companies can streamline their operations, reduce costs, and improve collaboration and communication.

Lastly, for an enterprise software strategy to work, it needs to be carefully planned and carried out, with a focus on making sure that technology is aligned with business goals and user needs.

Software Development Best Practices: Creating High-Quality Products

Best practices for software development are important for making high-quality products that meet new user needs and business goals. This means, taking a structured and systematic approach to software development, such as defining clear requirements, designing an architecture that supports scalability and flexibility, putting security and testing first, using agile methods, and making sure the code is good and easy to maintain. By following these best practices, software development teams can produce software that is more efficient, reliable, and user-friendly and that can be more easily maintained and updated over time.

These best practices are important for delivering software that meets the needs of new users while ensuring optimal performance, security, and overall quality.

Streamlining Your Internal Processes with Software Solutions

Streamlining internal processes with software solutions can make businesses much more efficient and save them a lot of money because it involves using software tools to automate and speed up tasks that are done over and over again and take a lot of time, like data entry, file management, and document processing. By using software solutions to streamline internal processes, organizations can improve their workflows, reduce errors, boost productivity, and make it easier for teams to work together.

In addition, it helps organizations stay competitive. Streamlining internal processes with software solutions requires careful planning and implementation, with a focus on aligning technology with business objectives and user needs.

Enterprise Application Strategy: Aligning Your Goals with Technology Solutions

Firstly, developing an enterprise application strategy is critical to aligning business goals with technology solutions. It involves making a plan for developing, deploying, and managing enterprise applications that meet users’ needs and help the business reach its goals.

Lastly, by making sure that business goals and technology solutions are in sync, organizations can improve their efficiency, cut costs, and make it easier for people to work together and talk to each other. For an enterprise application strategy to work, it needs to be carefully planned and carried out, with a focus on making sure that technology is aligned with business goals and user needs.

FAQs

What are the top ten steps C-suite executives should take to successfully introduce new software products?

The Top 10 actions are as follows:

1. Firstly, conduct user research to identify user needs and pain points.
2. Establish clear project goals and success metrics.
3. Create a cross-functional team with representatives from design, development, marketing, and customer support.
4. Develop a user-centered design process that focuses on solving user problems and improving the user experience.
5. Iterate designs and gather feedback from users to ensure the product meets their needs.
6. Prioritize features based on user needs and business goals.
7. Ensure the product is scalable and maintainable to support future growth.
8. Provide training and support to internal teams and external users.
9. Develop a comprehensive launch plan that includes marketing, sales, and support efforts.
10. And lastly, continuously monitor customer feedback and usage data to identify areas for improvement.

Why is user research important in launching new software products?

User research helps to identify user needs which can inform the design and development of a product.

What is a cross-functional team, and why is it important for launching new software products?

It includes representatives from different departments. This team ensures that all aspects of the successful product launch are considered and coordinated to maximize success.

What is a user-centered design process, and why is it important for launching new software products?

A user-centered design process involves focusing on solving user problems and improving the user experience. This process ensures that the product meets the needs of users and is more likely to be successful in the market as a result.

How can iterative design and user feedback improve the user experience of a new software product?

Iterative design and user feedback involve regularly testing and refining the product based on user feedback. As a result, it ensures that the product meets the needs of users and improves the user experience.

Why is it important to prioritize features based on user needs and business goals?

It ensures that the features are developed and that the product meets the needs of users.

What is scalability, and why is it important for launching new software products?

Scalability refers to the ability of a product to handle increased usage and growth over time. This is important because it ensures that the product can support future growth and is not limited by technical constraints.

How can training and support improve the success of a new software product?

Providing training and support to internal teams and external users can help ensure that the product is used effectively and that users have a positive experience. This can lead to increased adoption and success in the market as a result.

Why is a comprehensive launch plan important for launching new software products?

A comprehensive launch plan includes marketing, sales team, and support efforts to ensure that the product is effectively promoted and adopted by users. This can increase the success of the product in the market as a result.

How can monitoring user feedback and usage data improve the success of a new software product?

Monitoring user feedback and usage data can help identify areas for improvement and ensure that the product continues to meet the needs of users. As a result, this can help increase user adoption and success in the market.

IIIMPACT has successfully collaborated with hundreds of companies worldwide helping them create the best user experience, strategy, and product innovation and improving their DevOps and DesignOps processes for a coachable and scalable team.

We help companies create innovative products for energy and renewable green software companies with a user-centered design process that ensures better user engagement, usability, and UX so that your products succeed at scale.

There are a lot of risks and problems that come with launching a software product. Let us help you find your way around these problems and solve some of them so you can feel more confident during the process.

Please drop us a message if you have any questions or would like to see how we can help you create the next innovative product.