Launch plan, step by step
Here is what each phase of the timeline asks of you. You can run these as a checklist with dates.
Phase 1. Decide the basics (weeks 12 to 8 before)
Start with the questions in our go-to-market strategy guide: one buyer group, one clear promise, a price that leaves a margin after every cost. Add one route to the buyer. If you skip this, every later task gets harder.
Then talk to buyers. Ask ten people in your group what they use today, what annoys them and what they paid last time. Eric Ries's Lean Startup method says to find the problem first and build a basic version, so you start learning from customers as early as you can (theleanstartup.com). Your first launch can be that basic version.
Phase 2. Build and check (weeks 8 to 5 before)
Finish the product, the name, the pack and the label. Our packaging design and branding pages show how we think about this stage. Take photos and write the product page. Write down the price, the delivery time and the return terms in plain words.
Check your label before it goes to print. For a package meant for retail sale, rule 6(1) of the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011 lists what the package must show. In the text we read, that includes:
- The name and address of the manufacturer, and of the packer or importer where they differ.
- The country of origin, for imported products.
- The common or generic name of what is inside.
- The net quantity, in standard units or by number.
- The month and year of making.
- The retail sale price, shown as the maximum retail price (MRP) inclusive of all taxes.
The same rule sends food packages to the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 for the date declaration, and cosmetics to the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945. Other products may need other approvals. Ask a CA or lawyer, or the regulator for your product, what applies, and use the current Gazette text, not our summary.
Check your claims too. The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) Code, chapter I, says claims of fact must be capable of proof, and ads must not mislead by implication, omission, ambiguity or exaggeration. Words like "new", "first" and "pure" are claims. Keep the proof in a folder.
Phase 3. Test with a small group (weeks 5 to 3 before)
Put the product in the hands of a small group from your buyer list. This can be a sample batch, a pilot in one market, or a WhatsApp pre-order list. Watch what they do, not only what they say. Do they order again? Do they ask the same question twice?
Fix what you learn. This is the build, measure and learn loop that Ries describes. It lets you change the plan in small steps instead of waiting for a full launch to show you the problem.
Brief your dealers or shops in this phase. Tell them the buyer, the promise, the price, the margin and how to explain the product in one minute.
Phase 4. Get ready (weeks 3 to 1 before)
- Tracking. Decide how you will count enquiries and orders by source. A simple sheet works if it is filled in daily.
- Order process. Do one dry run from enquiry to delivery. Note every point where it jams.
- Team. Give sales and support a one-page script: the promise, the price, the top five questions and who to call when stuck.
- Stock. Check that the first route has enough, and that the next batch is booked.
- Content and ads. Prepare posts, messages and ads that repeat the same promise. Get approvals now.
- One contact point. Pick one phone number and one WhatsApp number buyers can reach, and say who answers.
Phase 5. Launch week
Go live in the one route and city you chose. Do not wait for perfect. Do keep one person in charge who can make decisions on the day.
- Read the numbers at the same time each day: enquiries, orders, calls missed and complaints.
- Reply to every enquiry quickly. A late reply on launch week loses the buyer you paid to reach.
- Keep a log of problems and fixes, with the date and the owner.
If your launch needs a live event or a dealer meet, see our product launch events page. An event is one tool inside the plan. It is not the plan.
Phase 6. The weeks after launch (weeks 1 to 12 after)
This is where many launches go quiet. The posts stop, the team moves to the next job, and nobody reads the numbers. Set a review at the end of week one, week four and week twelve.
- Week one: fix urgent problems in the order process, the pack or the message.
- Week four: compare enquiries, orders and cost per order with your targets. Decide what to change.
- Week twelve: decide to widen to the next buyer group or city, hold, or change the plan.
A made-up example
Say a small firm makes steel lunch boxes for school children. This is a made-up firm and made-up choices. At twelve weeks before, it picks one group: parents of primary school children in one city. It talks to ten parents and hears the same complaint three times: lids that leak.
At eight weeks before it redesigns the lid, and checks the label for the maker's name and address, the net quantity and the MRP. At five weeks before it hands 40 boxes to parents and asks for honest feedback. At three weeks before it briefs two stationery shops near schools and sets up a WhatsApp order list.
At launch it sells through those two shops and the WhatsApp list, in that one city only. At week four it reads the numbers and finds that repeat orders are strong but one shop sells little. It moves its stock and adds a third shop. It does not enter a second city until week twelve. This is a made-up case. It shows the shape of the plan, not a result.
Who does what
- Owner or business head: the buyer, the promise, the price and the final yes.
- Product or operations lead: the product, the pack, stock and delivery.
- Sales head: dealers, shops, scripts and daily numbers.
- Marketing lead: message, content, ads and tracking.
- Support lead: answers, complaints and the list of questions buyers ask.
- CA or lawyer, on call: labels, tax and claims.
In a small firm, one person may hold three of these roles. That is fine. The point is that every task has a name next to it.
What a launch costs, in kind
We give no figures, because every launch differs. List your own lines. They usually include product and sample costs, and pack design and printing. Add photos, a product page and a small test. Then count stock, dealer support, ads or an event, staff time and professional help for rules. Add a reserve for fixes you cannot predict.
Set a limit for the test phase first. Spend more only when the numbers from the test justify it.
Common mistakes, and the fix
- Treating launch day as the plan. Fix: plan the weeks on both sides, and book the reviews.
- Launching in many cities at once. Fix: start in one route and one city, and widen when the numbers hold.
- Printing before checking labels. Fix: check the declarations and claims before the design is final.
- Dealers who were never briefed. Fix: give them the promise, price, margin and a one-minute explanation.
- No order process test. Fix: run one order end to end before the day.
- Judging by likes and views. Fix: judge by enquiries, orders, repeat orders and margin.
How to measure the launch
Use the numbers you set in your GTM plan. If you have not set any, set three now. Our marketing plan guide shows how to turn them into monthly targets.
- Enquiries and orders by source, so you know which route and channel worked.
- Cost to win one order, counting ads, samples, event cost and staff time you can value.
- Repeat orders after 30 or 60 days, for products people buy again.
- Reasons for no, written down in the buyer's words.
- Margin on real orders, after dealer margin, delivery and returns.
Write down what you will change if a number misses its target.
When to ask for help
Ask for help when the team cannot agree on the first buyer. Ask when a launch involves many cities or partners. Ask when you have never briefed dealers. Outside eyes also help to check the plan for gaps before the money is spent.
Bring your timeline and checklist to the first conversation. Any adviser can then start from your facts.
