What is a good marketing launch checklist?

All marketing launches have critical due dates and cross-functional dependencies. The amount of work and number of people to coordinate will depend on the complexity of whatever you are introducing. But there will always be a lot to keep track of if you want things to go smoothly.

Many high-performing marketing managers use launch checklists to avoid missing important steps. Checklists are a simple technique to help you remember it all — the tasks, the timing, the impacted teams, and everything else you need to complete your launch.

Why do marketing managers need launch checklists?

Marketing teams bring many different things to life, such as announcing new products, initiating new programs, and rolling out campaigns. Each one will require different promotional assets and activities, as well as internal communication and training. Checklists help you consider all the areas of the business that will be impacted.

When you share a detailed checklist with your teammates, you help set expectations for the work that needs to get done. Aligning everyone around a common approach will help your cross-functional launch activities go much more smoothly.

Get started on your checklist by figuring out what you need to make your launch successful. Remember to establish the goals of your launch first. Then consider the following questions:

  1. What are the goals of the launch?

  2. What are the key messages?

  3. What marketing materials do you need to create or update?

  4. Which other teams in your company will be impacted?

  5. Is it newsworthy enough to share with your customers, analysts, and/or press?

What is included in a marketing launch checklist?

We have provided an overview of common assets and activities in the table below to help you create your own checklist. You might organize yours by activity, function, or chronologically. And be sure to tailor your list based on your own team, product, company, and customers.

Phase

Activities

Definition

  • Channel definition — Choose the places where you will promote the launch with email, social media posts, ads, and any other marketing channels your company uses.

  • Creative brief — Help your marketing team or agency understand the vision, target audience, and value you will deliver with a creative brief or positioning.

  • Deliverables — List out the new or updated assets you will need to produce, including specifications for all the visual and written content from ads to white papers.

  • Launch date — Coordinate a set date to work towards with other teams involved.

Assets and promotion

  • Advertising — Decide if you will run paid search, paid social, or retargeting ads.

  • Content — Create content such as blog posts, emails, videos, webinars, and landing pages. Update your website with new screenshots and copy.

  • Social media — Evaluate how you will message your launch on social channels.

Communication

  • Communications plan — Plan how you will announce your launch both internally and externally. This includes how you will tell your customers, as well as any analyst outreach and media relations.

  • Partners — Provide messaging and materials to your partners and affiliates so they can help promote your launch.

Sales support

  • Documentation — Create reference materials with launch details. For example, a product update may include support articles, release notes, and technical requirements.

  • Sales enablement and training — Conduct training for customer-facing teams, including sales, customer success, and support. Create or update sales collateral, such as competitor comparisons, pitch decks, and case studies.

Performance

  • Success metrics — Determine how you will measure the results and ensure tracking is in place to provide insights into engagement and conversion rates.

  • Results — Analyze engagement metrics to determine if your launch was successful. Compile a performance overview to share with your teammates and stakeholders.

  • Follow up — Collect feedback from customers and internal teams. Produce customer stories about the value the launch provided if applicable.

Build a template for future success

Your work does not happen in isolation — everything you do ultimately impacts the experience prospective and current customers have when evaluating and interacting with your company. So it is important to think broadly about all of the touchpoints in your customer journey.

Once you have created a comprehensive checklist, build a template to use for future marketing launches. Standardizing your activities will help you establish an efficient, repeatable launch process. You will also set clear expectations across internal teams, whether they are directly contributing or simply need to be informed.

Next time you are planning a marketing launch, you can simply choose the relevant items from your predefined checklist. Iterate as you go by updating your template with new learnings. This way, you will keep achieving launch success that drives business growth.

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