What needs to be perfect with your product before launch?

Emmanuel Nwosu
97 replies
I've just made the most difficult decision to put off my product launch until after a week later because I thought we are not ready. A few shake-ups here and there. But this, in my opinion, while it is a setback, I see it instead as an opportunity to re-evaluate what we currently have. And make sure we get it right with our launch. We're working on making our product worthy of this community. And we are working hard at it. What is a non-negotiable for product launches in your opinion? Let's hear your thoughts. UPDATE: We finally fixed the issue we had and resolved to go live this Saturday. :) I can't thank you all enough for all your amazing answers. We'll keep working hard on our product even post-launch. But of course, those early feedbacks will be vital to our growth.☺️ We are going live on PH on Saturday. Please find us here: https://www.producthunt.com/prod... Thanks for your support.

Replies

Krishna Kumar
IMHO, nothing will ever be perfect. You can strive towards perfection, but rarely do you achieve it. Therefore, it is ok to launch an "imperfect" product as long as it works and then keep making improvements, particularly if they are based on user feedback just my two bits
Emmanuel Nwosu
@kkumarkg awesome. Thank you for your take on this. Truly, as long as the product works, that is what matters. Incremental progress can always be made afterwards.
Rajiv Dixit
congratulation for launch
Paul Pamfil
This is a really hard Q, personally, I think if something is perfect, you launched to late
Emmanuel Nwosu
@paul_pamfil, wow! This got me thinking a lot.😅 But I understand your point. This is why MVPs exist, isn't it? There's always room for incremental progress. :)
Joe Gonzales
A non-negotiable for product launches in my opinion is ensuring that the core functionality and user experience are flawless. It's crucial to thoroughly test the product, gather user feedback, and iterate until it provides a seamless and satisfying experience for your target audience.
Emmanuel Nwosu
@joe_gonzalez_23 Thoughtful response, Joe. Personally, user experience matters a lot. And it is something I look out for, too. Making things to complicated with your product usage is already one more additional problem than the world needs. Because you may have the solution, but when it's not a pleasurable experience navigating your product, that's not great at all. Thanks for sharing this, Joe.
Tal Buchshreiber
@joe_gonzalez_23 Totally agree about the core functionality. It makes a lot of sense… if feedback about your product is what you’re looking for, you first have to make aure it works well
Jochen Schneider
@joe_gonzalez_23 I definitely agree! Get the UX flawless at least and then iterate and improve as you getting in more feedback.
Sharon Anderson
The product must undergo rigorous testing to ensure functionality, usability, and reliability, meeting all the set specifications. Additionally, we need to confirm that our customer service and support systems are fully operational and prepared to resolve any user concerns post-launch.
Emmanuel Nwosu
@anderson88_s Amazing! Functionality. Usability. Reliability. Very crucial areas, Sharon. This keeps getting insightful. Thanks for your feedback.
Tal Buchshreiber
@emmanuelnwosu since you guys are just about to launch, how are you guys testing your product?
Emmanuel Nwosu
@tal_buchshreiber1 Thanks for your question, Tal. We did a small-hosted beta testing with a few podcasters we enjoyed listening to. And we gathered their responses and performed a sentimental analysis. They were mostly responsive and this spurred us on to continue doing what we're doing. Tomorrow, we'll be going live on Product Hunt. Please support us.🥺
Tal Buchshreiber
@emmanuelnwosu thank you for the detailed answer! Good luck with your launch! You’ve got my support
UTHMAN ABDULRAHIM
If you mean sale pitch I strongly believe that having a social proof after each feature of your product is very important
Emmanuel Nwosu
@uthman_abdulrahim Yeah, I agree, Uthman. This weighs in on how much popularity you garner with the users, isn't it? This is why it is important to LISTEN to what the market needs.
For Klu's launch we focused on perfecting the UX and core functionality 🙂
Charlotte Chiang
Hey, definitely understand where you're coming from. Good for you for making the best decision for your product/company. I agree with many others here that certainly not everything needs to be perfect for launch, but I do think that the 'aha' moment in your product should be evident. Like, that particular flow should be optimised to the best extent possible. If the user is able to recognise core value in your product they will overlook other flaws; if they cannot find the value, the launch is not going to be effective.
Emmanuel Nwosu
@charmandro I agree, Charlotte. While marketing is important, the value seen in a product will always sell itself. Your strategy only amplifies it, in my opinion. Just as the microphone amplifies the voice of a beautiful songstress, who'd still have people listen to her if she sang without a mic. This is another important thing to keep an eye out for, and constantly evaluate to see how well your product, your message, and how its value's stock is performing.
Pranab Buragohain
I don't think one can ever make anything perfect. Waiting to be perfect to launch is almost like shooting self in the foot. When we launched https://kloudmate.com, we just launched a basic MVP to see if there were any takers (validation) before building further.
Emmanuel Nwosu
@pranabgohain Amazing! Core functionality truly matters. Kloudmate looks really good. You must've come a long way with this for sure. That's laudable, Pranab. Let's continue to ship more valuable products into the world.🌟
Pranab Buragohain
@emmanuelnwosu Thanks for saying that! Launching OpenTelemetry integration in less than 3 weeks. Lezzgo! ✊🏼
Luis Eduardo
If you know it’s buggy, delay it. If it doesn’t convey your message, delay it. If it doesn’t have distribution in place, delay it. If it is incomplete, just ship the thing!
Emmanuel Nwosu
@luiseduardodev Okay, it's not buggy.🧐 It conveys our message just great.☺️ There's a distribution strategy in place.🚀 Is it incomplete? Quite, yeah. We've been bootstrapping with limited resources, but we are real proud of how far we've come with this. And can't wait to show it to the world. I'd take your advice, Luis! 😀
Kavita
I think it's hard to ever feel 'ready' when it's your product. I think as long as the product you're launching has some value to someone, then it's a successful launch! Don't forget that you can always launch again and again. Thinking of it as one 'big-bang' release that you have to absolutely get right will just mean you keep putting it off.
Ekrem Çetinkaya
Your feeling about the timing. If you believe its ready to launch, then go for it
Emmanuel Nwosu
@ekrcet Yesss! We are ready! Loose ends are all tied up and we've been listed: https://www.producthunt.com/prod... ☺️ What's most important to us is that our product is valuable to someone. I'm so excited for Saturday!😁
John Carmichael
It guess it totally depends on the kind of product... a simple app, then sure... rough and ready is perfect for PH like: https://www.producthunt.com/prod... We're launching a much bigger concept tomorrow, we did launch with alpha users and early adopters but only with word of mouth and not over a big platform like PH. We're actually launching for the 1st time on PH tomorrow if you would like to follow along and see how it goes: https://www.producthunt.com/prod...
Emmanuel Nwosu
@john_carmichael This looks good, John. I understand it's your first iteration. But the concept is already as valuable as it should be. Wishing you good luck on your launch tomorrow. I've followed already and will be on the test wagon to leave you some claps tomorrow.
John Carmichael
@emmanuelnwosu amazing thank you! we've actually done a few iterations with alpha users and early business accounts. However, this is the 1st time "out in the open" so to speak :)
John Carmichael
@emmanuelnwosu you can see the previous launch of mine last month on this discussion https://www.producthunt.com/disc...
Nicola Vargiu
That’s a really hard question to answer because it depends on your startup situation and what are your goals for the launch (get leads, testers, attract investors). However, based on my experience of launching multiple projects, I can confidently say that the most important thing is the product itself. Meaning that it should possess the following qualities: 1. Be 'almost' bug-free 2. Have a well-designed user onboarding process 3. Have an intuitive and user-friendly interface Everything else comes later. Hope it helps!
Benjamin Zutes
I actually think the purpose of the launch is to make the product even better. More people will get to use your product = more feedbacks coming your way. But just make sure the product is bug free and has a good UI.
Steven Diffey
The list of things that you want to learn
JD
Ensure that the product is ready for prime time. This includes testing the product thoroughly, making sure the user experience is smooth and intuitive. Additionally, the product should be properly documented and be ready to scale and handle a large influx of users.
Aleksej Vukomanovic
Good luck with your future launch! For me non-negotial for product launch is underdelivering - by that I mean not including the crucial features that users would need to fully experience the solution. Even during MVP advanced features can be built on over time as updates but key features that bring value should be included from the start
James Hallahan
The balance between nothing and everything. Nothing should be perfect, but we want everything to be perfect.
Prabhdeep Singh
Many people are struggling with the concept of a "perfect" product. While it's a difficult question to answer definitively, I think it's safe to say that perfection is subjective and varies from person to person. The best thing you can do as a product creator is to launch your product, listen to your users' feedback, and continue to improve upon it. As you gather more insights and data, you'll be better equipped to make decisions that align with your users' needs and preferences. Ultimately, the goal is to create a product that meets the needs and wants of your target audience, and that's a process that takes time and iteration.
Emmanuel Nwosu
@prabhdeepssingh We're now launching in two days; please feel free to click here https://www.producthunt.com/prod... to get notified when we go live.