4 Areas for Product Rollout Success
So, you’ve signed the big deal and you’re ready to rollout the red carpet for your new big customer…or are you? For many companies, they think that once a new enterprise customer is signed, it’s time to celebrate and it’s smooth sailing from there. The truth is though, this is where the next phase of your work starts and will determine if you’ll have a successful long-term customer or one that’s ready to leave right when the contract is up. Gaining alignment and buy-in from your internal rollout team and the customer is critical starting from the first call post-signed contract and in fact should start even right before the contract is signed. Below are four areas that I’ve found SaaS companies ensure to have their teams aligned on and know the answers for to get a new client relationship off and running in the right direction.
1. Product Purchased
Not everyone on your first post-sales call will have been involved in the sales process and know the ins and outs of what was purchased or know the contract terms. For instance, the executive sponsor (buyer) is most likely more well versed in the agreement then the marketing team lead who will drive communications post-sales. However, the marketing lead is going to be one of the most important individuals on your customer’s team to help drive product adoption and engagement once the rollout starts.
2. Partnership Priority Level
With most enterprise deals, you can fully expect that your product rollout is just one of many initiatives they have prioritized for the year. The biggest question will be, where does your rollout rank amongst those other initiatives in priority level? Gaining clarity on this pre-sale and then communicating it immediately post-sales will greatly help you stay at the top of the heap when you need to ask for marketing help to push adoption or engagement of your product.
3. Success Criteria
Do you have a measured approach for what success looks like after rollout? Well it’s guaranteed that your customer will have one along with expectations which may be even loftier. Starting to set these expectations pre-sales and then have the full rollout team align on during your kick-off call is extremely important. Get that buy-in so you don’t have to constantly chase a moving target goal throughout year one of your deal.
4. Recommended Rollout Dates
When, to who and how are very important questions when planning a product rollout with your customer. Related to the priority level question, there will be a variety of conflicting initiatives your client may have which can impact your rollout date. Most likely your client will have a date they want to rollout, but it’s important here for you to make the recommendation since your company knows best how to implement and effectively rollout your product better than your customer. So, have a timeframe in mind you know could work for your customer, but also not terrify your internal teams who are going to want more time. It’s a difficult push/pull dance that effective customer teams know to be mindful of.
