Blog Post

Every launch is a gamble—but that doesn’t mean you should go in blind.

Over the years, I’ve worked with brands excited about what they’ve built. They’ve done the product development, polished the messaging, even prepped the ad campaigns. But when it came time to launch, things unraveled. Budgets exploded. Timelines stretched. And the question everyone asked: “What went wrong?”

Most of the time, the real answer came from what didn’t happen before the launch.

Here’s how I help clients avoid those expensive errors—by doing the right things before they go live.

• How I confirm a product actually fits the market
  
• What steps I take before buying any data
  
• My trusted pre-launch checklist
  
• Common costs that sneak into launch budgets
  
• Questions I ask myself and my clients before giving the green light
  

Let’s get one thing clear: your product is not the star. The customer’s problem is.

Too often, I see businesses fall in love with the solution they’ve created. They’ve spent months building it, so it must be useful, right? Not necessarily. The first thing I ask is: “Who’s struggling with this problem? And is it painful enough for them to pay for a solution?”

This isn’t theory. I’ve seen companies rush to market with beautiful tech that no one needed. They had a product. They didn’t have a problem worth solving.

Skip this part, and the rest of your launch doesn’t matter.

I don’t trust hunches. I trust feedback.

Market fit isn’t something you assume—it’s something you test. Interviews, surveys, keyword trend analysis, and even early sign-up pages can tell you a lot about interest. I often use tools like Google Trends, or more targeted insights from my market research stack, to confirm there’s real appetite.

It’s a process I walk through in Market & Competitor Research 101. If you’re still working off intuition instead of information, that’s your first risk.

You could have the next big thing… and still get outmaneuvered by someone who launched first or priced better.

Before I help a client launch anything, I go deep into competitor positioning. What do similar products cost? What claims are others making? Where are they advertising? What are their reviews complaining about?

I cover several of these strategies in 5 Proven Techniques to Analyze Your Competitors. You don’t need to copy your competitors—but you do need to understand how you’re different. Or better.

Here’s something I’ve learned the hard way: not all datasets are created equal.

I once worked with a vendor who promised complete physician data for a therapeutic category. We ran a test sample. Over 70% of specialties were “unknown.” That “deal” could have sunk the campaign if we hadn’t checked.

Before I select a data provider, I always ask:

• How is the data collected?
  
• How often is it refreshed?
  
• What’s the projection methodology?
  
• Are there hidden fees?
  

I shared a detailed breakdown of my process in this post. Trust me—cutting corners here leads to bigger losses later.

Your launch is not the moment to find out what’s broken.

Even simple A/B campaigns or soft launches can uncover friction points. I’ve used micro-tests to evaluate everything from landing page effectiveness to message resonance. It doesn’t need to be expensive. In fact, it should be lean.

The real value comes from what you learn. Small tests protect big budgets.

This is one of the most underestimated steps—and one of the most dangerous to skip.

Your sales, marketing, customer support, and operations teams need to be fully aligned. It doesn’t matter how good your product is if no one knows how to explain it or support it.

Before any go-live, I hold a readiness check. I want to know:

• Who owns each part of the customer journey?
  
• What happens if a spike in demand breaks something?
  
• Are we prepared to pivot if initial feedback is off?
  

Assumptions kill launches. Preparation saves them.

I’ve never seen a launch go exactly as planned. Ever.

Unexpected costs will show up. Platform bugs, new compliance issues, last-minute tool upgrades—it’s all happened. I always recommend adding a 10-15% contingency buffer to any launch budget.

It’s not about being paranoid. It’s about not being surprised.

Here’s what I run through with every client before I give the go-ahead:

• Confirm there’s real product-market fit, based on actual user data
  
• Review all messaging for clarity, differentiation, and tone
  
• Audit the datasets being used—check sources, sample quality, and update timing
  
• Confirm every team knows their launch-day roles and fallback plans
  
• Launch a small-scale test with real users
  
• Set up dashboards to monitor performance metrics live
  
• Hold a final sign-off meeting (no exceptions, no assumptions)
  

If something’s missing from that list, we pause. No shortcuts.

Launching well isn’t about chasing perfection. It’s about knowing you’ve covered the right ground before stepping on it.

Product launch mistakes don’t usually come from poor ideas—they come from poor planning. The wrong data, the wrong timing, the wrong expectations. My job is to help you avoid all of that by building your strategy on facts, not guesswork.

If you’re still shaping your approach and want to start from the beginning, this beginner’s guide is a great next step.

Want me to take a look at your launch plan? Let’s make sure you’re not about to learn an expensive lesson.