In our all-digital world, launching a new product looks a little different than it used to — but there are still lots of ways to do it successfully. All it takes is the right tools and strategies and a lot of teamwork. Here are the four phases that were critical to launching Pardot Premium virtually.
- Prep
- Enable
- Launch & Amplify
- Measure & Repeat
Here’s a closer look at how we executed each phase.
PHASE 1: PREPARE THE PLAN AND BUILD A TEAM
In a virtual environment, preparing for the launch, building a team, and over communicating the strategies with everyone involved was mission critical.
First, we secured approval of our new product name and message from our leadership and clarified our vision for the key launch activities we wanted to execute.
Next, we assembled a great team to ensure the launch would be successful. If you want to spread news about a new product, you have to teach the core group first, so they can incorporate the information and messaging into their own related initiatives.
To build out the team, we recruited representatives from every line of business ranging from enablement gurus, solution engineers, product managers, and social media magicians to community leaders, partner representatives, sales leaders, analysts, campaign managers, and more.
With this Weekly Launch Quip Tracker Template as our guide, we met weekly on a virtual call to align on key deliverables and work as a unit to meet upcoming deadlines.
PHASE 2: ENABLE SELLERS AND GO TO LAUNCH WITH THE RIGHT PROMO ASSETS
Our first set of deadlines involved our internal sellers. We hosted multiple training sessions where we enabled over 300 stakeholders, including more than 200 account executives and more than 85 solution engineers. Next, we made sure to enable key partners so that they were aware of the upcoming news and could help our customers realize the power of Pardot Premium.
Then, it was time to go to launch. To get the word out, we held a successful press event that was attended by 10 global media outlets and 20 analysts. The event has received 10 pieces of coverage to date, including in ZDNet and MarTech Today.
After the press event, we shared the news about Pardot Premium on all of our news and social media channels — more than ten external assets in total. This included a data sheet, webpage updates, a new demo, and blog posts on both the Pardot blog and Salesforce blog.
PHASE 3: KEEP AMPLIFYING AFTER LAUNCH
To bring our community of Pardot marketing champions into the conversation following the launch of Pardot Premium, we created a VIT Twitter campaign called #AskAdam. This gave our marketing champions the opportunity to ask Pardot founder and Salesforce executive, Adam Blitzer, questions about our products for a dedicated set of time, live on Twitter. It was also an engaging way to get the community involved and bring to light what was top of mind for customers and prospects.
The campaign featured 15 different Trailblazers and champions, and it resulted in a total of 66,000 social impressions and 1,400 engagements. Many of our champions have an incredible social media following — and by sharing videos of our executives answering their questions, they helped spread the word about Pardot Premium.
On the sales side, after the launch of Pardot Premium, we ran broader sales training to help amplify the news across our entire sales team. This included a huge training session with hundreds of reps, for which we brought in industry leaders to discuss our customers’ most pressing needs and how Pardot Premium helps. This gave all our salespeople relevant talking points they could use to amplify our message.
To maintain enthusiasm with our internal teams post-launch, we also started showcasing early-deal win stories. We had a net new deal close within seven days of the launch, which drummed up a lot of excitement — and now, we’re doing deal support and smaller enablements for sales teams that request it as we move to release Pardot Premium in other markets around the world.
PHASE 4: MEASURE & REPEAT
Of course, we have pipeline and revenue targets that we’re forecasting for this particular product. Every day we’re thinking about new and innovative ways to bring Pardot Premium to market.
Every quarter, we build out a plan to continue with efforts that drive the most pipeline, and we’re delivering new programs, content, and support based on real-time feedback from our leadership, product, and sales teams.
Even this post is an opportunity to amplify our launch efforts! I also hope it inspires other marketers who are launching products virtually.
- To help you in your virtual launch planning process, check out my Weekly Launch Quip Tracker Template and Weekly Launch Deck Template with examples from the Pardot Premium launch.
- To learn more about Pardot Premium, read the blog post or watch the demo.
