How do you measure your product launch success against competitors?

If you want to keep it really simple, there are only 3 metrics that matter if you net it out. 1. Sales of the new product. 2. Adoption of the new product. 3. Customer retention on the product. Other metrics like trials and conversions are interesting but ultimately don't matter that much if customers don't buy it, use and find value for the long haul. Don't be obsessed with competitors. Focus more on how the product is performing against your own goals. Once you get good traction with sales and customer success stories, then you'll have a better feel for how to take on your competition.

- Signup and conversions: How many signups did you receive and what's your conversion rate? - Customer acquisition and retention: How many new customers did you acquire through your product launch? How many of your existing customers have renewed or upgraded their subscriptions? - Product usage and engagement: How often are your customers using your product? How long are they spending using it? - Brand awareness and reputation: How aware are potential customers of your product? What is their perception of your brand? - Market share: What percentage of the market do you own for your product? How does this compare to your competitors?

Take Apple's iPhone launches as an example. They meticulously track sales volume, average order value, and customer lifetime value, ensuring each release outperforms the last. Brand metrics, such as awareness, recall, and sentiment, play a pivotal role. Coca-Cola's product launches, for instance, hinge on assessing how new products resonate with consumers, impacting brand sentiment.

Customer VIDEO testimonials are huge here. When you are a small company creating transformation and outcomes for customers, you can not only celebrate your products success but also the outcome success that your customers have experienced.

You should never launch a new product without customer testimonials. It's imperative that you have proof points to your value story, and nothing you say matters as much as customers that are using the product and have success metrics to support your value messages! Getting customers involved early in the requirements and design phases is the easiest way to launch with references.

Few points that are relevant to B2B Space: Partnerships & Alliances: - Measure the number and quality of your partnerships and integrations post-launch. - Compare these with known competitor collaborations and market announcements. Regulatory & Compliance: - Track your product's compliance certifications and industry-specific standards. - Benchmark against competitor's publicly advertised compliance achievements.