The Last Five Yards...

The project team has been running down the field for months with the product, making plays and blocking / tackling issues. Finally, you're five yards from the end zone- the big launch. The project manager is weary, the developers are itching to go-live and management is beyond ready to get it into the hands of customers.

The last five yards before product launch is when your customers will first begin to truly experience what you've worked so hard to bring this far. The last five yards is a make or break effort; it can't be minimized or thrown together with a couple of last minute emails.

To help both project teams and customers prepare for a big win, here are my four D's of effective communication for product launches.

1- Define- your stakeholders (who has a vested interest in the product launch), your audience (who you'll be communicating to), communication channels (how you'll be connecting with your audiences), change impact and other key milestones for the project. This activity should occur at the beginning of the project.

2- Develop- a communication plan and strategy, in any format that works for your organization. Work with the project team and leadership to create clear messaging so everyone is consistent about how the product will help customers and why you're doing it. This will be used throughout the project and provide a foundation for all communications, so spend some time to gain alignment. Develop a matrix including high-level communication topics (prep for go-live, training resources, launch is coming, launch is here, etc.) and map that audiences, channels, etc. When you're finished you'll have something that looks like this...

As the launch date approaches, add in dates and details. Work on deliverables early (even if they are in draft stage until more information becomes available).

3- Deploy- Begin to send the approved communications as scheduled, keeping close tabs on any new or last minute information that might arise (whoops! we forgot we need customers to do x as well). Through informal and formal feedback, uncover the common questions and consider adding to FAQs.

4- Discuss- After the launch you'll want to celebrate in the end zone, but remember it's not over. It's really just the beginning of another sprint to help customers adopt new features and tools. Think about continuing communications to support ongoing training. Fire up the internal PR machine and capture some positive results from customers using the tool to share with other customers. Hearing something positive from a peer can be very powerful in helping a reluctant customer try out something new.

Meet with the project team and find out what went well and what could've been improved. Send a survey to customers to measure their perceptions of the change. Communication is never perfect, and can always be improved if you keep your ears open to feedback.

As a final thought, whatever you do, don't rush the last five yards and end up with an embarrassing fumble. You've put in too much work to get this far and not hear the applause of the crowd!