Most launches don't fail on launch day. They fail six weeks before it — when nobody decided who the product is really for, the price was picked on gut feel, and the first content was made the night before.
This is the plan we use with clients. It isn't magic; it's an order of work. Each phase ends with something written down that you keep.
Before you start: one page, three answers
Before week one, write one page that answers three questions. If you can't, the launch will drift.
- Who exactly is this for? Not "women 25–40" — a specific person with a specific problem.
- Why would they choose you over what they use today? One sentence, in their words.
- What does success look like at day 90? A number you can measure: customers, revenue, leads, retention.
Phase 1 — Discover (weeks 1–2)
The goal is to replace assumptions with evidence.
- Customer conversations. Talk to 8–15 people who match your buyer. Ask what they use now, what annoys them and what they paid. Don't pitch.
- Competitor teardown. Collect your top five competitors' websites, ads, prices, reviews and social content. Note what they all say — that's the noise you need to stand out from.
- Category and channel research. Where does this buyer actually discover and buy products like yours? Search, marketplaces, Instagram, WhatsApp groups, retail, a sales call?
- Your numbers. Margin, expected repeat rate and what a customer is worth to you. This decides how much you can afford to spend to win one.
You keep: a short research summary and a one-line problem statement.
Phase 2 — Plan (weeks 3–4)
Now make the decisions that everything else depends on.
- Positioning. One clear reason to choose you, and three proof points that back it up.
- Offer and price. Your price point, your launch offer (if any) and what you will not discount. Check it against your margin, not just against competitors.
- Channel plan. Two or three channels to start with — not eight. Pick the ones where your buyer already is.
- Budget split. How much goes to content, paid media, creators, search and retention in the first 90 days.
- The 90-day calendar. Every week from now to day 90: what goes live, who owns it, what you'll measure.
You keep: a positioning framework, a pricing decision, the channel plan, the budget split and the calendar.
Phase 3 — Build (weeks 5–8)
Build the things launch day needs, and test them quietly.
- Landing page or product page written around your positioning, with one clear action.
- Tracking. Analytics, conversion events and pixels set up and tested before any money is spent.
- Launch content. A first batch: hero video, short-form clips, static images, product photography and the copy for ads, emails and listings.
- Creators and partners. Shortlist, brief and contract creators early — good ones book up.
- Pre-launch build-up. A waitlist, teasers, founder posts, early access for a small group — something that means day one isn't a cold start.
- Soft test. A small paid test of two or three messages to see which one people actually click and buy from.
Phase 4 — Launch (weeks 9–10)
Launch week is execution, not invention. Everything should already exist.
- Turn on the planned channels in the planned order.
- Publish creator content in a tight window so it compounds.
- Watch the numbers daily: traffic, conversion rate, cost per customer, and where people drop off.
- Fix the obvious leaks fast — a broken checkout or a confusing page matters more than a new ad.
Phase 5 — The first 60 days (weeks 11–13 and beyond)
The launch isn't the finish line; it's the first real data you've had.
- Weekly scorecard. The same five or six numbers every week, compared with the targets from your one-page brief.
- Double down. Move budget toward the channels and messages that are working. Pause the ones that aren't — quickly.
- Retention. Welcome emails or WhatsApp messages, a review request, and a reason to buy again.
- The day-60 review. What worked, what didn't, what you'll change for the next 90 days.
The mistakes we see most often
- Spending on media before the page converts.
- Launching on five channels at once and doing all of them badly.
- Discounting on day one and never recovering the price.
- No tracking, so nobody can say what worked.
- Treating launch day as the end instead of the start.
Want a hand with yours?
This is the exact sequence behind our Launch Strategy work. If you're launching something in the next few months, a free 30-minute call will tell you which phase to protect first.