Soft Launch Steps You Have to Know in 2021 Share: Async Labs Date Published 25 August 2021 Categories Blog Reading Time 5-Minute Read Your product launch plays a significant role in how people will understand or come to know your product, service, or offer before it gets in their hands. If you actively work on your business plan, you’ve probably developed a strong brand and have a website by now. But, do you know how to get your business to the market? Let’s explain the tactics and concept of a soft launch you need to implement to create a more successful soft launch strategy. What Is a Soft Launch? The soft launch is the art of introducing your brand to the market quietly. It means that your new app or a website will go live when it’s ready, not on a specific date. Product launch plays a massive role in how people will know and understand the product or service. If you have ever been invited to gain special access to a product, service, or even location before a complete launch, you’ve been a participant in a soft launch that releases a new product to a selected audience. A soft launch, also called a soft opening, is the period when you release an MVP with core features and a unique value proposition. This way, you catch first users and then roll out updates and new features. The goal is to gather data on users and their behavior, find effective ways to promote the product, improve it technically, define success criteria, improve and optimize new launches, etc. In simple words, a soft launch is when you invite your friends and family to come into your business and try your product instead of making it available to the public. Why Do a Soft Launch? More and more companies worldwide now choose a soft launch strategy for launching their new products because it helps you polish and improve your app and ensure that you can quickly get to your target audience. Soft launches can be used to increase the functionality of the website. The best example is Gmail. It was soft-launched in 2005 and fully launched in 2006. Hard Launch vs. Soft Launch A hard launch is when you set a specific date, create excitement, promo, and then launch aggressively. For example, if you have a high-demanding product or a service, it is a valid point to go for a hard launch. A soft launch is one that you gradually start to roll out. You spend a lot of time understanding your customers, methods to attract them, the price points, and you have time to fine-tune it all. One of the famous examples of a soft launch is the popular game Pokémon GO. The game was first released in Australia and New Zealand, following Germany, the UK, and the Mediterranean. Because of its vast popularity, it was forced to launch in just a few days fully. In the end, the game was unplayable because of a tremendous load on the servers. This is an example of legendary success, but it is also a sign that releasing an app too quickly can be tricky. If you don’t build the supporting infrastructure first, things can go in the wrong direction. Another example is Revuto, a blockchain-based solution for all subscriptions, a project our Async Labs team has been working on. Revuto app allows you to manage, track, maintain, and cancel any subscription and prevents unwanted subscription charges. The app was installed 10,000 times in just one week and already got 500 reviews on Google Play. How to Prepare for a Soft Launch? You have to be well prepared and know what you need before starting the soft launch when you go to the market. It is essential to validate technical, content, and usability issues to leverage and minimize the risks. Before starting a soft launch, define the most important elements: Get Early Users Target audience (types of users) Time and budget (define the duration of a soft launch and plan a timeline) Bonus advice: If you do good localization, markets outside the US can be more lucrative because the ads are cheaper and there is less competition. Before launching in the biggest markets like US, Canada, Australia, and the UK, try to test in Brazil, Argentina, or other smaller countries. Define Goals Define what data and metrics you want to track and analyze. Set clear and measurable goals. Measurable Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) allow you to estimate whether your product is performing as expected. Clear KPIs are a good indicator of whether your soft launch is successful or not. Soft Launch Benefits Keep Users Interested When you release new features, you keep your users interested in the product. Early Feedback Releasing an early version of the product help you change the parts of the product according to feedback and see which features to prioritize, modify, add or delete. Cost-Effective Instead of spending budget for the whole app, you can invest your money gradually and monitor the performance. An Additional Level of Testing Soft-launching a product helps you catch the bugs. The early audience can point out any flaws and help you minimize the reputational risks. There are various options for launching a product because every situation and launch is different and unique. Before launching a product or service, make sure you prepare everything you need to leverage and minimize potential risks. Have more questions? Feel free to contact our team of experts at hello@asynclabs.co or get more insights by reading our full article How a Soft Launch Sets You Up For Success.