Last Week, David Daniels of LaunchClinic interviewed me here on the integration of Sales and Marketing especially when launching a new product or release. My thoughts are mostly applicable for business to business launches.
Excerpting:
"Imagine a product launch with a tight web site, brilliantly executed analyst meetings, and maybe even a snappy video for a trade show. After these events and tasks are complete, marketing execs tell sales, “Go Sell! The market is waiting!” What happens next? Sellers go out and have conversations with prospective buyers. What are these sellers saying, asking? Does marketing and product management even know? How do they or sales management audit those conversations? Is there a feedback mechanism for buyers? Usually, there is no pattern or roadmap for these discussions. Largely, sellers are winging it. Marketing, then, has lost control of the message. "
In Summary:
A product launch takes planning and should involve product development, management, marketing and sales and customer feedback.
