Well I made it!  Made it through to the other end of the QuanSite.com launch.  It’s been a fun ride and a great learning experience.

Here’s what I learned:

1. No matter how much time you give yourself for a launch, it’s never enough. Expect many sleepless nights and last minute things that need to be taken care of.  You can minimize the impact of the little things by planning out your launch two or three weeks in advance.

2. Test, test, test and then test again! In addition to testing your product (if it’s a software product), you need to test the sales process from start to finish – many times in all browsers before you launch.  Make sure people can order and pay via credit card (or paypal if you offer that option).  Make sure they can reach the download page and can download the product.  Make sure they know how to reach support if they have a problem.  Test everything!

3. Minimize technical snafus by planning ahead. Nothing is more frustrating than having your sales site go down during a launch – especially when it means a loss of potential sales.  The iQuanSite.com launch team planned for the increase in traffic by installing additional RAM on the server and caching parts of the salespage, as well as ensuring the server admin was monitoring the server during high load periods and having a Plan B should something go awry.

3. Make sure support is on hand during the launch period. The support team should be on hand to deal with any issues as they arise.  Both technical support to manage server issues and the customer support team to manage any new customer questions.  Make sure the entire team is up to speed on the offer and how to answer common questions as well as know the escalation path should they need to raise an issue.

4. Set goals. How do you define success?  What’s your measure of a successful launch?  The iQuanSite.com launch team had very specific goals and milestones that needed to be achieved.  They also closely monitored sales and reacted quickly if there was a dip in sales as it indicated a potential technical problem.

5. Review. Once you’re on the other side of the launch, sit down with your team and review the launch process.  Even if you’re an old hand at launches, you can learn something new from each one.  Analyze all systems.  Did you meet your goals?  Were there any customer service problems that indicate a hole in your sales process?  Was your team proactive and responsive?  By analyzing the launch a few weeks past the crunch period, you’ll be able to improve your systems and processes and ensure an even greater launch next time.