The Art of the Soft Launch: A Step-by-Step Guide for Startup Success
Starting a new business can be exhilarating. You have a great idea, you’ve done your research, and you’re ready to dive in. But before shouting your idea from the rooftops, it’s wise to do a “soft launch” first.
A soft launch allows you to quietly introduce your product or service to a small test group. You can gather feedback, work out any kinks, and adjust your strategy before the big public reveal. Done right, soft launching sets your startup on the path to success.
Here’s a step-by-step guide to mastering the art of the startup soft launch:
Define Your Goals
Before anything else, get crystal clear on what you want to achieve with your soft launch. This focuses your efforts and helps measure success.
Potential soft launch goals include:
- Testing your minimum viable product (MVP) – Releasing an early, basic version to see if it solves your target customer’s problem.
- Gauging demand – Do people get excited about your product? Will they pay for it? A soft launch lets you find out.
- Finding your ideal customer – Discover who resonates most with your offering so you can tailor to them.
- Shaking out operational issues – Work out kinks in your production, packaging, shipping, staffing, etc.
- Gathering feedback – Identify improvements to make before your official launch.
- Building buzz – Get people intrigued and wanting more.
Be as specific as possible with your goals. And focus on the one or two most important to start.
Choose Your Soft Launch Audience
A common soft launch mistake is rolling out too broadly too soon. Better to start hyper-targeted.
Identify a small, specific audience for your test launch. Possibilities include:
- Existing contacts – People you already know are a great soft launch group. Offer them early access and incentives.
- Engaged followers – Offer your MVP to loyal social media followers and email subscribers first.
- Influencers – Give free products to respected voices in your niche. They’ll spread the word.
- Local groups – A book club, CrossFit gym, or industry association make an engaged focus group.
- Beta testers – Offer special early access to people willing to give detailed feedback.
The more your test audience matches your end customer, the better. But for MVP testing, even gathering informed feedback from smart people outside your niche can be super valuable.
Craft Your Soft Launch Offer
Now it’s time to make your soft launch audience an offer they can’t resist.
Some possible options:
- Discounted pricing – Offer the product at a lower price, free, or bonus included. This incentivizes sign-ups.
- Limited access – “First 100 people only” creates urgency and buzz.
- Early release – Give access to the MVP before the public launch. People feel special.
- Free trial extensions – If you already have a product, give longer free trials.
- Exclusive content – Free bonus materials, early-access webinars and demos add value.
- Money-back guarantee – Reduce risk for early adopters.
- Referral rewards – Encourage sharing with friends for more rewards.
A compelling, scarce offer helps get people excited to try your MVP.
Prepare Your MVP
Your minimum viable product should have just enough features to be usable and testable. Polish will come later.
Some tips for effective MVPs:
- Focus on core functionality – What must it do to solve the customer’s problem?
- Simplify and streamline – Include only essential features and displays.
- Use placeholders – Mock up nice graphics if needed vs. leaving things blank.
- Make it demonstrable – Have a working prototype ready to show.
- Document it – Write simple instructions and guides.
- Check it twice – Test everything thoroughly yourself first.
The MVP may be rough around the edges, and that’s okay. You want just enough to properly evaluate it and get helpful feedback.
Brief Your Team
If you have a team, brief them thoroughly on the soft launch plan and their roles.
Ensure everyone understands:
- The goals, timeline, and measures of success
- Who the test audience is
- What the offer or incentive is
- How customers will provide feedback
- How to handle questions and issues
- When and how to escalate
- How feedback will be incorporated
With a lean startup team, clearly communicate responsibilities. Assign who will handle what areas from product prep to customer communication and more.
Market Strategically
You don’t want a big flashy marketing campaign for a soft launch. The idea is to start small and controlled.
Some solid soft launch marketing tactics:
- Email subscribers – Send a special announcement just to your list.
- Social media teasers – Intriguing hints of what’s to come on your startup’s accounts.
- Influencer seeding – Send product freebies to key people who will spread the word.
- Targeted ads – Very focused Facebook/Instagram ads aimed just at your test audience.
- Partnership promos – Joint announcements, giveaways or promotions with strategic partners.
- Referrals – Incentivize early users to tell friends.
- Local media – Pitch stories to niche local publications.
Avoid mass media exposure too soon. Soft launches build buzz through controlled, targeted promotion.
Collect Feedback
Here’s the fun part – seeing real people interact with your product!
Be strategic in how you gather user feedback:
- Surveys – Well-crafted survey questions help quantify reactions.
- Interviews – Video chats let you ask probing questions.
- Focus groups – Group discussions uncover how people interact.
- App feedback forms – Easy comment forms right in your product.
- User tests – Watching real people use it reveals pain points.
- Analytics – Website/app data shows what people do.
- Reviews – Comments and ratings on app stores.
- Support tickets – Common questions indicate where clarity is needed.
Take the time to gather as much feedback as possible from your soft launch users. This data is incredibly valuable.
Make Improvements
Now the real work begins!
Analyze all the feedback and data gathered. Look for:
- Common Criticisms – Complaints that many users mention reveal needed fixes.
- Surprising reactions – Note areas that didn’t work as expected.
- Usability issues – Where did people struggle to use it?
- Missing elements – What did people wish it could also do?
- Poorly performing areas – Analytics can identify weak spots.
Compile all the insights and deliberate carefully on what changes would help the most. This is where major improvements happen!
Test Again
Once you tweak your product based on soft launch feedback, it’s smart to test it again.
Consider doing a second soft launch round to:
- Test usability fixes – See if the changes you made improve performance.
- Evaluate new features – Try adding some of the “wish list” items people requested.
- Optimize onboarding – Try alternate explanations and setup flows if needed.
- Confirm messaging – Present it differently based on how people respond.
- Solidify knowledge – Let new staff get experience in a low-stakes environment.
- Build more buzz – Use new testers to further spread the word.
Each round of your soft launch will continue to refine and improve your product.
Time the Full Launch
Once you’ve achieved your core soft launch goals, it’s go time! But timing is important.
Factor in:
- Fixes and upgrades – Be sure to complete planned improvements first.
- Holidays – Avoid busy times when your message may get lost.
- Other launches – Don’t compete with news from giants in your industry.
- PR pitches – Line up press coverage to coincide with launch.
- Ad budgets – Have all your marketing materials and paid ads ready.
- Staffing – Have enough trained support people to handle increased volumes.
Pick your timing carefully for maximum impact. Let your new baby bird fly high!
Learn and Adapt
The soft launch process doesn’t end after the full public unveiling.
Keep gathering feedback, analyzing data, and tweaking your product over time.
The learnings from your initial soft launch users gave you a head start. But you’ll continue to refine and improve with every new wave of customers.
Soft launching established a smart iterative process. Keep spiraling upwards on that cycle, and your startup will thrive!
In Summary
Soft launching sets startups on a path to success long before the big public reveal. Done right, it:
- Gives valuable data to maximize your chances.
- Builds hype and word-of-mouth intrigue.
- Smoothes out kinks in operations and messaging.
- Steadily improves the customer experience.
- Focuses marketing dollars for maximum impact.
This step-by-step guide equips you to squeeze every last drop of learning from your initial soft launch. Applying those lessons positions your startup for a high-flying public launch and long-term prosperity.
The art of the soft launch isn’t always intuitive. But master it, and give your startup the priceless advantage of entering the market quietly yet powerfully.
