What is the role of a product launch manager? That’s a question I’ve been delving deep into over the few days.

The simple answer is this. A product launch manager makes lots of money for the client by marrying their great product with her great strategy. She  takes the assets of the client, create a killer marketing strategy, add the tactical elements recommended by marketing gurus like Jeff Walker, Frank Kern & Rich Schefren and voila – instant success!

While this is definitely an aspect of what a product launch manager does it is by no means the ONLY thing that she does.

Since I’ve returned from Jeff Walker’s event in Los Angeles I’ve really been ramping up my business. I’ve been entertaining larger and larger projects and this has given me pause for thought. Since the projects that I’m undertaking now are much bigger I’ve really begun to dissect the process and map it out so the margin of error in my product launches is reduced substantially.

I’ve also been prompted to look at my business very closely because I have had the opportunity to partner with people like Jared Rose, not only a highly skilled project launch manager – but also a highly skilled project manager.  He initiated a project where he is breaking down each element and systematizing it. I and a number of other product launch managers are contributing to this task so we get everybody’s expertise and varied perspectives.

Here are just a few of the roles we have come up with so far, that a product launch manager must either do or hire out and manage.

Launch Strategist, Launch Coordinator, Copywriter, Graphic Designer, Web Developer, Tech Support, JV Manager, Customer Support, Admin Support & Product Champion. Then each of these roles has umpteen responsibilities associated with it.

Daunting isn’t it?

There are a lot of balls to keep in the air. I guess that’s why over 24,500 product launches failed last year. You need to get it ALL right or you put yourself at a great disadvantage.

I’ve given you this list not to scare you, but to prepare you. If you have a good solid team behind you with the experience you need to pull this off that’s fantastic. Just make sure that you have people in these roles, define what they are responsible for, who they report to, who they manage and define their level of decision making authority. If you don’t have people for these roles start by defining their general responsibilities and then decide what knowledge and experience is required for each position. If you do this well in advance of your launch your chances of success will increase exponentially. Get your ducks in a row now -  it’s too late after you push the button.

Hope this helps!