It’s always interesting to read an independent review by an industry expert.

Jeffrey Pezzella is the leader of an independent Product Launch Manager Group and blog site, where several hundred product launch managers hang out and discuss everything launch-related.

Jeffrey is one of the most outspoken, independent thinkers I’ve run into in a long, long time. He also shares something else with Frank Kern – a passionate, “George Carlin” approach to communicating – funny, passionate and R-rated.

WARNING: Jeffrey’s review article contains profanity and may not be suitable for everyone…

And no, this isn’t an April Fool’s joke!

So, if you dare, read Jeffrey’s independent review of WinningWare QuickLaunch™ to get the real scoop straight from the horses mouth – or something like that

Enjoy!

• Product Launch Automation Software with Free Trial Available (0)
• Product launch automation software on the horizon (0)
• WinningWare QuickLaunch – Product Launch Automation Software (2)
• WinningWare QuickLaunch(tm) Update, 2/24/2010 (0)
• Top 5 Product Launch Success Factors (and Pitfalls to avoid) (1)
• The Truth About How To Use Twitter in a Product Launch (3)
• The New Rules of Launch (1)
• The all-important Launch Blog – Some tips for your success (2)
• The 3C’s of Product Launch (0)
• Psychology of Social Product Launches – Part 3, Storytelling (0)

We just opened the doors today for the WinningWare QuickLaunch™ “Early Access Program”, so the software that’s been under development for so long is finally ready to be sampled.  I am certain this software is going to enable professional marketers, small businesses and entrepreneurs to plan, organize and execute top-notch product launches that will help them immensely by reducing the amount of time and effort required, in addition to boosting sales results.

Here’s a video overview:

We’re providing full product access on a 5-day free trial basis, along with a steeply discounted (70% OFF) offer for a 1-year subscription for commercial use by early adopter customers.

The Early Access Program is one of the early steps in our launch process that’s recommended for software, membership sites and other online products, whereby you go from a few early customers using the product to around one hundred or so (limited), in order to fully validate your product’s readiness before launching it to the masses.

The official launch of WinningWare QuickLaunch is currently slated for late April or early May, depending on the feedback we receive from the early adopter community.

Here’s links to more detailed information, where you can access the free trial and more information.

• Product launch software – detailed product launch automation information, goes into all the details on the product plus free trial access
• WinningWare QuickLaunch registration and priority notification page – if you want to register for our official launch

After registering for the trial and reviewing the EAP version of the product, please post your comments here.

Enjoy! Rick

• Product Launch Software – Independent Blogger Review (2)
• Product launch automation software on the horizon (0)
• WinningWare QuickLaunch – Product Launch Automation Software (2)
• The New Rules of Launch (1)
• Product Launch Manager Interview with Jeffrey Pezzella (0)
• WinningWare QuickLaunch(tm) Update, 2/24/2010 (0)
• Top 5 Product Launch Success Factors (and Pitfalls to avoid) (1)
• The Truth About How To Use Twitter in a Product Launch (3)
• The all-important Launch Blog – Some tips for your success (2)
• The 3C’s of Product Launch (0)

Excellent progress on WinningWare QuickLaunch™ this week. We are very close to being both code complete and content complete, with just a few remaining items that will be in place by early next week.

Customer testing also going well; excellent early feedback is helping to shape the product very nicely through use in actual product launches.

New QuickLaunch Launch Landing Page is now up on WinningWare.com – register for priority notification to join our launch list.

We plan to announce the WinningWare QuickLaunch “Early Access Program” very soon. This program will make QuickLaunch available to a limited number of additional early adopter customers, at a very substantial discount (like 70% off), along access to both QuickLaunch and the WinningWare “Launch Patrol” experts team.  More on the EAP next week or so…

Our updated WinningWare Affiliate Program is also now operational. This program pays affiliates up to $499 per sale today and will include WinningWare QuickLaunch for both the EAP and final release.

Oh yeah, we now have a logo for the product…

More updates as they occur to me.  For now, time for a (brief) break.

• Product launch automation software on the horizon (0)
• WinningWare QuickLaunch – Product Launch Automation Software (2)
• Product Launch Software – Independent Blogger Review (2)
• Product Launch Automation Software with Free Trial Available (0)
• Product Launch Software – Try It Free for 30 Days (0)
• Product Launch Manager Interview with Jeffrey Pezzella (0)

Launching of products has been taking place as long as there have been products to introduce to the market. Even in the challenging economic times we see today, products must be launched – it’s not an “optional” job to be done for companies and marketers.

A great launch means the difference between success and failure – profits vs. losses – promotion vs. stagnation in your career and business.

Historically, marketers and entrepreneurs have typically lacked the resources they really needed when launching products, so doing launches right has always been a challenge.  Given the tighter budgets and fewer resources available, launching products is tougher than ever to do right today.

Even with great educational products like Product Launch Formula, Mass Control and others that provide tremendous strategic and how-to advice, at the end of the day, launches entail real “work” – and a LOT of it.  And somebody has to do all that work.

Add to those challenges the advent of relatively new, online aspects of launch marketing such as social networking, online lead-capture and nurturing, blogging, video and other online techniques – and you have a real problem.

Top that off with the requirement to launch products into markets that are tougher and more competitive than ever, with even fewer resources than before, and you have a seemingly insurmountable set of issues at hand.

All too often, the answer is comprised of taking shortcuts, reducing market coverage and compromising launch results – exactly what you don’t need.

Instead, what’s needed is a way to:

• Single-handedly plan your own launch project
• Quickly create your launch plans, schedule and content
• Outsource certain tasks to subject matter experts
• Invest more time learning and using “new media” – blogging, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.
• Invest more time creating top-quality content for your audience
• Invest more time forging partnering relationships to gain access and influence in your target market
• Invest more time ensuring the product is ready for market
• Invest more time researching market conditions and the competition to pinpoint the best positioning and messaging
• Execute a complete launch process with minimal resources

Sound insurmountable?  Well, it often is – especially for entrepreneurs, small businesses and product marketers (even in larger companies, where resources are spread way too thin).  As an entrepreneur, we don’t have many of the luxuries afforded larger companies – like marketing budgets of hundreds of thousands or more to allocate to a launch, a marcom department, the ability to hire contract specialists and PR firms, etc.

Instead, small businesses must make do with whatever tools and inspiration are available, along with a healthy dose of perspiration, hard work and long hours to get things done.  There’s nothing wrong with this, of course. Except that it demands numerous trade-offs be made that impact launch results.

That’s why I decided to automate launching products – to make launches more fun again – and more successful and predictable – and importantly, to generate increased sales and profits without as many long hours.

I simply grew weary of doing launches the hard way – the manual way. To be sure, it’s taken a lot of effort and time to develop a solution to this problem, as well.

Late last year, I posted that we were underway on some new product launch software. We’ve been heads down on product development since the middle of 2009 (and in the planning stages for several years prior). We are now in the final stages of development, working with selected customers on their actual launches using the software.

After managing major multi-million dollar, global product launches as Vice-President of Product Marketing for CITRIX Systems and then handling my own launches as an Internet entrepreneur, I gained firsthand knowledge that taught me what works and what doesn’t.

And as a small business owner and roll-up-your-sleeves  ”doer”, I truly gained an appreciation for what was actually needed – a software tool that automates and simplifies product launch planning, scheduling and content creation.

This was further validated by working with various customers on their launch projects, which also had to be done the old-fashioned way.  A typical launch can easily cost a client $25K to $50K for all the planning, scheduling and content development.  This is fine for venture funded startups and established companies, but beyond the reach of many small businesses.

By working with several launch customers throughout this software’s development, it also became clear that customized, step-by-step instructions that make launch execution as easy as following a recipe are also needed.

So that’s what we’ve created.  A product launch solution that’s simple enough for a first-time entrepreneur, powerful enough for an advanced marketer and affordable for everyone.

WinningWare QuickLaunch –  The Fastest, Most Affordable Way To Launch a Product Right

WinningWare is preparing to unveil a product line in a new category we’ll be calling “Product Launch Power Tools™”.  These launch power tools will do for product launches what the hand-held power drill has done to old-fashioned screwdrivers – automate and expedite a common, important job at hand – making it far easier, faster and more convenient to get the job done right in record time, and without the hassles and usual soreness that used to occur.

The product is called WinningWare QuickLaunch™.

WinningWare QuickLaunch does pretty much what the name implies – it enables a marketer to quickly plan and execute just about everything needed to launch a product properly – and to do so in record time, with as little effort as possible.  The product is a Web-based software service (SaaS), accessible from any Web browser securely over the Internet.

Here’s the latest screenshot of the Launch Control Center™ that’s nearing development completion, where all the generated marketing collaterals are accessed for a launch project:

How the above Launch Control Center is Created

The product walks a marketer through a series of wizard question/answer panels (not shown here), where information about the product launch is gathered, including product information, launch goals and objectives, audience targets, marketing messaging and offers.  The wizard is a simple, step-by-step process that typically takes no more than 30 to 45 minutes to use the first time through (and much less after that).

Then after completing the wizard steps, the software automatically “generates” what’s needed for the product launch project, including:

• Detailed, Step-by-step Launch Execution Instructions (much better than a product launch checklist only)
• Launch Plan Executive Summary (for investors and senior management teams)
• Detailed Launch Plans
• Project Schedule
• Launch Strategy
• Launch Landing Page with Countdown Timer (here’s an example generated landing page)
• Product Sales Page Template
• Launch Email Sequence, including Draft Email Content
• Launch Social Networking Plan with Step-by-step Instructions
• PR Kit with Custom Press Release Drafts
• Marketing Source Document (for working with your partners, affiliates, employees and contractors)
• Product Data Sheet

With WinningWare QuickLaunch, the entire launch planning process start-to-finish typically takes less than an hour the first time through – from the time a new customer actually signs up for the service until all of the above launch-related materials are generated and in the customer’s hands.

Then, the user simply follows the step-by-step instructions to execute the launch process.

And anytime something changes –  like the product name, messaging, positioning or other aspects of the product or plan during the launch process – it’s a simple matter of updating the project settings in WinningWare QuickLaunch, and moments later, presto – all the launch materials, schedules and plans are automatically re-generated and up-to-date.

Clearly this solution doesn’t address every launch-related challenge that product marketers and small business owners face during a launch; e.g., website development, partner and affiliate management, etc.

However, it automates the most tedious, error-prone and time-consuming tasks facing every launch manager and marketer involved in a product launch, making it so that now anyone – professional marketer or first-time entrepreneur alike – can plan and pull off a world-class product launch with minimal cost, resources and time investments.

Step-by-Step Launch Execution

Automating the creation of launch plans, schedules and all the various content is useful enough in itself. However, the rubber meets the road when it comes time to put all the launch strategies and plans into action, which is what leads to launch success.  So we decided to go the extra mile and include detailed tactical plans that anyone can follow to execute their launch plans.  It’s one thing to plan the launch – it’s quite another to execute everything involved…

As shown in the following screen snapshot, Launch Execution is divided into four distinct phases.  For each phase, there is a “tab” containing the high level objectives to accomplish during that phase of the launch:

Each phase of the launch project contains a set of links like you see above.

When you click on one of those links, it brings up a separate page containing detailed, step-by-step instructions for accomplishing the objective; e.g., reviewing the launch plan, creating the launch canvassing plan, implementing the launch landing page (not shown, but available in the “Pre Launch” tab, etc.).

Throughout each of these launch execution steps, the appropriate launch content that was generated specifically for the user’s launch is available, making launch execution as simple and easy as it gets.

So WinningWare QuickLaunch aims to provide a complete solution for launching products, taking you from the planning stages through each and every step involved in pulling off a world-class launch.

How To Learn More About WinningWare QuickLaunch

So, if you’re interested in automating your next product launch, stay tuned.  There’s more good news coming soon on the product launch automation front.  We are at this point just nearing the end of the beginning – of a new era of easier, better product launches.

If this sounds interesting, you can register to receive more information on WinningWare QuickLaunch. As our own launch days grows closer, we will be sharing additional details and insights.

Incidentally, the landing page with countdown timer you see at the above link was actually generated by the software then integrated with our AWeber email auto-responder.  In the past, developing a landing page like this would’ve taken several hours – it took about me about 20 minutes to take the landing page HTML template that was generated and finalize it.

Of course, it took about a man-week of effort to develop the landing page generator that’s a part of the product – something that our users can now leverage from now on.

For more information, you may also wish to download the free New Rules of Launch e-book, which provides launch strategy information and explains how and why leveraging online launch technology is so productive and effective.

Please stay tuned.  More is coming soon on the WinningWare QuickLaunch front.  In the meantime, if you have any launch-related needs, be sure to visit our WinningWare.com Launch Solutions page for more details or contact me if we can assist with your launch project.

• Product launch automation software on the horizon (0)
• Product Launch Software – Independent Blogger Review (2)
• Product Launch Automation Software with Free Trial Available (0)
• WinningWare QuickLaunch(tm) Update, 2/24/2010 (0)
• The New Rules of Launch (1)
• The 3C’s of Product Launch (0)
• Product Launch Checklist (1)
• Product Launch 3.0 Sales Process (0)
• 10 Steps to Take Before Your Product Launch (0)
• Top 5 Product Launch Success Factors (and Pitfalls to avoid) (1)

This is my first post in quite some time, on the eve of Windows 7 making its official debut.  Is there a Windows 7 launch happening?  It’s kinda hard to tell sometimes…

Anyway, we’ve been heads down working on a number of innovative new products that will begin to hit the street over the coming weeks and months.  As you may have noticed from other product launch posts this year, I’ve been involved in a number a product launch-related projects.

If you’ve been involved in product launches that go well, generate lots of early adoption and revenue, and that lead to successful ongoing product growth after the launch, you probably realize just how much work goes into proper:

• Launch planning, scheduling, funding and resourcing
• Preparation of launch materials of all kinds
• Education – both internally and externally
• Field-readiness and training
• Market validation of the product, pricing, positioning (basically, the 5 P’s of Marketing)
• Briefings of analysts, press, strategic partners and customers
• Marketing collateral development
• Pre-launch campaigns that create awareness and build buzz and excitement about what’s coming
• Ramping up of channel partners, affiliates, website sales processes and sales teams
• Actually getting the product ready for delivery to the market with proper support

It’s no wonder so many companies fall short with their product launches.  It’s a LOT of work and it’s incredibly time-consuming.  Most small businesses don’t have the funding, manpower or even the skills to pull off a major launch.  Many large corporations could muster it up, yet often fail to do so.

One of the biggest reasons new product launches aren’t fully-funded and resourced is it’s simply too expensive and too time-consuming.  And product marketers are often understaffed and underfunded (in larger corporations), and small to medium business suffer from the same lack of resources.

Instead, most of the typical project’s funding goes toward product development, with little left over for the launch.  And marketing often sees a tiny fraction of the funding needed for product marketing, so everyone does the best they can in the limited time available, then it’s on to the next product and next launch.

Sound familiar?  It’s something I’ve seen repeated so many times I’ve lost count.  Yet so much is invested in a product’s development – often many millions to tens of millions in R&D, with so little allocated to actually taking that product to market properly.

Well, I wish I could say that I’ve solved all those problems, but I haven’t.  The funding allocation and resource limitations are probably here to stay; however, product marketers and business owners need and deserve to be able to do their jobs well, support their product teams with respectable launches and to be more productive.  I mean, everyone else seems to have software productivity tools, right?

In a nutshell, it became clear a few years back that this gap represented an opportunity to step up and help out by automating many of the product marketer’s tasks.

WinningWare is preparing to unveil a product line in a new category we’ll be calling “Product Launch Power Tools™”.  These launch power tools will do for product launches what the hand-held power drill has done to old-fashioned screwdrivers – automate and expedite a common, important job at hand – making it far easier, faster and more convenient to get the job done right in record time, and without the hassles and soreness that used to occur.

The product line of launch power tools will be dubbed “WinningWare QuickLaunch™”. The first product is WinningWare QuickLaunch Generator™, the world’s first product launch automation power tool.

WinningWare QuickLaunch Generator does pretty much what the name implies – it enables a marketer to quickly generate just about everything needed to launch a product properly – and to do so in record time, with very little effort.  The product is a Web-based software service (SaaS), accessible from any Web browser securely over the Internet.

Here’s a screenshot of the Launch Control Center™ that’s nearing development completion, where all the generated marketing collaterals are accessed, along with overall status of each phase of the launch project:

The product walks a marketer through a series of wizard question/answer panels, where information about the product launch is gathered, including product information, launch goals and objectives, audience targets, marketing messaging and offers.  The wizard is a simple, step-by-step process that typically takes no more than 30 to 45 minutes to use the first time through (and much less after that).

Then after completing the wizard steps, as the name implies, the software automatically “generates” what’s needed for the product launch project, including:

• Launch Plans
• Launch Schedule
• Launch Strategy and How-To Guide
• Launch Playbook™, a step-by-step instruction guide
• Launch Email Sequence with draft email content
• Launch Blog Sequence with draft blog content for blogs, Facebook and Twitter
• Landing Page for launch subscriber opt-in list creation
• Launch Checklists
• PR Guide and Press Release drafts
• Marketing Source Document
• Product Data Sheet draft

The entire process start to finish typically takes less than an hour the first time – from the time a new customer actually signs up for the service until all of the above launch-related materials are in the customer’s hands.

And anytime something changes (like the product name , messaging, positioning or other aspects of the product or plan during the launch process), it’s a simple matter of updating the project parameters in WinningWare QuickLaunch, and moments later, presto – all the launch materials are automatically re-generated and up-to-date once again.

Clearly this solution doesn’t address every launch-related challenge that product marketers and small business owners face during a launch; however, it automates many of the most tedious and time-consuming tasks facing every launch manager and marketer involved in a product launch; e.g., planning and plan development, launch project scheduling, gaining internal buy-in for the proposed launch plan, schedule, communicating the plan internally and externally, and creating all the launch collaterals listed above.

Of course, there’s still plenty more left for the marketer to do… like having more time to do blogging, meet with partners, affiliates and customers… developing top-quality landing page and HTML email templates to put the final launch emails in, queuing up those emails for release in the auto-responder, and actually managing the launch project. And did I mention, more time to play golf?

Anyway, we’ll be releasing a WinningWare QuickLaunch Generator “spy video” soon, so you can see it in action first hand.  The product is nearing the end of its initial development cycle, so a lot more information will begin to flow as we head into the Holidays.

So, if you’re interested in automating your next product launch, stay tuned.  There’s a lot more good news coming soon on the product launch front.

Meanwhile, best of luck with your Windows 7 upgrades

• The 3C’s of Product Launch (0)
• Product Launch 3.0 Sales Process (0)
• WinningWare QuickLaunch – Product Launch Automation Software (2)
• Product Launch Software – Independent Blogger Review (2)
• Product Launch Automation Software with Free Trial Available (0)
• 10 Steps to Take Before Your Product Launch (0)
• WinningWare QuickLaunch(tm) Update, 2/24/2010 (0)
• The New Rules of Launch (1)
• How to Launch a Product using Social Networks (0)
• Top 5 Product Launch Success Factors (and Pitfalls to avoid) (1)