The healthcare industry constantly evolves, bringing forth innovative products that promise to revolutionize patient care. However, the journey from product conception to market entry is intricate and multifaceted. This is where a product launch checklist becomes indispensable. It serves as a roadmap, guiding healthcare providers through the complex process of introducing a new life science product to the market.
Launching a new product in the life sciences sector is not just about scientific discovery; it involves careful planning and execution to ensure the product meets the needs of its intended users. A comprehensive product launch checklist addresses every aspect, from regulatory compliance and marketing to training and post-launch review. It ensures that all stakeholders, including patients and payers, are well-informed and prepared for the product’s introduction.
1. Foundation and Branding
The first step in any life science product launch checklist is establishing a solid foundation. This includes:
- Complete Claim Matrix & Clinical Evidence: This is the cornerstone of a life sciences product launch. A well-documented claim matrix and robust clinical evidence validate the product’s effectiveness and safety. For HCPs, this information is crucial for recommending the product confidently. Patients and caregivers also rely on this data to understand the product’s benefits and make informed decisions.
- Branding Company Options & Selection: Selecting the right branding company is pivotal in creating a strong and appealing brand identity. This step involves presenting and evaluating 2-3 branding companies, each capable of reflecting the product’s values and appeal. The chosen company will play a significant role in identifying a resonant product name and conducting thorough market research.
- Finalize Product Name & Complete Trademarks: The product name is more than just a label; it embodies the product’s essence and its promise to the users. Finalizing an apt name and securing the necessary trademarks is a critical part of the product launch checklist. It’s not only about branding but also about legal protection and market positioning.
- Conduct Brand Insights Workshop: Understanding how the product is perceived by potential users is essential. A brand insights workshop gathers input from various stakeholders to refine the product’s branding strategy. This workshop can provide invaluable insights into how the product should be positioned in the market.
- Finalize Positioning Statement: The positioning statement is a succinct description of the product’s unique value proposition and its relevance to the target audience. It serves as a guiding star for all marketing and communication efforts, ensuring consistency and clarity in messaging.
2. Marketing and Outreach
Continuing with the product launch checklist, the next phase is dedicated to marketing and outreach, ensuring that the product not only reaches its target audience but also resonates with them effectively.
- Development of Regional Launch Plans & Tracking: This is an essential aspect of the checklist. A successful product launch requires tailored strategies for different regions. Factors such as regional regulations, market preferences, and healthcare practices must be considered. Regular WebEx calls and meetings help in tracking the development of these regional plans, ensuring alignment and timely adjustments.
- Alignment on Global Regulatory Strategy: For a life science product, the importance of compliance with global and regional regulatory standards cannot be overstated. The product launch checklist must include a thorough review and alignment on regulatory strategies.
- Development of Product Brochures & Comparative Charts: Effective communication materials, such as brochures and comparative charts, are crucial. These should be designed for both internal stakeholders (like sales teams) and external ones (like patients). Internal materials help in aligning the sales and marketing teams with the product’s key features and advantages. External materials, on the other hand, inform and educate the end-users and decision-makers about the product’s benefits and applications.
- Price Sheets & Translation of Collateral: The product launch checklist also includes the development of price sheets and the translation of marketing collateral into different languages. This ensures that the product’s information is accessible to a diverse global audience, which is particularly important in the healthcare sector where understanding and clarity can significantly impact health outcomes.
3. Digital Marketing Strategy
In today’s digital age, a comprehensive digital marketing strategy forms a critical part of any product launch checklist. This stage involves several key activities:
- Digital Ads, Social Ads, & Email Campaigns: Digital and social media ads, along with targeted email campaigns, are powerful tools for reaching and engaging with both patients and HCPs. These platforms allow for tailored messaging and broad reach, ensuring that information about the new product is disseminated effectively.
- Website Content Development & Launch: A product’s website is often the first point of contact for many potential users. Developing engaging, informative, and user-friendly web content is vital. This includes creating product pages, homepage banners, and spotlight ad banners. Once the content is approved, launching the website becomes a pivotal moment in the product launch journey.
- Development & Approval of Educational Videos: Videos are an engaging way to educate and inform stakeholders about the product. For the product launch checklist, this includes identifying a media company, developing storyboards and scripts, selecting voiceovers, and finalizing the product videos. Once these videos are submitted and approved through MedRev, they become valuable assets for both online and offline marketing campaigns.
4. Sales and Training Strategy
The next step of a product launch checklist should focus on preparing the sales force and ensuring they are well-equipped to introduce the product to the market.
- Training Materials & Launch Plan Review: Developing comprehensive training materials is a cornerstone of this phase. It’s crucial for the sales team to understand the product inside and out, including its clinical applications, benefits, and competitive positioning. Regular reviews of these materials with sales management ensure that the training is aligned with overall launch objectives.
- Customer-Facing Presentations & Approval: Preparing presentations that effectively communicate the product’s value to customers is vital. These presentations undergo a rigorous approval process, typically involving medical review (MedRev) to ensure accuracy and compliance with regulatory standards. This step ensures that the sales team has reliable and persuasive tools for their interactions with HCPs and payors.
- Technical Sell Sheets & Regulatory Documents: Technical sell sheets provide detailed information about the product, often used in tender processes and by sales representatives during their discussions with potential customers. Also, having copies of regulatory documents like 510k and CE Mark is essential for addressing regulatory queries from customers.
5. Pre-Launch and Launch Date Activities
This chapter of the product launch checklist involves a series of coordinated activities leading up to and following the product’s market entry.
- Webinars & Training Modules: Conducting webinars is an effective way to reach a broad audience, including HCPs and patients. These webinars often require translation and subtitles in multiple languages to cater to a global audience. Ensuring these are approved through MedRev is crucial for compliance and accuracy.
- Sales Training & Communications: This involves final reviews of sales training materials and communication strategies. It’s important to have a clear plan for communicating with the sales team at different stages: pre-launch, during the launch, and post-launch. This ensures that the product team is consistently updated and aligned with the overall product launch strategy.
- Launch Packet Preparation & Distribution: Preparing a comprehensive launch packet for the sales team is another critical step. This packet typically includes sell sheets, brochures, clinical papers, and other essential materials. Ensuring that these packets reach sales representatives in time is crucial for a synchronized launch.
- Customer Seminars & Trade-in Programs: Organizing customer seminars and defining trade-in programs are also part of the pre-launch activities. These initiatives help in building excitement and momentum around the product launch.
- Sales Forecast & Pricing Strategy Review: Finalizing and approving the sales forecast and pricing strategy are key pre-launch activities. This includes configuring and approving promos and setting up demo sites. A well-thought-out pricing strategy is critical for the product’s market success.
6. Marketing Operational Readiness
The sixth chapter of the product launch checklist emphasizes the importance of operational preparedness, ensuring that all systems and teams are ready for the product launch.
- Commercial Readiness Team Activities: This team plays a pivotal role in overseeing and coordinating all launch activities. Regular meetings and calls are essential to track progress and address any emerging issues. This includes setting up systems across various regions like the US, EU, ANZ, Canada, Japan, and other international regions—ensuring a synchronized global launch.
- Customer Service & Support Training: It is vital to prepare customer service teams to handle inquiries and provide post-launch support. This includes specialized training on the product, its uses, troubleshooting, and other aspects of customer support. Additionally, developing a service strategy and ensuring service systems are set up and ready is crucial.
- Content Operations Set-Up: Content operations readiness involves meticulous planning, organization, and setup for effective content creation, management, and distribution. It requires defining objectives, implementing tools, and optimizing workflows for scalability. The focus is on quality, consistency, and proactive problem-solving to ensure seamless execution and a compelling brand narrative.
7. Conference and Media Engagement
Leveraging conferences and media for effective product launch promotion are essential parts of an effective product launch checklist.
- Identify Key Conferences for Launch: Selecting the right conferences where the product can be showcased is important for reaching the target audience, including HCPs and payers. This involves creating customer seminar plans as well as marketing materials for these events.
- New Product Marketing Launch Campaign: Developing a comprehensive marketing campaign that encompasses booth banners, talking points, and handouts for conferences is critical. This also includes obtaining necessary approvals through MedRev.
- Press Release & Media Spotlights: Crafting and distributing a press release announcing the product launch is a key step. It’s also important to spotlight the product in relevant media, which involves creating ad concepts, testing them, and finalizing the media plan.
8. Email and Lead Nurturing Campaigns
The final step in a product launch checklist focuses on digital communication strategies essential for reaching and engaging with the target audience.
- Email Campaigns & Lead Nurturing: Developing copy for teaser emails, product launch emails, and organizing email campaigns for both current and future customers is crucial. This step also includes nurturing leads through a series of emails, ensuring ongoing engagement and interest in the product.
- Ad Creation & Placement: This involves the creation and placement of both print and online ads, including the development of an e-alert plan. Concept testing with different regions and translating ads into various languages as needed are key aspects of this process.
- Launch Review & Follow-up: Post-launch, it’s important to review the overall effectiveness of the launch campaign. This includes assessing the impact of email and ad campaigns and making necessary adjustments for future marketing efforts.
Final Thoughts
Launching a life sciences product is a complex and nuanced process, requiring meticulous planning and execution at every stage. But the end goal of all these efforts is clear: to advance patient care through the adoption of innovative technologies.
If you are on the brink of launching a life science product and need help with your product launch checklist, or are looking to refine your existing marketing strategies, Sciencia Consulting is here to assist. Our team of experts specializes in navigating the complexities of life sciences product launches, offering tailored solutions that align with your unique needs and objectives.
Together, we can enhance the effectiveness of your life science marketing efforts, ensuring that your innovative technologies reach and positively impact those who need them most—the patients. Let’s collaborate to advance patient care and make a lasting difference in the life sciences industry.
To learn more about how we can support your product launch and digital marketing strategies, or to schedule a consultation, please contact us at info@scienciaconsulting.com. Our team is eager to work alongside you on this exciting and impactful journey.
