I'm Joscha, currently the CPO at Connectly.ai. During my time at Google , I came across the concept of "launching vs. landing" in product management. While it wasn't an official framework, the idea resonated with me deeply as I observed how much energy was spent on launching products and features. The excitement of getting features live often overshadowed the essential post-launch work -- the "landing." Particularly during performance review cycles, when launches were often incentivized, there was a visible spike in launches leading up to reviews.
I distinctly remember reading a one-sheeter at Google about the difference between launching and landing, though I can't recall the author. That idea stuck with me. Now, at Connectly.ai, where performance is measured by the question, "Are we making money, and can we ensure we'll still be around tomorrow?" the concept has become ingrained in how we approach product development.
In our fast-growing AI startup specializing in AI-powered conversational commerce, I've come to realize that the launch may grab the headlines, but it's the landing that determines whether a product thrives or fizzles out. Let's explore why focusing on landing is critical to long-term success.
What Does SpaceX Have in Common with AI Enterprise SaaS?
While the comparison of SpaceX and Connectly might seem far-fetched 🙃, the metaphor illustrates a key point. The distinction between launching and landing is often blurred, whether in startups or larger organizations. Launching refers to getting your product or feature live and in front of users -- an adrenaline-filled moment, like SpaceX's Falcon Heavy liftoff. The product team is excited, and all eyes are on the launch. However, much like in space exploration, where a successful launch means little without a safe landing, the long-term success of a product hinges on how well it "lands."
In SpaceX's case, landing a rocket safely after launch offers a competitive advantage: it allows reuse, lowers costs, and enables more launches over time. Similarly, landing in product management means ensuring that your product delivers sustained value by refining it, addressing user feedback, and iterating as users' needs evolve.
In summary:
- Launching: Shipping a new feature, a version update, or entering a new market. This involves planning, sprints, and often a burst of marketing to drive initial adoption.
- Landing: The quieter but far more complex phase. Landing involves post-launch iterations, stabilizing the product, and ensuring it delivers on its promises over time. While the launch creates excitement, the landing determines long-term success.
The Dangers of Over-Focusing on the Launch
As mentioned earlier, launches are incentivized by nearly everyone -- except your customers. Investors love seeing new launches in updates, managers use launches to demonstrate their impact, and organizations tie launches to promotions and performance cycles.
However, there are key risks to leaning too much on launching and not enough on landing:
- Demoralizes the Team: Nobody likes working on vanity metrics. Initial downloads or signups might look great, but they don't tell the whole story. Landing metrics -- such as retention, recurring usage, and customer satisfaction -- reveal the true value of a product.
- Wasted Opportunities for Learning: A failed landing presents an opportunity to learn, iterate, and come back stronger. There's hidden wisdom in understanding why a feature did not land successfully.
- Teams Working in Silos: Overemphasizing the launch reduces the need for cross-team collaboration, often leading to siloed efforts. In contrast, focusing on landing encourages engineers, product managers, sales, and customer success teams to work together to ensure success after the release.
Instead, teams should focus on product landings to build long-term success:
- Increased Sense of Ownership: When engineers and product managers hear firsthand how customers rely on and continue using a feature, it increases their sense of ownership and motivation to improve it.
- Better Collaboration: Successful landings require cross-team collaboration. Engineers speak with customer success teams, product managers talk with sales -- creating a culture of shared responsibility.
- Happier Customers: Ultimately, customers care most about features that make their lives easier. Iterating and solving their problems over time leads to better outcomes and customer satisfaction.
How to Set Up Your Organization for Successful Landings
To effectively focus on landings, you must integrate this mindset into your organizational structure. Here's how we do it at Connectly.ai :
- Define Landing Metrics During Feature Planning: Landing metrics could include KPIs like feature retention, repeat usage, and qualitative user feedback. The goal is to focus on metrics that go beyond vanity or one-time usage stats.
- Celebrate Landings: It's easy to celebrate flashy new launches, but showcasing how users continue to use and pay for a feature is worth celebrating too. Call this out in weekly meetings or performance reviews, and add sections in your all-hands meetings to recognize successful landings.
- Ensure Cross-Functional Collaboration: Landing a product successfully is not just the responsibility of the product team. Involve engineering, marketing, customer support, and sales early in the process to ensure alignment and capture feedback from all sides.
- Build Feedback Loops Early and Continuously: Establish clear processes for collecting and analyzing user feedback from day one. This could be through user interviews, monitoring analytics, or conducting surveys. The goal is to ensure that the landing is proactive, addressing problems and improving the product over time.
- Assign Ownership and Accountability for Post-Launch Success: Ensure clear ownership of the landing phase. This could be a product manager, an engineer, or a sales representative -- anyone who has a vested interest in the product's long-term success.
- Use Data to Drive Post-Launch Decisions: Set up data collection mechanisms to track how well your product is landing. Use tools like Amplitude to monitor key metrics such as user engagement, retention, and growth, and use this data to inform ongoing iterations.
The Balancing Act for Product Managers
At Connectly.ai , we've seen a visible change in the sense of ownership and urgency after shifting our emphasis from launching to landing.
By balancing launching with landing, product teams can ensure they build products that not only excite users at first but retain and engage them over time. As you evaluate your own product strategy, ask yourself: Are you as focused on landing as you are on launching? If not, it may be time to realign your efforts.
