The Science of Marketing

Every time I prepare a client to launch a company or product, I put together a timeline that centralizes all the important tasks that need to be completed by launch day.  There’s no magic to it, I simply start at the end points and work backwards to break down the major milestones for each deliverable.  The spreadsheet typically includes columns for the name of the task, the program it is a part of, a start date, due date, owner and status.  At the very top of the page, in big, bold letters, is the launch date and the number of business days remaining until launch.  Like I said, it’s not rocket science.

For me, the timeline has become an invaluable part of the launch planning process, especially when multiple people and external agencies are involved.  I sort it by start date and due date to drive the agenda for weekly status meetings.  I carve it up by owner to provide stakeholders with his or her to-do list.  I organize it by program to see what’s happening in the worlds of public relations, web development, collateral and trade shows.  And I use it as a planning guide to quickly reference when a brochure will go out to print, or when web copy will be approved and ready for layout.  As the countdown to launch marches on, there’s no better resource for keeping everyone on the same page and everything on track.

However, despite its usefulness and simplicity, some marketers still don’t work from a timeline.  I’m sure there are a million other ways to track what needs to be done and who needs to do it.  Some buy expensive tracking software, others create e-mail folders and file everything under the sun and one or two keep it all in their head.  But when it comes to simple, effective launch planning, I have yet to find an approach that beats my timeline.  Have you?

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