Soft Launch vs Hard Launch: Which Strategy is Best for Your Product?

You’ve poured your blood, sweat, and probably an unhealthy amount of instant noodles into creating your masterpiece product. Now what? Hurl it into the void and hope for the best? Or maybe sneak it out when no one’s looking? 

That’s how the choice between the soft launch vs hard launch looks like. And this choice can make your product soar like an eagle or belly-flop like a hippo. The strategy you use will either put you in the 40% of products that reach the market, or maybe even in the 60% of those that eventually make revenue (G2). 

So, let's dissect these two strategies of the launch and help you pick the best.

What Is Soft Launching?

When you go for a soft launch, you’re inviting a few close ‘friends’ over first to check if your new thing is worth their time. It’s how you do a quieter and more controlled release of your product to a limited audience.

The purpose of this gentle tiptoe into the market is to gather precious user feedback, identify bugs that somehow evaded your testers (they always do), and make sure your product doesn’t implode on a grander scale. 

Scenarios where you’d better go for this approach are:

• Launching a new mobile app to check out the UX
• Rolling out a SaaS product that needs real-world stress testing
• Introducing a controversial new feature 

In the process, you’ll be learning and iterating, but won’t get the spotlight of a massive worldwide audience judging every pixel.

And if you’ve heard the soft rollout term in the digital corridors, it’s practically the same as a product soft launch, but it emphasizes the phased geographical or demographic expansion aspect of a soft launch. You might roll out to one city, then another, then a small country, before unleashing it upon the globe. 

So, soft launching is the overarching strategy, and a soft rollout is a specific tactic within that strategy.

What Is a Hard Launch?

Now, you have the hard launch option, which is a full-blown, lights-flashing, music-blasting, confetti-everywhere mega-gala. When you hard launch, you're going real BIG. You're telling the entire world (or at least your entire target market) that your creation has arrived.

Businesses often unsheathe the hard launch sword when they are brimming with confidence. Perhaps it's an established brand with a loyal legion of followers, or a product that’s been tested into oblivion and is polished to a mirror sheen. Or, sometimes, it’s a market where making an instantaneous splash is the only way to get noticed, like fashion and beauty. 

These launches are major movie premieres, the latest iteration of a globally recognized smartphone, or a new gaming console. A what is a hard launch question can be answered with images of queues around the block or the next Apple event.

Soft Launch vs Hard Launch: Key Differences

The choppy waters of a soft launch vs hard launch decision needs a map, and we've made one just for you. Below aren't just different shades of beige but fundamentally distinct philosophieh.

You see? One is a calculated infiltration, and the other is a full-frontal glorious charge. And if used in the right context, the chosen strategy can put your product out there for long-term success.

Benefits and Drawbacks of a Soft Launch

If you’re opting for a soft launch, you’re not being shy but strategic. The upsides are plentiful and delicious.

First off, the testing opportunity is pure gold. You get to see your baby in the wild, interacting with unpredictable humans. As UserTesting says, 70% of CEOs see UX and customer experience as a key competitive differentiator. Launching softly, you can refine that UX based on real behavior instead of simulations. 

Then, you don’t risk as much as you do with a hard launch. If your revolutionary SaaS feature accidentally deletes a user's cat photos, it’s happening to a few hundred or thousand people, not a few million, so the blast radius is contained.

Plus, products that undergo much user testing and feedback iterations early have higher long-term adoption rates. For instance, Dropbox used a simple explainer video and a staggered invite system during its early days to gather feedback and build hype at the same time.

However, this gentle path isn't paved with rose petals. Slower adoption is what you get, too. You won't see the hockey-stick growth charts overnight, which can be frustrating if you’re itching for rapid market penetration. As well as you get potential competitor exposure: Your competitors get a nice and long look at what you're up to. They might decide to borrow your best ideas and beat you to a full-scale launch. It’s a calculated risk you take with a product soft launch.

Benefits and Drawbacks of a Hard Launch

Though terrifying, a hard launch makes a big impact. When you go hard, you're aiming for the stars, and sometimes you hit them. All your advertising, PR, social media, and influencer campaigns culminate in an explosive moment, get concentrated energy, and lead to fast adoption. 

If the product is right and the hype is real, you can acquire a massive user base in a short period. For example, when Disney+ launched, it hit 10 million subscribers on its first day with a well-executed hard launch for an established brand with a ready demand.

But the risk is sky-high if the product isn't perfect. Remember the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 and its unfortunate tendency to, shall we say, spontaneously combust? That was a hard launch that went spectacularly wrong, costing billions and causing big brand damage. 

If your product has critical flaws, a hard launch will amplify them for the entire world to see. And the expensive marketing costs (we're talking Super Bowl ad levels of expenditure in some cases) make you bet big. If the product doesn't meet the hyped expectations, that bet can go sour very, very quickly. There's less room for error, less opportunity to iterate based on initial widespread feedback without a very public (and potentially embarrassing) backtrack.

When Should You Choose a Soft Launch?

So, you're wondering, "Is the soft launching path for me?"

For a plucky startup, we’d give a resounding "YES!" in most cases. You likely don't have the nine-figure marketing budget of a corporate behemoth, and your reputation is still being forged. You’ll be able to test your concept, prove product-market fit, and gather testimonials without a big bet. And, hopefully, you won’t join 42% of failed startups because there's no market need for your product.

Another segment is new apps in the very crowded mobile space. A product soft launch for a new app means you can release in a smaller and less competitive geographic market, like Canada or New Zealand, fix the bugs, optimize your onboarding flow, and more.

SaaS products also benefit from the soft launch. These are often complex, and real-world usage patterns can be different from what you anticipate. Launching small, you’ll onboard just enough users, identify pains, test your infrastructure under load, and refine your pricing tiers.

When Should You Choose a Hard Launch?

There are times when tiptoeing is for amateurs, and a full-throated roar is what the situation demands. A hard launch strategy is good when you are an established brand with a massive customer base. Your audience is already there, primed and ready. 

New car models from major names or the next big fashion season drop from a global designer are the first things that come to mind. These companies have spent decades building brand equity, and a hard launch takes advantage of that. They know there’s demand.

Major physical products also lean towards a hard launch if there are complex manufacturing and distribution logistics. You've geared up factories, stocked warehouses, and lined up retailers. A slow dribble doesn't make as much sense when you've got pallets of product ready to go. Moreover, for products with a high degree of pre-launch hype (next-gen gaming consoles or blockbuster movies), the hard launch is the culmination of a marketing buildup. 

The expectation is a big bang, and a soft launch would just feel anticlimactic, like a firework that fizzles. Companies in this space invest heavily in market research beforehand to mitigate risks. So, they’re confident when they press the big red launch button.

Soft Launch Examples

Many restaurants have "soft opening" nights, when they'll invite friends, family, and local influencers for a few days or weeks before the grand public opening. In a soft manner, the kitchen and front-of-house staff refine menus and get accustomed to the flow to avoid getting negative online reviews that break a local cafe’s reputation.

Another perfect small-scale soft launching is how Facebook did it in 2004 (or Thefacebook back then). It started exclusively for Harvard students, then expanded to other Ivy League schools, then most universities in the US and Canada, before opening to the general public. The social platform could scale infrastructure and get richer in features based on what a controlled user base needed.

Hard Launch Examples

The console wars are fought with hard launches. Years of speculation, E3 presentations (back in the day!), leaks, and pre-order madness always led to a highly anticipated launch day. Stock sells out in minutes, social media explodes, and the sheer demand outstrips supply for months. And the biggest movie franchises launch with the same level of awe. Months, sometimes years, of trailers, teasers, cast interviews, merchandise tie-ins, and global premiere events culminate in a single release weekend.

Both get as many people into theaters or stores as humanly possible, breaking box office records and dominating the cultural conversation.

FAQs about Soft Launch vs Hard Launch

What is a soft rollout? 

A soft rollout is a tactic that goes as part of a soft launch strategy. You’re releasing a product to a limited geographical area or a demographic first, and then gradually expanding to other groups.

What is the difference between soft launch and hard launch? 

A soft launch is a quiet and limited release with a lot of testing and feedback but minimal marketing. A hard launch is a full-scale mass-market release with maximum marketing fanfare, aiming for immediate impact. One's a whisper, the other's a shout.

Can a product have both a soft and hard launch? 

Yes, it’s often a brilliant strategy. Many products undergo a soft launch phase where they gather data, iterate, and refine. Once the product is good to go and the company is confident, they then proceed with a larger-scale official launch to the broader market.