“Most launches don’t fail in market. They fail quietly—months earlier.”
The product’s solid.
The deck’s ready.
Sales is trained.
Launch hits… and adoption stalls.
Conversations get awkward.
Results come in light.
If this feels familiar, here’s the truth:
- It’s rarely the product.
- It’s almost always the pre-launch.
The Lie That Kills Launches
“If the product is good enough, the market will figure it out.”
It won’t.
Markets don’t discover value on their own.
They respond to pressure—specifically, the pressure of a problem they already care about.
If your audience doesn’t feel the problem:
- They won’t prioritize it
- They won’t change behavior
- They won’t adopt your solution
Why Fixing the Product Doesn’t Fix the Launch
After a soft launch, the excuses are always the same:
- The market wasn’t ready
- Physicians didn’t see the value
- We couldn’t differentiate
So teams tweak features and try again.
If the market doesn’t care about the problem, it won’t care about your solution.
Where Real Advantage Is Built
Healthcare doesn’t change easily.
Change:
- Takes time
- Creates risk
- Introduces new problems
So when HCPs evaluate your solution, they’re asking:
- Does this work?
- What new problems does this create for me?
The value equation is brutal:
Problems solved – problems created = perceived value
No urgency = no adoption.
What Smart Teams Do Before Launch
“Launch day doesn’t create demand. Pre-launch earns it.”
Smart teams don’t lead with product.
They lead with problem.
They:
- Shape how the market understands the issue
- Elevate urgency before talking solutions
- Create context that makes change feel necessary
When this works, launch doesn’t feel like a pitch.
It feels inevitable.
Four Moves That Matter
- Start with empathy, not features
If you can’t describe what an HCP is thinking and feeling when the problem hits, you’re not ready. - Pick problems you can own
High impact. Clearly yours. Everything else is noise. - Stop hiding behind specs
Features don’t create urgency. Outcomes do. - Test before you bet the launch
If no one leans in early, they won’t lean in later.
How Teams Activate Pre-Launch
- Pre-launch sales campaigns
When the problem is recognized but ignored - Topic campaigns
When the market doesn’t yet see the problem - Thought leadership platforms
When challenges are complex or portfolio-wide
The best teams stack these.
Where VIVO Comes In
This is where teams stall.
They know what they should do—but without structure, it falls apart.
VIVO brings discipline to pre-launch.
It helps teams:
- Pressure-test problems early
- Replace opinions with frameworks
- Align stakeholders before launch pressure hits
The Pre-Launch Difference
“Your launch will only be as strong as the problem your market believes you solve.”
If you’re tired of explaining underperformance after launch, the fix isn’t at the end.
It’s at the beginning.
VIVO is where teams do that work.
