Launching New Technology Products

My favorite step in the product development process is launching the finished product or service, and having other people actually see it, use it, integrate it into their lives, and (most importantly in a business) actually pay for it. Below are some tips I have found useful when introducing a new product to market:

Start small. Whether at a small company or a large one, I am a big supporter of introducing a new product or service component-wise where possible. Break off a piece of the product that has value in and of itself and is true to your core mission. "Going out small" means you have fewer degrees of freedom and fewer variables to control for in this experiment of launching something new to an untested market. You can gather feedback on what works and what doesn't, and you can iterate your assumptions quickly. And you still get credit for having at least something out there in the market, which is half the battle sometimes.
Start friendly. Part of starting small is also starting friendly. Find a group of individuals friendly to your company who can help you test your product and will provide you honest feedback -- the good, the bad, and the ugly. In the early days, feedback from a friend can sometimes be easier to swallow. But don't just count on the input from your friends, start a Product Advisory Board to collect input from a broad array of potential customers.
Start quiet. It used to be fashionable to launch a new software product or service with the loudest noise possible -- lavish PR proclamations, advertisements, and parties. But the best way to make a loud noise is to blow up a balloon with small puffs of air, then pop it. Consider your initial product launch as just one of those many puffs of air needed to blow up the baloon. After 6 or 12 or 24 months of incremental launches and releases, you'll have more and more puffs of air in your balloon. Then, once your product is robust and full and ready for a loud bang, pop your balloon.
Listen, listen, listen. Even if it's painful! Listen particularly closely to the subtext in what your users are saying. Sometimes when a user is saying X, they really mean Y, even if they don't know it. Mirror back to them what they are saying, for confirmation and for further details: "So if I'm hearing you correctly, you're saying that this page is too long and unwieldy?" This is where the Product Managers' communications skills are tested.