Launch velocity isn't about how fast you ship—it's about how quickly you create market momentum. Most PMMs track revenue and adoption, but these lagging indicators only tell half the story.
I learned this the hard way during my first major product launch at a SaaS company. We shipped on time, had strong early adoption numbers, and hit our revenue target for the quarter. Leadership called it a success. But three months later, growth had stalled. Sales stopped pitching the product. Marketing couldn't sustain the initial buzz. We'd launched successfully but failed to build momentum.
The problem? We were measuring outcomes, not velocity. By the time we saw revenue flatten, the window to course-correct had closed.
The Five Metrics That Matter
After analyzing 50+ B2B product launches across different segments and industries, I've identified five leading indicators that predict long-term launch success. These aren't vanity metrics—they're early signals that tell you whether you're building momentum or burning it.
1. Awareness Lift Rate
This measures the increase in branded search volume within the first 30 days post-launch. When people start searching for your product by name, you've broken through the noise.
How to measure it: Compare branded search volume (Google Search Console or SEMrush) from the 30 days pre-launch to the 30 days post-launch. Calculate the percentage increase.
What good looks like: High-performing launches see a 40-60% lift in organic search traffic within the first month. If you're below 20%, your messaging isn't resonating or your reach is too narrow.
Why it matters: Awareness lift predicts pipeline quality. Prospects who find you through search convert 2-3x better than cold outbound leads because they're already problem-aware.
2. Sales Team Activation Rate
What percentage of your sales team has actively pitched the new product within two weeks of launch? This metric reveals whether your enablement actually worked.
How to measure it: Track opportunity creation in your CRM. Filter for opps that include the new product. Calculate the percentage of reps who've created at least one opportunity mentioning it.
What good looks like: Top-performing launches hit 80%+ activation rates within two weeks. If you're below 50% by Week 3, your enablement didn't land.
Why it matters: Sales activation is a leading indicator for pipeline health. Reps who don't pitch a product in the first two weeks rarely start later—they've already decided it's not worth their time.
3. Competitive Win Rate Shift
Track how your win rate changes against specific competitors when your new product is in the deal. This measures whether your differentiation thesis was right.
How to measure it: Pull competitive win/loss data for the 90 days pre-launch. Compare it to the 30-60 days post-launch for deals that included the new product. Look at specific competitors, not overall win rate.
What good looks like: A 15-20% improvement in competitive win rates against your target competitor signals strong differentiation. Anything below 10% means your new capabilities aren't moving the needle in real deals.
Why it matters: This tells you whether your product actually changed the competitive landscape or just added features nobody cares about in procurement.
4. Time-to-First-Value (TTFV)
For product-led launches, measure how long it takes users to reach their first "aha moment"—the point where they experience real value.
How to measure it: Define your activation event (first report generated, first workflow automated, first integration connected). Track median time from signup to that event.
What good looks like: Elite PLG teams compress this to under 5 minutes for simple products, under 20 minutes for complex ones. If your median TTFV is over 30 minutes, most users churn before seeing value.
Why it matters: TTFV predicts activation rates and trial-to-paid conversion. Every minute you shave off TTFV adds 2-3 percentage points to your conversion rate.
5. Internal Champion Density
Count how many employees across departments are actively sharing launch content on LinkedIn. This measures whether you've built internal momentum.
How to measure it: Track social engagement in the first two weeks. Count unique employees who shared, commented on, or created original content about the launch.
What good looks like: Companies with 20+ internal champions generate 3x more organic reach than those relying on official channels alone. Your best launches happen when your whole company becomes your marketing team.
Why it matters: Internal champions signal belief in the product. If your own team isn't excited enough to share it, prospects won't be either.
Why Traditional Metrics Fall Short
Revenue and user adoption are essential, but they're outcomes—not drivers. By the time these metrics move, you've already won or lost the launch. You can't fix awareness in Week 8 when the market has moved on.
Velocity metrics give you real-time feedback to course-correct during the critical first 30 days. They tell you why adoption is happening (or not), which means you can actually do something about it.
Building Your Launch Dashboard
Here's how to operationalize these metrics for your next launch:
Week before launch: Set up tracking for all five metrics. Create a shared dashboard that updates daily. Get agreement on target ranges for each metric.
Week 1-4 post-launch: Review the dashboard every Monday with your launch team. Red flag any metric that's trending below target. Run a play to fix it (more enablement, messaging tweaks, increased amplification).
Week 5-8: Shift focus from inputs (awareness, activation) to outcomes (pipeline, revenue). By now, your velocity metrics should have set you up for success.
The Uncomfortable Truth
Most launches fail not because the product is bad, but because PMMs measure the wrong things too late. These five metrics won't guarantee success—but they'll tell you early enough to fix what's broken.
The teams that win launches are the ones who can see around corners. Velocity metrics are your headlights.