Intercom, Slack
New features get shipped but adoption is low
Run an in-app feature launch campaign
Don't just ship features — launch them in-app with announcements, tutorials, and incentives to try.
RetentionBeginner
1-2 days per feature launch campaign
When to use
You ship features regularly but adoption is lower than expected.
Hypothesis template
If we launch features with [in-app campaign] instead of just shipping quietly, adoption will increase by [target]% because awareness drives trial.
Method
The problem: You ship a great feature. You add it to the changelog. Nobody uses it because nobody noticed.
How to do it:
- For major features, plan a mini in-app launch:
- Day 1: Banner announcement with one-click try link
- Day 2-3: Tooltip highlighting the feature for users who haven't tried it
- Day 7: "Have you tried [feature]?" email to non-adopters
- Show the feature solving a real problem, not just what it does
- Track: feature awareness, trial rate, adoption rate
- Remove launch materials after 2 weeks
Key insight: Feature adoption is a marketing problem, not a product problem. Most unused features are unknown, not bad.
Success metrics
- •Feature awareness rate
- •Feature trial rate
- •Feature adoption rate
- •Time from ship to meaningful usage
Prerequisites
- In-app notification or banner system
- Feature usage analytics
- Email capability for non-adopter follow-up
Common pitfalls
- •Launching every minor fix (save this for meaningful features)
- •Showing announcements for too long
- •Not tracking whether awareness translated to adoption
- •Making the announcement interruptive instead of helpful
Source: Intercom, Slack. In-app feature launch campaigns increase adoption 3-5x vs silent shipping.
Suggested ICE scores
6Impact
8Confidence
7Ease
retentionfeature-adoptionlaunchin-appannouncement
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