Thinking about launching a new product? That’s great news but be careful.

As exciting as a launch can be, if it’s not managed properly, it will turn out to be a very stressful and unthrilling experience.

Here are four things to consider before “D–day” finally arrives.

1. Know your audience

Before launching your product, you should be absolutely sure you know who your potential customers are. Market research and surveys help you get to know them: who they are and, most importantly, how they behave. Double and triple check your target before firing your arrow.

2. Plan in advance

In any product launch, timing is key. Be prepared, have a plan, define a specific timeline and set deadlines that will help your organize and manage the wide variety of tasks involved in your product launch. Improvising or going with the flow is pretty much the worst thing you could possibly do when working on a launch.

3. Be ready for the unexpected

To be fair, while you must have strategic deadlines, you also need to stay flexible. Rushing everything and everyone just to meet a deadline is sometimes worse than moving your deadline. Once you launch, you can’t go back, so you must be able to deliver on what you’ve promised. An accidental media leak or early launch can ruin months of intense preparation and badly hurt your brand image too.

4. Have the right team

Don’t be afraid to call in extra help. By reaching out to the right people and gathering the skills and capabilities you’re missing, you will be better prepared, more efficient and much more effective. Unless the project is exceedingly small, you cannot handle everything yourself. Finding the right people and building the right team will help guarantee your next product launch is a resounding success.