Plan the Canadian market entry of the Google Home smart speaker

You are a product manager at Google, and the company plans to launch Google Home, its voice-controlled smart speaker, in Canada. Walk through how you would plan and run the launch: the goal, the customers and channels you would focus on, what needs to be ready before launch day, and how you would measure whether it succeeded. ```hint Start with what changes at the border Before planning any campaign, list what a Canadian household would need from the speaker that the version built for other markets may not yet do, and decide which of those gaps must be closed by launch day. ``` ### Clarifying Questions - Have rival smart speakers already gone on sale in Canada, or would Google be first in the category there? - Is the goal units sold and market share, or households that keep using the Assistant week after week? - Does the launch cover only the speaker, or also the smart-home devices it controls and the partner services it reaches? ### What a Strong Answer Covers - A launch goal stated up front and justified by the state of the smart speaker market in Canada - The gaps between the existing product and what Canadian households need, and which of them must close before launch - Target customers, pricing and retail or partner channels, each chosen with a reason - Hardware operations readiness: inventory, delivery, returns and customer support - Success metrics beyond units sold, with guardrails, plus the main launch risks and how to mitigate them ### Follow-up Questions - A rival announces its Canadian launch a month before your date. Do you move your date, and what do you give up either way? - Sales beat the plan, but weekly use in Quebec is far below the rest of the country. How would you work out why? - Supply is short at launch. How would you decide which regions and channels get units first?