Introduction
A well-defined strategy is not just a roadmap; it’s your compass for navigating evolving market trends, customer needs, and competitive pressure. By developing and executing on a robust strategy as a product manager, you will guide our products from their initial ideation/conception through their eventual market success.
Today’s blog post takes a look at what goes into defining and running with your product’s strategy.
Define your Purpose
Do you have a clear idea of what you are working on and why? The foundation of any successful strategy is a well-defined purpose. Ask yourself your who, what, where, why, why, and how. Are you solving a problem that exists for your market? Is it a problem that people are actually looking to solve in the near future, if not now?
Defining your purpose isn’t specifically about setting goals, but more about understanding the context and reasoning behind every decision. This clarity will help guide your strategy and communicate a clear, unified direction for your team.
Identify the Components
Let’s say you have your purpose well-defined — are you aware of all the moving parts of what you’re working on? A successful strategy requires a deep understanding of what factors are relevant to your product. This includes your target audience, competitive landscape, market trends, internal resources, etc. Identifying these components early on is a fair amount of overhead, but it delivers the benefit of having a comprehensive view and understanding of the environment your product will thrive.
Connect the Dots
Do you understand how each part of your strategy combines to create and deliver the value your product proposes? And, one step further, are they combined in a way that maximizes your product’s outputted value? This phases involves understanding how different elements of your strategy work together. Whether it’s user feedback informing product development or how market trends influence your positioning, seeing the bigger picture allows you to create a cohesive and effective strategy.
Evolving with the Market
Do you know where your market is heading? If not, you’ll want to start. Understanding market movement and trends is crucial for staying ahead. With such an understanding, you’ll have a better idea of how your strategy must evolve so that you can be proactive about it instead of reactive. It’s about anticipating changes and being prepared to pivot when necessary. Keep your finger on the pulse of the industry, constantly seek out new information, and be willing to challenge your assumptions.
Adapt to Thrive
The ability to adapt is a crucial differentiator between successful and failed strategies. By not just recognizing when changes to your strategy are needed but also having the agility and flexibility to implement them, you’ll be in a better position to pivot and evolve, thus thrive, in a constantly changing market.
Plan Your Next Steps and Lead with Confidence
Do you know how you win? Winning in the market is more than just having a good product; it means having a plan to ensure the your product succeeds. What are your product’s “win conditions?”
At this phase, you’ll need to be clear on what your competitive advantage is, proactive on identifying key opportunities, and actively defining and iterating on the tactics that get you to your win conditions. This involves your go-to-market strategy, your user acquisition plan, your roadmap for continuous product improvement, etc.
And of course, all this is in vain if there is not someone to lead teams through your strategy. You must help guide teams to execute your strategy as effectively and efficiently as they can. Ask yourself:
- Is my strategy and its goals clear? Does it align with my business’ values and goals?
- Have the teams I need to execute the strategy bought into it? Do they understand what it achieves? Why we need its goal(s)?
- Do the teams I need understand what their respective roles are in your strategy’s execution?
A strategy is only as good as its execution. Take the lead in helping your teams understand the strategy, their roles in it, and how it and they contribute to the overall product vision. Good leadership involves not just directing others, but also inspiring, motivating, and supporting your team to deliver their best.
Conclusion
At the end of the day, your product strategy is your plan to get your product from A, where it is now, to B, the future you envision for it. Your strategy requires a blend of analyses, creativity, and leadership to define its purpose, understand the landscape, plan action items, iterate on tactics, and achieve its goals. A key piece I’d like for you to takeaway is that a good strategy is iterative — as you gain new information, do not hesitate to reevaluate your strategy and efforts so that you may pivot as needed to ensure future success.