If your company is struggling to prioritize features due to limited resources as a startup or an overwhelming list of tasks, your product strategy is of utmost importance, and this article is especially for you.
In the future, my articles will focus more on case studies, offering practical insights into product management concepts like market strategy and product strategy. Half of my knowledge comes from extensive reading and research and the other half from experience. Thus, if you see anything your favorite product leader has said in my content, relax, I consume a lot of content and it may have been from them.
Now to the matter at hand, what are product strategies?
A product strategy is a high-level plan that defines a company's approach to developing and delivering products or services to their target market. It involves identifying a target customer, understanding their needs, defining product features, pricing, distribution channels, and long-term goals. Product strategy ensures that a company's product or service aligns with its overall business goals and market demands.
The key components of a product strategy include
- Market analysis
- Product vision
- Target audience
- Value proposition
- Product roadmap
- Resource allocation
- Pricing strategy
- Go-to-market plan
- Metrics and KPIs
And then you iterate and adapt to changing demands.
The above are the list of things you'd properly see in a Product Strategy Document. But does this sum it all? Is there more to it?
First, I have some points to emphasize, and you can comment otherwise if you disagree (I'd really love to learn).
- A good product strategy differentiates the best companies from most companies
- A product manager with a knowledge of developing a good product strategy, and is allowed to implement them, will thrive.
- A good product strategy shouldn't be defined by the company's management but by the product manager
- Most companies find it hard to develop a good product strategy, and no! I'm not talking about the document.
Why? Why do companies find it hard to develop good product strategies?
- Difficulty in focusing on critical business problems. And sadly, most companies find it difficult to do that. The truth is that since they are working with a bad product strategy, they will be struggling and as such they are fighting many battles. This usually distracts them from focusing on critical problems. If it is a fintech company for instance, they would rather solve the problems of the customer that get them the most numbers to keep the lights on and ignore other problems that are more critical. The second side to this is attempting to solve too many problems simultaneously. A Yoruba adage says that you will lose at least one rat if you chase 2 at a time.
- Generating actionable insights from data. Data, data, data. The need to have a data management team and even data literate teams cannot be overemphasized. Get data and let it guide you (I feel like Master Oogway).
- Coordinating the actions of multiple product teams. Of course, the best practice is to have multiple product teams to handle multiple products, another problem that arises from this is making sure that they all work separately for a common goal. If you have this problem, you can consider getting a product team lead though, he/she should be able to coordinate these activities. You should also encourage empowered teams and not feature teams.
- Actively managing work with a servant leadership mindset. This is not micromanaging or passive management, but rather, a servant leadership mindset. The managers should be there to remove blockers and be empathetic and not boss people around, remember that you want a team of missionaries and not mercenaries.
And you're thinking "Oh! Wow! This guy is smart!" Well, I am but I need to give a significant level of credit to Marty Cagan for such a brilliant lecture, and my mentor for pointing that out to me.
That said, there is a need to redefine product strategy and rethink what a product strategy is. Beyond a written document, a product strategy is a bridge between the company's vision and what the product team should work on. If you have a product manager who understands this concept, treasure them.
In conclusion, a well-defined product strategy is the linchpin that connects a company's vision with the practicalities of product development. Prioritizing features is just one aspect; the real question is whether a feature should be implemented at all. Strategy, in essence, is the answer to that question, and it's what sets the best companies apart.