Crafting a Compelling Product Strategy: A Guide for Product Managers
As a product manager, one of the most significant challenges you face is communicating your product strategy to top leadership and other teams within your organization. In this article, we’ll explore the essential steps and best practices for presenting your product strategy in a data-driven way that engages and aligns all stakeholders.
Defining Your Product Strategy
A product strategy is an extension of your product vision, outlining the execution plan to achieve your goals. It should articulate the product architecture, roadmap, marketing, sales motion, and financial needs. A good product strategy answers the following questions:
- What to start with (the MVP)
- Who to collaborate with (now and later)
- Which demographics to address
- How quickly to iterate to retain a competitive edge
The Struggle is Real
Product managers often struggle to communicate their strategy due to various reasons, including:
- Organizations having their own agendas and incentives, which can be at odds with the optimal path
- Lack of feedback on the product when presenting the business case
- Difficulty in distilling down multiple potential paths to a single, clear direction
Communicating Your Product Strategy
To effectively communicate your product strategy, you need to frame a coherent analysis of each option, defining a data-driven approach that articulates considerations around internal synergies, minimum viable product (MVP), ecosystem strategy, and continuous updates.
Internal Synergies
When presenting your strategy, consider how various parts of the organization might react. Study the core competencies and organizational incentives, identifying the path of least resistance. Ask yourself:
- What are our core competencies?
- How do our organizational incentives align with our product strategy?
Minimum Viable Product (MVP)
Articulate the MVP, demonstrating the beachhead, differentiation from competition, and the organization’s superpowers to drive the launch. Consider:
- Who needs our product the most?
- Who is ready to use our product?
- How do we differentiate ourselves from the competition?
Ecosystem Strategy
Balance your buy/build/partner strategy, identifying who else you might need for a successful launch and understanding the synergies you bring to the table. Ask yourself:
- What partners do we need for the initial launch?
- What is our plan for the next wave of partners?
- How do we distill down our options to make informed decisions?
Continuous Updates
Define the KPIs you’ll monitor to demonstrate the plan’s effectiveness, analyzing results and pivoting as needed. Consider:
- What leading and trailing KPIs will we measure?
- How will we correlate these KPIs to root-cause adoption or awareness problems?
Best Practices for Communicating Product Strategy
Before meeting with leadership, ensure you have a consensus from key stakeholders. Present your recommendations first, with backup information ready to support your claims. Use product management frameworks familiar to your organization, and be prepared to answer tough questions.
By following these steps and best practices, you’ll be well on your way to crafting a compelling product strategy that engages and aligns all stakeholders, driving credibility and success for your product.