Inspiration sits at the heart of Product Development. However, inspiration alone cannot bear fruit. It can indeed give you a head start towards a destination, but it cannot encompass the journey or the obstacles in that journey. To be aware of these obstacles, one needs to have a product strategy. Whether it is a website, an application, or even a program.
A Product Strategy is essentially a roadmap that encompasses a detailed description of the product's why(s) and how(s). Thereby, deciding the aim of the company in terms of the product. The strategy includes the buyers, the third-party sellers, the vision and the mission.
It also teaches the product's benefits (including how they are needed) and how these products will help achieve a solution. Conversely, some products are essential wants rather than needs. In this case, the product strategy can also include a plan to make the users perceive it as a need.
Thus, it is a detailed itinerary of sorts of the product management team and the backbone of product design. Therefore, setting a product strategy can be a daunting and challenging task. Since varied products can entail varied processes, there isn't a one size fits all product strategy for all. Nevertheless, it is possible to provide recommendations that can help one build an effective Product Strategy.
The first and foremost step is to identify the target audience for your product. The worst way to start developing a product is not to recognize the part of society it caters to. A misstep in this department is most likely to fail. Often, companies would develop a product and then start their search for an audience.
As absurd as it sounds, it happens all the time. Therefore, it is crucial to understand the potential users of your product beforehand. This includes understanding their need and wants. Thereby making a user analysis a crucial aspect of product design as well as the development lifecycle.
This can be done via field studies and interviews. This can help you form an archetype of a potential user and how this user behaves. The key is to understand that this archetype is describing the user and not predicting their actions.
Secondly, defining your product's vision is an excellent way to pave your way towards a good product strategy. Vision incorporates the ultimate motivation for the product. A good vision becomes the North Star for your entire team.
It is the guiding principle. An excellent way to do this is to develop a stimulating long-term goal. A great product vision rakes the brain for facts and pulls at the heartstrings at the same time.
In conclusion, once the big picture is set, your job is to use the vision. This means that you have to break down this long term goal into small and achievable objectives. Hence, complete your road map to a great product and a great Product Strategy.
