Product Strategy Quiz 1

What is a product

a solution to a problem; good, service, or experience

delivers net positive value to consumer/customer

does a “job” customer “hires” it to do

What is product strategy

high-level plan connecting vision to execution

involves informed choices; intentionally made, well-informed tradeoffs

hypothesis without evidence

Product Strategy fundamental questions

Who is our consumer (B2C) or customer (B2B)?

What problem are we solving for them?

How will we win against our competitors?

How will this help our business create value?

4 Ps of Marketing

Product, Place, Price, Promotion

PS requires decisions about:

who we are building for/not

what problem we are solving/ignoring

how we will win

what we will prioritize

what we are willing to sacrifice for differentiated position

Elements of how we will win

price, performance, convenience, experience, ecosystem

Product decision assumptions:

customer

value

competition

feasibility

economics

adoption

Product Strategy - uncertainty

not about eliminating uncertainty, rather about identifying and reducing most important uncertainty first

Innovation (Create) vs Product Strategy (Capture)

innovation: process of creating something new and valuable; spark, new idea

product strategy: plan for how to turn new valuable thing into successful + sustainable business in the market

What is Innovation

a new match between need and solution to need;

staying relevant, reject status quo

turning idea into solution that adds value from a customer’s perspective

intro of new products/services that add value to organization

Innovation: common failure modes (FLOPN)

Flawed business model: product is great but no way to make money/success

Lack of patience: company wants to be first to market

Organizational inertia: company too slow/resistant to change to embrace new idea

Poor product-market fit: right idea, wrong execution/audience/timing etc

No market needed

Importance of innovation

Risk Diversification - dilute reliance on existing businesses

Upside - beating odds changes game

Category Dynamics - consumers expect innovation

Culture - innovative company culture

Product Strategy vs innovation

Product strategy: the plan for how to turn valuable innovation idea into successful and sustainable business

Innovation: process of creating smth new and valuable; spark, breakthrough, idea

Types of innovation (low risk to high risk)

Line extension: incremental improvement of existing product eg coke to cherry coke

Brand extension: new product from established market entity eg dove soap to deodorant

Radical Innovation: highest degree of “new” market, tech, consumer needs, and values eg the first iphone

Growth and portfolio strategy

successful products evolve into sub-branded portfolios over time

often built or bought by CPGs, organized by category

Ansoff Matrix: tool for mapping investment opportunities

Market penetration: existing product to existing market/customers

Product Development: new product for existing market

Market development: existing products into new markets

Diversification new products for new markets

NPD processes create structure to:

Facilitate key decision points

Align cross functional teams

Track and measure progress

Reduce risk

Manage resources and prioritization

Stages, gates, deliverables

Stages: activities performed by the project team to advance the innovation initiative

Gates: checkpoints, with clear criteria, to determine if the project will advance, manage risk

Deliverables: standardized items for leadership review to guide assessment of the project status

Deliverables (details)

standardized items for leadership review to guide assessment of the project status

-can be specific to gate eg proof of concept

-can be iterative across gates eg business case

NPD Stage Gate Process

Gate 1: Opportunity Identification

Gate 2: Product Development

Gate 3: GTM (go to market)

Cross functional roles in innovation (brand/innovation manager)

ultimately responsible for the success of the product or service; lead through influence, not authority

core competencies are :

strategic thinking

leadership

execution