Building and launching a product that people love takes work. For every successful product out there, hundreds never take off or get the results the team expected.

There are a lot of factors that go into developing a product and even more that go into determining  its success. A solid product strategy is instrumental in bringing these elements together and driving business success . Let’s explore what a product strategy is and what defines an awesome one.

Seriously. What is a product strategy?

At a high level, product strategy is your plan for what your business hopes to accomplish, and how your product is going to take you there. This plan describes the vision for the product, the target audience, how it will be positioned in the market, and other factors involved in getting it to market successfully. It also includes all aspects of the product once it is launched, such as after-sales support, KPIs, further updates, and others.

The product strategy begins or develops from the product vision. The product vision shows what the product will do for it and where they expect to see the product. The target audience, the product plan, marketing strategy, KPIs, metrics, and other elements of the product strategy evolve from this.

The central theme of a product strategy is to give the organization an overall picture of the product. It acts as the basis for every decision as the product goes through its life cycle. It has all the information the team will need to take the product from its first breath and throughout its entire lifecycle.

So why do businesses this anyway?

Why should a company even bother creating a product strategy? Can’t they make and launch a product without one?  Sure, some companies skip over the this step and go straight from goals to execution, because they think it’s faster.  And that’s true: it is faster.  But it’s also significantly more likely to lead to failure.

Here’s how having a product strategy sets the business up for success:

A product strategy simplifies communication with the entire organization.

Taking a product from the initial vision to launch and product updates involves a lot of people all over an organization. It may need product managers, designers, developers, a manufacturing team, a marketing team, a customer support team, and many more people to back these teams.

These teams must understand the KPIs and metrics to take the product through the different stages.

The stakeholders need all the information to judge if the product will generate a good ROI and decide if they should go ahead. The designers and the product development team need to understand the critical features and design parameters the product needs. The marketing team must know the target audience and how they’ll position the product in the market.

A product strategy helps everyone involved in product development to get a clear picture of what they’re trying to build, what they want to achieve with it, and what their role is.

Product strategy streamlines decision-making for the organization.

The product development process is full of decisions. If a team is developing a web application, they will have to decide on the tech stack, the architecture, the cloud solutions, and other aspects. The designers will have to make designs regarding the design, and the marketing team will have to decide on the different channels.

Without a product strategy, the team will have to spend a lot of time asking around, discussing, and answering these questions. But with a detailed product strategy, the organization can empower the individual teams to make decisions that are tightly aligned to the business goals.

A product strategy keeps product development on track and aligned with the organization’s overall business goals.

The entire product lifecycle can take quite a long time, and the product can get sidetracked during this period, or other priorities may arise. The product direction can also change over time, and without proper controls, it may no longer be aligned with the business goals.

A product strategy acts as a control or a reference to ensure that the product is in line with the business’s and its stakeholders’ long-term visions.

What makes a good product strategy?

“Vision without action is a daydream. Action without vision is a nightmare.” – Japanese proverb

This quote is the essence of what your product strategy can do.  Your investors don’t want a daydream.  Your customers don’t want a nightmare.  Everybody wants a nice, restful night of sleep that comes with product strategy.

A good product strategy…

Brings the product into the long-term goals and visions of the organization.

A product strategy shouldn’t stand by itself as a distinct element from the organization.

When developing the product strategy, the product owners should consider how the product will help the business. The plan must consider how the product will build the organization’s brand and reputation. It should also consider how it will tie into the range of products and services it delivers.

Is something that the development team constantly uses.

A product strategy is not a trophy to be displayed on the mantel. It’s not to be developed and set aside to gather dust. The product development team should consistently refer to the product strategy and base their decisions on it. The team should keep track of the metrics in the strategy and use them to drive the product through its lifecycle.

Takes into account the entire lifecycle of the product

Product strategy should not end with launch. It should consider how the business will update and maintain the product and support its customers. It should have a framework for managing these and the resources the company will need for it.

Involves everyone associated with the product.

As is evident by now, product development consists of many teams and people, and the product strategy should reflect that. The strategy is aimed at every one of them – it should convince the stakeholders of its viability, guide the developers regarding its features, and help the marketing team present it to the market. And the strategy should define what is expected of everyone – their responsibilities and goals and how they will be assessed.

Where to get started

A good product strategy begins with a good vision; a great one starts with a great understanding of your audience.

There are plenty of product strategy templates and guides out there, but before you start filling them up, gain clarity on your audience.

1. Figure out your audience.

When building a product strategy, begin with a good market study or user research. If possible, talk to many people about their struggles and pain points. Observe the solutions they’re using already (if they are), what they like about it, and what they don’t.

2. Understand your competition.

Once you have a good picture about your audience, study your competition and how they have placed their product — their marketing strategies, pricing, features, and what sets them apart.

3. Define your product vision.

Once you thoroughly understand the market and users, you would be in a position to define your product. Define what the product will be all about and how it will help the users. Using the product vision as the basis, specify the different features and design parameters your product will need.

So far you have defined how the product will like and now you to figure out how to make this a reality.

4. Define the resources your organization have and what it will have to acquire.

This includes everything from the manufacturing equipment to the sales and support team. Assess your organization and your product vision and figure out what your organization have what will it have to acquire to make this product real. You’ll have to research the vendors and suppliers, the associated cost and the time it may take.

5. Define the product roadmap.

Work with your team and your organization and build a realistic timeline for your product. Make sure you take into account the available material and human resources during this.

6. Plan the design and development of your product.

At this stage of your product strategy, define your development strategy. This should include who’ll own the different processes and aspects of product development and how you’ll test and iterate it.

7. Prepare the marketing strategy.

At this point, you know how to get the product built. The next step is to decide how you’re going to sell it. Figure out a high-level plan for positioning your product in the market and which channels you’ll be using to market it. You can also include a pricing strategy here.

8. Planning the product maintenance.

The product strategy doesn’t end with launch; you’ll also have to include details on how you’ll support the customers. You should also figure out the team will collect feedback on the product and use it to build the next version.

It is vital to ensure every step follows the original vision for the product and that it fits with the long-term business goals.

Product development can be complicated. But it doesn’t have to be.

The product development process is a resource-intensive process that needs careful planning to be successful. You need an experienced team by your side to take your product to the next level, and that’s where LunarLab comes in. We’ve helped businesses of all sizes and in all industries build innovative, beautiful, profitable products.