The 3-Step Product Strategy
STEP 1: PRODUCT PLANNING
Focus is where you define the market segments that are most attractive to pursue. With the help of market research, the market problems of these segments can be identified and scored. Your product portfolio inventories your products and shows coverage across problems you have addressed today. The ones that aren’t addressed or are just emerging are incorporated into the road map of new products that will be launched in the future.
Validate the needs of your market so your products can achieve a competitive advantage.
Create clarity of purpose and focus for your products.
Phase 3: Business Model & Financials
Validate the profitability of your innovations.
Develop the launch schedule for your product portfolio.
Phase 5: Product Lifecycle Management
Effectively plan for and manage products from ideation to sunset
Determine the buy vs. build vs. partner strategy that allows you to launch faster at the right cost
Develop the product organizational design that aligns to your development methodology and go-to-market strategy
STEP 2: PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
After the go/no-go decision has been made in the business planning step, the next step is to build the product. This starts with the definition of use scenarios. These tell the story of how a user will leverage our product to solve their market problems. The use scenarios become product designs that feed into the development cycle. The last part of this step is to name and package the product to make it market-ready.
Phase 8: Product Management Process
Execute a methodology that moves a product from ideation to launch and beyond
Phase 9: Sunsetting & Product Migration
Retire products that have reached the end of their product life
Phase 10: User Experience Design
Make the customer experience a competitive differentiator.
Create product packaging that maximizes the appeal of a product
Phase 12: Release Planning & Management
Plan for a successful product release
STEP 3: PRODUCT LAUNCH
The fruits of all the product labor are realized at the launch step. Your product is built and packaged, and you are ready to take it to market. This isn’t the end of the product management process; it’s the start of selling, which requires as much product management as all the work in the previous steps. You must develop compelling messaging that will make the market stop and take a look at your new product. Launch plans ensure the entire organization is ready to engage in the successful launch of the product, and the product team should continue to champion the product’s cause throughout the execution of that plan.
Phase 13: New Product/Feature Launch Process
Prepare Sales, Marketing, and Customer Success teams for successful product launches
Phase 14: Product Marketing Support
Translate user requirements into product value that resonates with buyers
Phase 15: Product Sales Support
Enable the sales team to effectively sell the product on day one
Phase 16: Customer Success Support
Prepare the Customer Success team to expand the presence with existing customers
Phase 17: Post-Launch Monitoring/Feedback
Listen to your customers and enhance products based on their feedback