Product strategy - Introduction

So you want to be more strategic?

Well, strategy is a vague term. But, to grow as product designers or product managers, it’s important to be more strategic and able to create a concrete plan on how your product will win in the market.

Is the earth flat?

Some people believe so. There is flat earth society. People have different worldviews. Depending on how people see the world, they have different needs and problems. Some people drive Honda, while some prefer Mercedes. Some people care about their hairstyle, while others don't.

This condition raises a challenge for product builders. We can't solve everyone's problem. We need to be specific about who is the users we serve. Building a product for hobbyist writers, who want to write for fun, is different from building a product for professional writers who want to make a living through writing.

Limited resources always constrain us—Limited time, people, and budget. With this constraint, we have no choice but to prioritize and decide who we want to serve first.

Sports cars for rich people

Tesla released its first car, Tesla Roadster, in 2008. Back then, they had a constraint: Electric vehicle is a new technology, and the production cost for any new technology is expensive. Considering the constraint, they target rich people and they made an intentional design decision to build a sports car first.

The bottom line is simple: You need to prioritize with limited resources. You cannot solve all the problems for multiple markets at once. You need to serve one market well, then slowly scale from there.

Which leads to an interesting question: How could your team define a target audience?

6 dimensions of Product Strategy

The target audience is only one dimension of the product strategy. I write this series for people who want to be more strategic in their practice as product builders. This series is for managers, leaders, and individual contributors who want to expand their knowledge of product strategy.

To make it more practical, the paid subscribers can access the template and the guide at the end of each article. Here's what to expect throughout this series:

1. Narrow your audience (Apr 13 - all subscribers )

2. Defining problem space (Apr 15 - paid subscribers 🔒 )

3. Define your value proposition (Apr 18 - paid subscribers 🔒 )

4. Strategic differentiation (Apr 20 - paid subscribers 🔒 )

5. Acquisition channels (Apr 22 - all subscribers )

6. Putting it all in practice (Apr 29 - paid subscribers 🔒 )

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