In my previous posts, I discussed the key aspects of a strategy plan, challenges that cross-functional teams face when it comes to discussing the numbers and importance of identifying constraints that can derail any plausible seeming strategy.
Is Strategy black and white?
Is Strategy black and white? not really...
Here I am going to drill a little deeper into the "Actions" piece of a strategy plan and identify 3 key things that can guide and entice the Product management, Product development, Marketing and Sales teams to work together on identifying the actions. The purpose is to lay out the intended plan of action that would steer the organization towards its strategic goal.
Awareness - How will the customer learn about the product?
Getting an attention of the customer for your product is an uphill battle whether your product is competing in a crowded growth market, deserted mature markets or non-existent markets. The marketing teams of the competition will create a ruckus by clogging all the available channels with their positioning, differentiation and the value proposition. Somehow you need to figure out how to trump all that noise, elbow your way in and get the attention of your customer. The fundamental thing here is to first figure out where exactly your customers hang out and which channels are they more receptive to. While you are trying to get in the existing channels, try to see if you can create a new path all the way till their eyes and ears. Your digital footprint, social media presence and existing or new partner relationships, even your own loyal customers can actively contribute to help create the awareness of your product. In summary, your go to market strategy will be the key to get in the door as quickly as possible.
Value - What will make the customer pay?
Value includes the 'X' factor that customer is looking for before opening their wallet. The insight on creating value is identified very early on when the product management, marketing and sales are on the field learning stuff that helps develop user personas, understanding of the customer behavior to the details where they can claim to feel the customer's pulse, get in their heads, learned where will they move next, how will they react when the competition shows up etc. The grievances are distilled and are addressed by the product and in addition you need to figure out a way to put a cherry on top. This will then get you rewarded with an on boarded customer. It could be the delivery model via SaaS, the insightful reporting via analytics, availability of the entire solution ecosystem via cross-selling other products from the same vendor.
Experience - What will stop the customer from trashing the product?
Customer does not deserve anything less than an awesome experience with the product. Then it does not matter if your product is competing in a growth market or a commodity market. Recently I read an article on Aaron Levie, CEO of Box in Inc magazine where the writer comments "....his relentless focus on great design was particularly striking -- and thus he put some distance between Box and the pressures of the commodity marketplace." The focus on design and the experience pays such dividends that it can even lessen the pressure of a commodity market. The user experience has never been so important as now if one thinks about it from the perspective of the recent industry trends. The emergence of line of business owner as opposed to traditional CTOs in the role of a buyer, the adoption of agile and lean startup as opposed to waterfall development spanning months or years, shift in the mindset from the perfect solution to good enough has helped create an environment where the user experience trumps the bells and whistles of the product. The balance is of course extremely critical to the success of the product.
Awareness, Value and Experience are the guard rails needed for building the action plan for the product portfolio. They are fundamentally outward looking as the focus is on the customer on boarding and developing sustainable relationship.
Is Strategy black and white?
Is Strategy black and white? not really...
Here I am going to drill a little deeper into the "Actions" piece of a strategy plan and identify 3 key things that can guide and entice the Product management, Product development, Marketing and Sales teams to work together on identifying the actions. The purpose is to lay out the intended plan of action that would steer the organization towards its strategic goal.
Awareness - How will the customer learn about the product?
Getting an attention of the customer for your product is an uphill battle whether your product is competing in a crowded growth market, deserted mature markets or non-existent markets. The marketing teams of the competition will create a ruckus by clogging all the available channels with their positioning, differentiation and the value proposition. Somehow you need to figure out how to trump all that noise, elbow your way in and get the attention of your customer. The fundamental thing here is to first figure out where exactly your customers hang out and which channels are they more receptive to. While you are trying to get in the existing channels, try to see if you can create a new path all the way till their eyes and ears. Your digital footprint, social media presence and existing or new partner relationships, even your own loyal customers can actively contribute to help create the awareness of your product. In summary, your go to market strategy will be the key to get in the door as quickly as possible.
Value - What will make the customer pay?
Value includes the 'X' factor that customer is looking for before opening their wallet. The insight on creating value is identified very early on when the product management, marketing and sales are on the field learning stuff that helps develop user personas, understanding of the customer behavior to the details where they can claim to feel the customer's pulse, get in their heads, learned where will they move next, how will they react when the competition shows up etc. The grievances are distilled and are addressed by the product and in addition you need to figure out a way to put a cherry on top. This will then get you rewarded with an on boarded customer. It could be the delivery model via SaaS, the insightful reporting via analytics, availability of the entire solution ecosystem via cross-selling other products from the same vendor.
Experience - What will stop the customer from trashing the product?
Customer does not deserve anything less than an awesome experience with the product. Then it does not matter if your product is competing in a growth market or a commodity market. Recently I read an article on Aaron Levie, CEO of Box in Inc magazine where the writer comments "....his relentless focus on great design was particularly striking -- and thus he put some distance between Box and the pressures of the commodity marketplace." The focus on design and the experience pays such dividends that it can even lessen the pressure of a commodity market. The user experience has never been so important as now if one thinks about it from the perspective of the recent industry trends. The emergence of line of business owner as opposed to traditional CTOs in the role of a buyer, the adoption of agile and lean startup as opposed to waterfall development spanning months or years, shift in the mindset from the perfect solution to good enough has helped create an environment where the user experience trumps the bells and whistles of the product. The balance is of course extremely critical to the success of the product.
Awareness, Value and Experience are the guard rails needed for building the action plan for the product portfolio. They are fundamentally outward looking as the focus is on the customer on boarding and developing sustainable relationship.