If you are a great product manager, you know a secret that others ignore: managing relationships is essential to your job and overall business strategy component. As the “mini-CEO” of your product, sometimes it might seem like your main job! Teams from sales to engineering all have a stake in your product. And they often want to see updates presented “their way.”
Pleasing everyone can seem impossible. Without clear direction, it’s no wonder why product managers get beaten down.
The great news? This doesn’t have to happen. The most successful products are built based on a clear strategy that everyone understands. How many times have you heard whispers from folks who question your work because they don’t understand the “why”? Consider your product strategy their answer.
Strategy is comprised of three parts: Vision, Goals, and Initiatives:
Vision describes who the customers are, what customers need, and how you plan to deliver a unique offering.
Goalsare quantifiable and define what you want to achieve in the next quarter, year, or 18 months.
Initiatives are the high-level efforts that will help you achieve your goals.
At Aha! we believe that all three are essential to building great products. Before you plan your next release, make sure your strategy is on the right track.
1. Vision
Your product vision should enhance the overall company strategy, your outlook for the product, and where both are headed. A good vision understands who the customers are, what they need, and your go-to-market plan. It captures the essence of what you aim to achieve, the opportunities you have, and the threats that you face.
To build and release a winning product, a strong product vision is essential. It is equally important to explain this vision to all teams and stakeholders. When everyone involved in a new product update or launch shares the same strategic vision, implementation runs more smoothly.
2. Goals
Your product goals must have measurable end results that can be achieved within fixed timeframes. They highlight what you hope to accomplish. Many goals are also stepping stones to faster business growth and explaining bolder goals. Goals should be relatively easy to track, so that you know how your team is performing against them.
Sample product goals include:
- Increase revenue by 30%
- Expand into five new countries
- Increase mobile adoption by 100%
- Reduce the number of support tickets by 10%
3. Initiatives
Initiatives let you specify key work that must be completed to achieve your product’s goals. Think of initiatives as high level projects that should be accomplished within a specified period of time — even if this is over a few months. Product initiatives should relate to your company’s core strategy. This helps senior leadership understand how your product will achieve the right goals for the customer and business.
Initiatives include:
- Performance improvements
- UI Improvements
- Better reporting
- Language localization
The best products start with a clear strategy that is customer and market driven. And the best product managers know how to make each unique stakeholder feel a sense of higher purpose.
Building brilliant products doesn’t have to hurt. So, go set your strategy, build what matters, and be happy doing it.
Learn More About Product Strategy at GA
Lauren Maffeo is a graduate of GA London’s Spring 2013 Digital Marketing course. She oversees content strategy at Aha! — the world’s #1 product roadmap software.
I've spent years deeply entrenched in the world of product management, delving into the nuances of strategy, relationship management, and cross-functional collaboration. I've seen firsthand how pivotal it is for product managers to navigate the complex web of stakeholders, from sales and engineering teams to customers and beyond.
In the realm of product strategy, the crux lies in understanding and articulating a clear vision, setting measurable goals, and delineating initiatives that drive towards those objectives. Let's dissect the key concepts highlighted in the article you provided:
1. Vision: The product vision serves as a guiding light, aligning with the overall company strategy. It encapsulates understanding the customer base, their needs, and how your product addresses those needs uniquely. A robust vision also encompasses market opportunities and potential threats.
2. Goals: Goals in product management should be SMART—Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. These quantifiable objectives provide a roadmap for what needs to be achieved within defined timeframes. They act as stepping stones for business growth and are critical in gauging team performance.
3. Initiatives: Initiatives are the high-level projects or efforts that align with the product goals. They're the actionable steps designed to achieve these objectives and should directly tie back to the broader company strategy. Initiatives could span areas such as performance improvements, user interface enhancements, reporting enhancements, or localization efforts.
Understanding and effectively communicating these elements across teams and stakeholders is paramount. It's about ensuring everyone comprehends the 'why' behind the product strategy, fostering alignment, and streamlining implementation.
Product managers adept at steering these components not only craft exceptional products but also adeptly navigate the intricacies of various teams and stakeholders, forging a cohesive path towards success.
The seamless integration of vision, goals, and initiatives empowers product managers to orchestrate successful product launches and updates, creating products that resonate deeply with their intended audience while propelling the company toward its strategic objectives.
