Strategy Means Choosing to Be Different
โ๐ฆ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ด๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ผ๐๐ ๐บ๐ฎ๐ธ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฐ๐ต๐ผ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐; ๐ถ๐'๐ ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ผ๐๐ ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐น๐ถ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐น๐ ๐ฐ๐ต๐ผ๐ผ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ผ ๐ฏ๐ฒ ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ณ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป๐.โ โ Michael E. Porter
Despite what should be common sense, I still observe quite a lot of companies that struggle with defining their strategy. Often, it is as Marty Cagan described it:
They donโt have a poor strategy โ they donโt have a strategy at all.
Instead, these companies are trying to be everything to everybody with their product offering, just like breeding this impossible-to-translate animal:
This is the โeierlegende Wollmilchsauโ, a German idiom for an animal that combines all the great things from different species into one.
But think about it: Why have udders when laying eggs? And wouldn't the sheepskin interfere with the pig wallowing in the mud?
When developing products, reluctance to deliberately decide on a specific strategy will set you up for failure across the entire organization, even beyond the core product team:
What do you tell your Marketing teams which campaigns to run?
What is the key value proposition through which you attract customers?
How do you collect and qualify MQLs when you are a Sales-led organization?
How can you even try to be Product-led when you donโt even know your ICP?
Whom do you contact to test your assumptions, prototypes, and ideas?
What pricing scheme do you apply?
Whatโs your GTM strategy?
I could go on like this for hours. But this short list should be enough to prove that strategy is not only relevant for the product team but across all departments, it even touches on the business model: DELL didnโt invent PCs but rather their success was based on their ๐๐ถ๐ช๐ญ๐ต-๐ต๐ฐ-๐๐ณ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ณ distribution model.
The strategy must provide direction and differentiation, serving as guardrails for future decisions. A great test is to explicitly name the opposite, the problems, customers, or users you are ๐ฃ๐ค๐ฉ addressing: ๐ช๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฑ๐ผ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฉ๐๐๐จ ๐ฏ๐๐ ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฉ. Some great questions to start with:
Which problem(s) does the product address โ and which do you scope out or at least postpone?
Who is your ideal customer โ and who do you not target?
Having learned about the needs of these ideal customers, what is your unique value proposition โ and how is it different from the competition?
Who do you partner with โ and how does this provide more value to customers?
What is your distribution model โ and how can this improve time-to-value for customers?
How do you monetize โ instead of being just cheaper, how can pricing give you a competitive advantage?
What other functions, such as outstanding customer support, can make you unique?
Strategy is not just a guide to prioritize features; it is a mindset that shapes your actions and guides your path to success.
Read more on https://b2b-product-playbook.com/home/from-mission-to-product-strategy/.