STRATEGIC POSITIONING & PRODUCT ROADMAPS

STRATEGIC FOCUS

A strategy is an integrated set of choiceswhich positions a firm in an industryso as to generate superior financial returns over the long run.

Jan Rivkin, Strategy Unit Head, Harvard Business School

FOCUS ALIGN

CREATING A SUSTAINABLE ADVANTAGEWHERE TO PLAY? HOW TO WIN?

FOCUS ALIGN

Make Decisions Create Principles

Growth/Innovation

Time

LIFE CYCLESCATEGORY, COMPANY, PRODUCT

Startup

FOCUS FOCUSALIGN ALIGN

Growth

Maturity

Decline

Focus and alignment are two sides of a coin:Alignment requires focus; focus enables alignment.

Growth/Innovation

Time

RATE OF CHANGESHORTER CYCLES REQUIRE A SUSTAINABLE FOCUS

15 years

10 years

3 years

Frequent reinvention is unsustainable.Greater transparency makes it harder to keep changing.

Audience(s) Audience researchUnmet needsPersonas, meaning

CategoryMarket dynamicsRisk toleranceStrategic objectives

Claim Opportunity spacesPositioningValue proposition

STRATEGY IS ABOUT CHOICESEASY QUESTIONS – HARD ANSWERS

FINDING FOCUS

Flic

kr u

ser

glas

seye

s vi

ew

In language and metrics, weprobably need to be more different.

MARKETS FLOCK TOGETHER

High

Low

Market attributes

Competitor 1

Competitor 2

Competitor 3

APrice

BQuality

CSpeed

DConvenience

E

MARKET MAPS

High

Low

Market attributes

APrice

BQuality

CSpeed

DConvenience

E F G

GETTING DIFFERENT

Give your customers a reason to remember you.

Product/service offering

(Given)

Communicate the offer...

(Varies)

Brand the offer...

Position the offer...

Value proposition of the offer

...

What offer?

SayDo

OLD APPROACH

Find sources of value... Holistic experience/platform

Refine the value proposition...

Create a future-focused platform...

Define key touchpoints...

Express and deliver on the claim.

Say Do

NEW APPROACHLEAD WITH SOURCES OF VALUE – WALK THE TALK

(Given) (Varies)

Stake our claim Have a point of view focused on future customer meaning, rather than today’s o�ering per se.

Design compelling experiencesIdentify key customer touchpoints to support and express your di�erence, create memorable interactions with clear outcomes.

SET THE STAGE FOR INNOVATION

FOCUS ALIGN

FOCUS ON MEANINGFUL CLAIMS

OFFERING

MEANING

PRODUCTS SERVICES

NikeShoesApparel

...Is not what customers buy.

What these brands are selling...

“Inspiration and innovation to athletes

around the world.”

Third place,convenience

Digital content,connected lifestyle

AppleComputersElectronics

Starbucks Coffee

PEOPLE-BASED POSITIONING

FOCUS ON PEOPLE CONTEXT, NEEDS, BEHAVIORS, DECISION MAKING... MEANING

Experiences

Fears

Biases

Motivations

Context

Perceptions

Alternatives

Limitations

Habit

Desires

Needs

Workarounds

Aspirations

Motivations

Behaviors

Processes

IDENTITYWho are we / What we would do

TIMEPresent vs Future

RiskGain, Loss, Uncertainty

MEANING

“The purpose of business is to create a customer.”– Peter Drucker

BRAND PLATFORM

Practice areas Target, Media, Timing

Language/Metricsfor optimization

Systems for alignment Language, Standards, Metrics

Strategic intent Audience, Claim, Support, Meaning

PRACTICE

PRINCIPLES

PHILOSOPHY

ALIGNMENT

ACTION

FOCUS

PLATFORM

MEANING

SEGMENTATIONMANUFACTURING > ECONOMIC > BEHAVIORAL

SEGMENTS OFFERING

Which features?How many?

MEANING

LANGUAGE OF OUR OFFER

MEANING

ServiceProduct

( ) ( )

REVENUE MODELS

ServiceProduct

++

$“Free”

Delivery

Shipping

Customer Support

“Free”

ConnectorsTerminals

ToolsAmenities

$

Meaning

OFFER INNOVATION PATHS

Services acting like productsProducts acting like services

SaaS Packaged pricing

ServiceProduct

SUM OF OUR OFFERPRODUCT-SERVICE CONTINUUM – CUSTOMER MEANING

= MEANING

RIS

K /

RE

SO

UR

CE

S /

IN

NO

VAT

ION

TIME

V IS ION

ENVISIONINGFINDING FOCUS

RIS

K /

RE

SO

UR

CE

S /

IN

NO

VAT

ION

TIME

BACKCASTINGREVERSE ENGINEER THE FUTURE

V I S I O N

RIS

K /

RE

SO

UR

CE

S /

IN

NO

VAT

ION

TIME

STRATEGIC ROADMAP

Vision

Meaning

RIS

K /

RE

SO

UR

CE

S /

IN

NO

VAT

ION

TIME

STRATEGIC ROADMAPMAKE DECISIONS – CREATE PRINCIPLES

Vision

FOCUS

ALIGN

Meaning

RIS

K /

RE

SO

UR

CE

S /

IN

NO

VAT

ION

Get competitive Play the game better Change the game

HORIZON PLANNING

Vision

H1

H2

H3

TIME

Meaning

ACT

H1

Initiative

Initiative

Initiative

Initiative

Initiative

Initiative

Initiative

Initiative

Initiative

TodayRapid prototypesMin. viable solutionsQuick wins

Strategic Action

TomorrowBigger stepsNew trajectoryLaunches

FuturePlatformsEcosystemsBusiness models

H2 H3

STRATEGIC ROADMAP

OFFER / FEATURE EMPHASISH1 TRIAGE

retire

support

promoteMeaning

Hard

Easy

Very ImportantNice to have

IMPORTANCE AND DIFFICULTYH2 PRIORITIZATION

1

24

3

Meaning

New Customers

Current Customers

New OfferCurrent Offer

CUSTOMER / OFFER GROWTHH3 PLANNING

Meaning

expand diversify

extend

6 monthsOfferComponents

12 months 18 months

PRODUCT ROADMAPS

Meaning

Meaning

Meaning

THANK YOU