Rapid Product Strategy

Analyze your environment and competitors and define what you want to achieve and how you plan to ...

Sessions
4
Steps
16
Last edited
Apr 9, 2022
Created by
Nova

About this process

Define what you want to achieve and how you plan to get there, analyze your environment and competitors and define your vision. It is the "why" behind the product and must come before the "what," "when," and "how." This is goal-first approach with strategic path for product managers to help them guide their vision towards innovation and growth. Sessions: Market analysis (segments) Market research Competitors Value proposition Goals Add additional sessions to your workflow.

Sessions at a glance
#SessionSteps
01Competitors502Market research403User persona704Vision and Goals0

The process in detail

4 sessions · 16 steps
01

Competitors

5 steps
  1. 1

    Create a quick list of direct competitors.

  2. 2

    Evaluate who from that list is recognized as an industry leading company

  3. 3

    Evaluate your key competitors

  4. 4

    Discuss and evaluate each feature/service

  5. 5

    Discuss and identify potential weaknesses and opportunities.

Read the full text
1. Create a quick list of direct competitors.
Work on the whiteboardCompetitive Matrix
2. Evaluate who from that list is recognized as an industry leading company

Evaluate why these competitors are leading the industry. Focus on their competitive advantage and branding that differentiates them from the rest of the industry. Tips: You can add their name or their logos and place them inside the matrix Select your key competitor before you move to step 3.

Work on the whiteboardCompetitive Matrix
3. Evaluate your key competitors

Quickly review your sticky notes board and evaluate the product strategies that your competitors use to target customers and grow their business.

Consider the following questions in addition to your initial thoughts:

•What is the brand strategy?
•What is their value proposition? What's your secret sauce?
•What type pf partnerships do they have? With who? How are they gaining trust?
•Define their product.

Recommendations: If you are evaluating 2 or more competitors use one sticky note color per competitor.

Work on the whiteboardCompetitive Matrix
4. Discuss and evaluate each feature/service

You will use a 👀1 to 5 scale to evaluate each feature.

1 = Bad implementation and design 5 = Great usability, design and implementation

You can also add notes and comments.

5. Discuss and identify potential weaknesses and opportunities.

Open the board you created in Step 3 and discuss:

•How can your increase your own competitive advantage?
•Discuss and identify your competition strengths/weaknesses and compare those with your own strengths/weaknesses.

Add your thoughts and ideas in the notes here or inside the conclusions section.

Write a note
Competitive Matrix
  • Competitive Analysis
  • 3
  • Direct Competitors
  • 1
  • Select and evaluate your main competitor or competitors. Use the different sticky color sticky notes - per business/alternative
  • Competitor Competitor Competitor
  • Users and partnerships
  • Product
  • Value Proposition
  • Branding
  • How do they solve/help their target market/stakeholders eliminate their pain
  • Segments and target market. Who are they working with? How are they gaining trust?
  • Logos, Tag lines, Illustration, Website, etc
  • Affordability, easy to use, performance, reliability, privacy, safety, etc.
  • Notes
  • Start typing here...
  • Feature/Service Analysis
  • Matrix Evaluation
  • 4
  • 2
  • 0=Doesn't provide this service/feature 5=great service/feature
  • Industry Leaders
  • YOUR PRODUCT
  • [PRODUCT] COMPETITOR
  • [PRODUCT] COMPETITOR
  • [PRODUCT] COMPETITOR
  • [PRODUCT] COMPETITOR
  • [PRODUCT] COMPETITOR
  • [PRODUCT] COMPETITOR
  • 1
  • 2
  • 1
  • 1
  • 3
  • 5
  • 4
  • [FEATURE] or [SERVICE]
  • Competitor
  • YOU
  • [FEATURE]
  • 1
  • 2
  • 1
  • 1
  • 3
  • 5
  • 4
  • Competitor
  • Benefits
  • [FEATURE]
  • 1
  • 2
  • 1
  • 1
  • 3
  • 5
  • 4
  • Competitor
  • [FEATURE]
  • 1
  • 2
  • 1
  • 1
  • 3
  • 5
  • 4
  • [FEATURE]
  • 1
  • 2
  • 1
  • 1
  • 3
  • 5
  • 4
  • Price
  • [FEATURE]
  • 1
  • 2
  • 1
  • 1
  • 3
  • 5
  • 4
  • [FEATURE]
  • 1
  • 2
  • 1
  • 1
  • 3
  • 5
  • 4
  • [FEATURE]
  • 1
  • 2
  • 1
  • 1
  • 3
  • 5
  • 4
  • [FEATURE]
  • 4
  • 1
  • 2
  • 1
  • 1
  • 3
  • 5
02

Market research

4 steps
  1. 1

    Research market environment

  2. 2

    Discuss findings

  3. 3

    Find recent innovation

  4. 4

    Find old solutions

Read the full text
1. Research market environment

Learn about the market environment. Find the most recent news related to the product, problem, or challenge. You and your team can use magazines, journals, newspapers, TV news, etc, and add them to the board. Write down sources you will explore to the last step in this session. Everyone should add their relevant findings to sticky notes on the Sticky Board, one finding per note.

Work on the whiteboardMarket Research Board
2. Discuss findings

Each member discusses their findings with the group. Cover information in the following categories and write down findings:

Macro-environment: Demographics factors Economic factors Social Cultural factors Environment Factors Tech Factors Micro-environment: Market size, trends, growth, ROI, Competition, etc Customer needs, segmentation, patterns, motivations. Suppliers Competitors Partners Internal Sales ROA Brand awareness Culture and values Use the board to schedule a meeting with the team.

Work on the whiteboardMarket Research Board
3. Find recent innovation

Find recent innovation in the field and find experts and visionaries that are talking about it. What of the above categories do these recent innovations belong to? Discuss interesting concepts, why they were created, why they worked or didn’t work, and highlight unique business advantages of each that create a better customer experience. What recent campaigns or products have resonated with the market, and why?

Work on the whiteboardMarket Research Board
4. Find old solutions

Write down a list of old solutions in the market. Think about how they work, and how they cover each of the categories above. Which solutions failed? Why? If you are focused on creating a marketing campaign, what competition or old campaigns have resonated with the market, and why?

Work on the whiteboardMarket Research Board
Market Research Board
  • Secondary research canvas
  • This is a sticky-note!
  • This is a sticky-note!
  • Economic factors
  • Environmental factors
  • Who are you? Values, objectives, vision, strategy, etc.
  • Partners
  • Suppliers
  • This is a sticky-note!
  • This is a sticky-note!
  • This is a sticky-note!
  • This is a sticky-note!
  • Competitors
  • Competitors
  • Social and cultural factors
  • Environmental factors
  • Market Market size, ROE, Growth, etc.
  • Customers Needs, segments, etc.
  • Demographic factors
  • Technological factors
  • Find recent innovation in the field and find experts and visionaries that are talking about it. What of the above categories do these recent innovations belong to? Discuss interesting concepts, why they were created, why they worked or didn’t work, and highlight unique business advantages of each that create a better customer experience. What recent campaigns or products have resonated with the market, and why?
  • Write down a list of old solutions in the market. Think about how they work, and how they cover each of the categories above. Which solutions failed? Why? If you are focused on creating a marketing campaign, what competition or old campaigns have resonated with the market, and why?
03

User persona

7 steps
  1. 1

    User/Buyer persona.

  2. 2

    Review findings on the board

  3. 3

    Scenario (When)

  4. 4

    User story (What?) and definition of done.

  5. 5

    Where and How?

  6. 6

    Discuss findings

  7. 7

    Beachhead/ Early adopter (optional)

Read the full text
1. User/Buyer persona.

Start by finding information online, which is the easiest way to gather data quickly.

Write down a number of places where your customers may hang out online, and make sure your team searches for recent data.

Excellent places to search are online forums, Facebook groups, comments sections of popular blog posts, Google reviews, and Amazon reviews. Comments on these sites are excellent places to observe the way your customers really feel.

Place special emphasis on posts where 👉customers define their fears, needs, habits, and personal dreams.

👈 Add all the information to the whiteboard.

🔥Tips:

•Too often, personas are based on guesses instead of research. Actionable, accurate, useful personas are discovered, not created.
•Personas should be short and focused. All the information should have a purpose.
Work on the whiteboardPersona Board
2. Review findings on the board

After everybody is done in the previous step, review and discuss all findings. Takedown individual customer ‘attributes’ onto sticky notes. Add one attribute per sticky note.

You will know when you have enough information when you feel like you know this person. You should be able to imagine their beliefs, passions, aspirations, fears, hobbies, etc. Continue finding information until you feel like the personality of your persona is fully-formed and feels as real as a close friend.

Write down a name for this Persona or use the most common name that comes up in your customer files. This will help your team to have empathy for the customer as if it were a real person.

You may also choose to have more in-depth interviews to flesh out your Persona.

To finalize this board, choose a stock photo for your Persona.

Work on the whiteboardPersona Board
3. Scenario (When)

When do they need a solution? When do they feel the pain? When could discover your solution?

Additional questions:

•Explore the touch points where stakeholders engaged with the user scenario or journey mapping.
•Explore the touch point where they could discover or/and use your solution.
Work on the whiteboardPersona Board
4. User story (What?) and definition of done.

User story:

•As a [user type] I can [do "action" X] so that [something I want happens].
•As a [user type] I can [functionality] so that [outcome of the action/benefit].
•When I [act] I want [goal] so that [gain/benefit]

Definition of done (acceptance criteria)

... and I know I am done when [Y]

5. Where and How?

Visual map of any place where users act and interact with the solution.

6. Discuss findings

By now the board should be complete. You and your team should know how your customer looks, what they say, what they think, how they feel.

If the picture is not yet clear, go back and add more details to complete the board. In this step, discuss the completed board with all participants and highlight important points.

🔥Tips:

•Keep your board clean. Every piece of information should have a purpose for being included and should help you understand your user or buyer. If adding information about their favourite Brands is not relevant to your company, you should remove it.
•Involve everyone: Everyone should be involved making a persona. This build a feeling of ownership and approval.
Write a note
7. Beachhead/ Early adopter (optional)

If this is a new product you can define who will be your early adopter.

Persona Board
  • User Persona
  • Beachhead/Early adopter Who will be the ideal target to sell your new solution? Who will understand your solution and will need less training? You often choose this market based on the compatibility between resources available, the product (solution), and the market itself.
  • Story: start typing...
  • Goals & Motivations: Tasks they’re trying to complete, problems they’re trying to solve, or wants or needs they’re trying to satisfy.
  • Pain points Negative emotions, undesired costs or situations, risks,..
  • Description:
  • Start typing...
  • Start typing...
  • Example: Young professionals working as junior marketing coordinators in Canada - trying to get things done be effective at work.
  • Job-to-be-done
  • Segment or Archetype**: eg. student Human name:** Name Role:** Buyer
  • Frustrations: start typing...
  • See & Hear What do they see? What is everyone saying and doing?
  • Inspiration & Influencers: start typing...
  • Pain:
  • What is their pain?
  • Where:
  • Where can you find them?
  • Demographics: Location: Toronto, CA Age: 23 Sex: F Family/Status: Single Income: $45000
  • Blockers, Challenges & Habits: Tasks they’re trying to complete, problems they’re trying to solve, or wants or needs they’re trying to satisfy. start typing...
  • Pain killer or reliever? Are they looking for a pain killer or a reliever? Are they aware they have a problem?
  • Quote: "Text"
  • Scenario (When?) eg. The user is inviting someone for coffee but the other person got there earlier.
  • Start typing...
  • User story (or Job story) As a [user type or segment] I can [do X] so that [Y] (or because).Add one per sticky note.
  • Definition of done and additional notes
  • Where? How?
04

Vision and Goals

Read the full text
New Board
  • Start typing...
  • Start typing...
  • Start typing...
  • Start typing...
  • Start typing...
  • Start typing...
  • Start typing...
Use this process
Capabilities
Fully editableAdapts as work changesAdd more sessions anytimeAI can be assigned
N
Created byNova·Official process
Last edited Apr 9, 2022·4 sessions · 16 steps