Where Product Strategy Fits Into Your Revenue Growth Model for 2016

As we found in this year’s research report, top-producing organizations systematize revenue growth according to a specific, six-step process. This process is called Strategic Alignment. To ensure your company’s strategies are effectively aligned, download the report here.

As the third phase in Strategic Alignment, Product Strategy plays a key role in connecting two halves of the revenue growth system.

So, before you flesh out your Product Strategy, it’s important to understand not just what your team needs to deliver, but also how your findings fit into the company’s overall structure.

Here’s what you need to know to prep your Product plan for 2016.

Product Strategy plays a key role in connecting two halves of the revenue growth system. Where does Product Strategy fit into the hierarchy?

The hierarchy of Strategic Alignment flows as follows:

1. Market Research
2. Corporate Strategy
3. Product Strategy
4. Marketing Strategy
5. Sales Strategy
6. Talent Strategy

According to this outline, Product Strategy depends on the insights from Market Research and Corporate. And the following three strategies can’t be fleshed out without input from Product.

What do I need to accomplish?

The goal of the Product team is to allocate product investments to solve market problems that occur frequently, are painful, and that buyers are willing to pay to fix.

The Product Strategy pulls insights from the external marketplace and is aligned with the Corporate Strategy. Most importantly, it requires key choices, such as which products to invest in and which ones to forgo.

These goals are sufficient for guiding your own team. But how can you be sure your insights support the Marketing, Sales, and Talent strategies?

What questions must I be able to answer in relation to the company?

Three other departments rely on your Product Strategy. For example, Sales can’t figure out how to communicate with new customers until they know what buyers are willing to pay for. And Marketing can’t develop advanced campaigns without a grasp of updated Product offerings.

In order to be sure you’re doing your part in the six-step process, ask your team these five questions:

1. How is the Product Strategy using the insights from Market Research to drive allocations of resources?
2. How is the Product Strategy taking direction from the Corporate Strategy to drive the allocation of resources?
3. What does the Product Strategy need from the Marketing Strategy to be successful?
4. What does the Product Strategy need from the Sales Strategy to be successful?
5. What does the Product Strategy need from the Talent Strategy to be successful?

If you can answer these questions clearly, you know that you’re delivering not just what your team needs, but also what the other departments need to make the number in 2016.

Now that you have what you need to prep your Product Strategy, dive into the entire six-step revenue growth process on page 27 of our research report, which you can download right here.