Crafting a robust product strategy in 3 steps

“What's a good product strategy?”

Most of us have been confronted with this head-scratcher during investor pitches, team brainstorming, or strategy meetings.

Recently, on a podcast featuring Intercom leaders, it was interesting to hear them distill the essence of a robust product strategy into three elegantly simple aspects. And here they are :)

Uniqueness: What makes you stand out? It's about figuring out why people should pick you over everyone else. What's your special sauce that makes customers go, "Wow, I need that!"?

Similarity: But hey, being unique doesn't mean being totally alien. Your customers need assurance that by choosing you, they're not stepping into uncharted territory. So, you gotta show them that while you're different, you understand their needs intimately, and that transitioning from their current solution to yours will be seamless.

Coherence: And here's where design comes in! It's about bringing the cool unique stuff and the familiar stuff together in a way that feels like a natural fit. It's not about patching together disparate elements but orchestrating them into a cohesive whole that feels natural and intuitive to the user.

Yeah .. in hindsight, it's astounding how the most profound insights often reside in simplicity. By focusing on these three fundamental aspects, we can (hopefully) craft product strategies that not only captivate, but endure :)