It turns out that Mr. Henry Ford, considered by many to be the father of mass production, made cars with open bodies (like those in the movies) and did very well.
But soon Mr. Alfred Sloan took over as president of General Motors and the first thing he thought was that perhaps consumers were not so comfortable traveling open-top. For 2024 updated greenland business email list years, he devoted himself to developing the strategy of a new product that could compete with and be superior to Ford's.
Thus was born not only the closed-body car as we know it today, but also colorful vehicles, credit purchases, and various mechanical improvements that, at the risk of falling behind, forced Ford to ask the same question : how to improve customer benefits .
This is the premise that remains in the product and services strategy today : Are you applying it like the characters in the previous story? Do you want to know how to develop it in your company? Then keep reading because we will tell you:
A product can be defined as the set of physical, psychological and sociological satisfactions that a person obtains when buying or consuming an item, good or service . In other words, the product cannot be considered only from the perspective of its attributes, but also from what the consumer perceives when acquiring it.
This product definition is based on Philip Kotler's marketing mix concept , according to which customer needs should be satisfied in four pillars: product, price, distribution and promotion.
Before designing the product development strategy , it is necessary to take into account its attributes:
Brand : A unique seal, name, or symbol of a product.
Quality : is the ability of the product to satisfy the need for which it was designed.
Design : physical characteristics with which the product was created.
Packaging : It is the product wrapper and the first focus of consumer attention.
Augmented product : This is what companies add to the product to differentiate it from others on the market: after-sales service , installation, warranty and product life cycle, which we will discuss in more detail later.
It is important to clarify that within a business model , a service is also considered a product . The only difference is that one is tangible and the other is not.
What is a product strategy?
Although there is no single definition, a product strategy can be summarized as the group of activities that a company plans and executes to meet its goals and objectives in the market.
The benefits of a product strategy can be summarized in 5:
1. Align teams around the same goal
A product development strategy articulates the activities of marketing, sales and customer experience teams. This is essential when it comes to offering the best services to meet consumer needs.
According to a LinkedIn study , 87% of marketing and sales leaders say that working together between the two areas promotes company growth and facilitates the achievement of goals.
2. Allows you to make tactical decisions
In a VUCA world (volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous), companies' ability to adapt to sudden changes must be a constant.
If the company loses resources, faces cuts or is affected by external factors, the path established by the product and service strategy will facilitate making quick decisions such as prioritizing, pausing or even accelerating certain activities.
3. Increase customer satisfaction
Remember our friends Ford and Sloan at the beginning of this article? The point that made the difference in the automotive market at that time was thinking like the customer.
21% of products launched on the market do not satisfy customer needs , according to Product Management consultancy 280 Group.
Therefore, the more and better a company knows its customers, the greater the possibility of success not only in the product development strategy , but also in the results obtained.
4. Improves the company's reputation
The positioning and actions taken by a company in a given situation contribute (or not) to improving its reputation.
Companies are increasingly aware of a fundamental issue: people buy from brands they trust . To achieve this goal , the product life cycle strategy will define the best tactics for each phase of development.
5. Increase profits
A product manager can help increase company profits by up to 34.5% , and an excellent product strategy plays a crucial role in this.
When marketing and sales roadmaps are aligned, product management is enhanced and, consequently, results improve . That is why optimizing product and service strategies becomes increasingly necessary.
An important point is that the strategy can be designed during product development, market introduction or service increase. The basis for defining it is the product life cycle, since each phase corresponds to different strategies , as we will explain later.
