The Product Strategy Playbook

Product Strategy
Playbook
A step-by-step guide for Product Leaders on how to create a

winning product strategy.
Authored by:
Moe Ali, Founder & CEO, Product Faculty
Table of Contents:
Introduction to Product Strategy Playbook 3
Chapter 1: Why use the Product Strategy Playbook? 4
Chapter 2: About the Product Strategy Framework 7
Chapter 3: Pillar One — The Customer 13
Chapter 4: Pillar Two — The Product 18
Chapter 5: Pillar Three — The Company 23
Chapter 6: Pillar Four — The Competition 28
Chapter 7: Real-life Example: Kijiji Autos Mobile App 33
Chapter 8: Assessing your Results 48
Chapter 9: Entering the Market 50
Chapter 10: The Death of the MVP 54
Chapter 11: Putting it into Practice 57
Chapter 12: Conclusion 59
About the Author 61

Introduction to Chapter 7:
Product Strategy Real-life Example: Kijiji
Playbook Autos Mobile App
Chapter 1:
Chapter 8:
Why use the Product
Assessing your Results
Strategy Playbook?
Chapter 2:
Chapter 9:
About the Product
Entering the Market
Strategy Framework
Chapter 3:
Chapter 10:
Pillar One:
The Death of the MVP
The Customer
Chapter 4
Chapter 11:
Pillar Two:
Putting it into Practice
The Product
Chapter 5:
Chapter 12:
Pillar Three:
Conclusion
The Company
Chapter 6:
Pillar Four: About the Author
The Competition
Introduction to Product Strategy Playbook
Who is this playbook for?
You are:
● A product manager, product leader, founder, CEO, or a senior leader of a company

responsible for making decisions about whether or not to launch a new product
● Responsible for developing the strategy to launch the product; or one of the key
stakeholders providing input into those decisions
● Want to know the questions and factors the top 1% of Product Leaders consider when
launching a new product
Your challenges include:
● You struggle with having structure in your conversations with key stakeholders about
developing product strategy for a new product launch and often lose the trust of your
stakeholders
● You often get stuck in the “strategy rabbit hole” and spend an inordinate amount of time
researching unnecessary aspects, that have little to no relevance to the success of the
product
● You don’t have a way to compare strategic alternatives when comparing multiple
product launch ideas
● You’re viewed by stakeholders as “only caring for the customer” and not the business
● You have a desire to be “more strategic” but don’t know what questions to ask or what
areas to look at when trying to come up with a comprehensive launch strategy
● You are not trusted by business stakeholders as someone who can contribute to
strategic decisions
www.productfaculty.com 4 of 61
Introduction to Product Strategy Playbook
Who is this playbook for?
By the end of this book, you will:
● Be able to apply the Product Strategy Framework in your company to new product
launches, and diagnose why previous launches failed or succeeded
● Have a clear understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of your product strategy
● Have a framework to help you drive greater alignment and shared understanding
about your product strategy
● Be able to use it as a tool to achieve a ‘common language’ among your product teams
when communicating your product vision and strategy
Chapter 7:
Introduction to Product
Real-life Example: Kijiji
Strategy Playbook
Autos Mobile App
Chapter 1:
Chapter 8:
Why use the Product
Strategy Playbook?
Chapter 2:
Chapter 9:
About the Product
Entering the Market
Strategy Framework
Chapter 3:
Chapter 10:
Pillar One:
The Customer
Chapter 4
Chapter 11:
Pillar Two:
The Product
Chapter 5:
Chapter 12:
Pillar Three:
Conclusion
The Company
Chapter 6:
The Competition
Chapter 1:
Why use the Product Strategy Playbook?
Dean was feeling burned out.
A Project-Manager-turned Product Manager, he was going into his second year at a

medium-sized, business-to-business (B2B) software-as-a-service (SaaS) company. He did
everything a product person should do: researching the market, conducting customer
interviews and listening to his stakeholders. He worked 60+ hours per week and thought that
if he just worked harder, he’d be able to make his next product launch a success.
“Our process included almost no strategic planning”, Dean said. “The absence of a strategic
framework led us to copy our competitors or just build what our CEO wanted. When we did
launch something ‘original’, the market didn’t bite.” Dean also shared that his team often
spent weeks exploring an idea that was ultimately vetoed by the Engineering team because it
wasn’t feasible.
We met Dean during Product Faculty’s Advanced Product Management Masterclass in 2020.
Product Faculty has helped thousands of Product Managers fast-track their careers by
teaching them the tools, skills and frameworks used by the top 1% of Product Managers. In
our first week of the 6-week Program, we cover the Product Strategy module, during which we
teach Product Managers how to apply the Product Strategy Framework.
A team using the Product Strategy Framework is able to assess how successful their
product or major feature launch would be — before they actually launch. It’s a tool that
can be used to gain alignment and drive a shared understanding among key stakeholders
about your product strategy. The framework can also be applied retrospectively — as a
diagnostic tool — to help determine the reason behind a failed product or major feature.
1-PAGE PRODUCT STRATEGY FRAMEWORK
This is the first time a comprehensive, end-to-end, one-page Strategic

Framework has been developed specifically for Product professionals.
Dean learned the Product Strategy Framework in class and used the weekly Office Hours to dive
deep into the nuances of the framework to truly understand the gaps in his product strategy.
He realized that there were critical questions that he did not know, he had to ask.
In this playbook, we will teach you about the Product Strategy Framework, describe how to
apply it to your product and share the best practices of how to communicate it with your
stakeholders.
As for Dean, he’s still using the skills and tools he learned during the Advanced Product
Management MasterClass. His career has progressed; he got promoted to a Director of
Product at his company and continues to drive more impact for his company and customers.
This is what we want for you.
Chapter 7:
Strategy Playbook
Autos Mobile App
Chapter 1:
Chapter 8:
About the Product
Strategy Framework
Chapter 2:
Chapter 9:
About the Product
Entering the Market
Strategy Framework
Chapter 3:
Chapter 10:
Pillar One:
The Customer
Chapter 4
Chapter 11:
Pillar Two:
The Product
Chapter 5:
Chapter 12:
Pillar Three:
Conclusion
The Company
Chapter 6:
The Competition
Chapter 2:
About the Product Strategy Framework
In this chapter, you will learn:
1. The purpose of a Product Strategy Framework
2. The key pillars of the Product Strategy Framework
3. How you can apply the Product Strategy Framework to your product
What is the Product Strategy Framework?
Product Faculty’s Product Strategy Framework is a model that addresses where to start with the
fundamental decisions about whether or not to develop a particular product.
Most Product Managers don’t know what “being more strategic” actually means in practice.
They don't know what questions they need to ask, or how to tell if the product they're working
on is strategically aligned and likely to be successful. This is where the Product Strategy
Framework comes in.
All models are wrong,
“ but some are useful.

- George E. P. Box
While no model can guarantee success, they can help you see opportunities and issues with
your product. As a model, the Product Strategy Framework will get you 90% of the way there.
The Framework is used to assess the end-to-end viability of a product. It's a universal
framework, one that can be applied to any product for any company. It's a strategic tool used
to perform a health check on the competitiveness of the product you're about to launch, or it
can be used retrospectively as a diagnostic tool to help determine the reason behind the
failure of a particular product.
What are the key pillars of the Product Strategy Framework?
In order for a product to be successful, Product Managers need to think through the ‘4 pillars’
of their product strategy. These pillars are factors that most impact the success of your new
product launch. Without these “pillars”, your product strategy will have significant gaps and
your product will inevitably fail to gain traction in the market.
These pillars are:
CUSTOMER PRODUCT COMPANY COMPETITION
Bear in mind that not all Pillars of the framework are equally weighted. The Pillar that
is most important is the Customer Pillar, followed by the Product Pillar. In Chapter 8, we
delve in more deeply on the weights and how to assess your results.
After going through this framework, you'll be able to see whether or not your product will be
successful post-launch.
For each of the four key pillars, there are a set of questions you need to ask yourself. The
answers to those questions can then be rated on a traffic light system: Green is good, amber
is neutral, and red means you have cause for concern.
Let’s dive into each pillar and uncover the key questions you should be asking before
launching your product.
Chapter 7:
Strategy Playbook
Autos Mobile App
Chapter 1:
Chapter 8:
About the Product
Strategy Framework
Chapter 2:
Chapter 9:
About the Product
Entering the Market
Strategy Framework
Chapter 3:
Chapter 10:
Pillar One:
The Customer
Chapter 4
Chapter 11:
Pillar Two:
The Product
Chapter 5:
Chapter 12:
Pillar Three:
Conclusion
The Company
Chapter 6:
The Competition
Chapter 3:
Pillar One — The Customer
As mentioned in the previous section, you must evaluate your product strategy’s viability
against 4 pillars: Customer, Product, Company and Competition
ONE-PAGE PRODUCT STRATEGY FRAMEWORK
The first, and the most important pillar is the Customer Pillar. There are 3 elements within
the Customer Pillar that you must evaluate:
1. Segments
2. Retention
3. Customer Pain
Segments
Overview
The focus of this element is to evaluate the size and growth of your customer segments
you are targeting.
Why is this important?

It doesn't matter how great your product is, or how fast you iterate. The market you’re in
will determine a significant part of your growth.
Questions to ask How to measure? Additional guidance
● What is the total A large segment ● A customer segment is

addressable market that's growing fast. a group of customers
(TAM) of the different with common
customer segments A moderately sized demographic or
that you’re targeting? segment in a slow psychographic
growth market or a characteristics.
● What is the small segment in a
year-over-year growth moderately ● This is a high-level
of each segment? growing market market-sizing exercise;
use readily available
data from Google or
A small segment
your company.
that's not growing.
Retention
Overview
The focus of this element is to evaluate how often users will actually use the product.

Strong retention is the prerequisite for growth for both B2B and consumer products. You
need to develop a hypothesis on the organic frequency of how often the product will be
used.
● What is the naturally The need for your ● This is based on

occurring frequency of product is daily, or usage; not purchase
the problem that your more frequent. frequency. For
product is solving? example: a phone may
(Define this for each The need for your only be purchased
target customer product is every one or two
segment you’re in-between daily years, but will likely be
targeting.) and monthly. used daily.
● Is this something that

customers will use daily, The need for your
or is it more likely to be product is yearly or
something that's only less frequent.
used once every few
years?
Customer Pain
Overview
The focus of this element is to evaluate the magnitude of your users' pain that your
product is solving for.

The bigger the pain that your product is solving, the more your customers will want to buy
and use your product.
● Is this product a High magnitude of ● Just because your

vitamin or a pain killer? pain, an essential product is a “Vitamin”,
need for the user. that does not mean
● Vitamin = a nice to your product will not
have, but not an In-between a be successful.
essential need. pain-killer and a
vitamin. ● Although a ”Vitamin”
● Painkiller = vital need; will rank as a “Red” in
something the Low magnitude of this section, your
customers cannot live pain, an optional product idea may still
without. requirement for the be valid, if for
user. example, the organic
frequency of usage is
high.
Chapter 7:
Strategy Playbook
Autos Mobile App
Chapter 1:
Chapter 8:
About the Product
Strategy Framework
Chapter 2:
Chapter 9:
About the Product
Entering the Market
Strategy Framework
Chapter 3:
Chapter 10:
Pillar One:
The Customer
Chapter 4:
Chapter 11:
Pillar Two:
The Product
Chapter 5:
Chapter 12:
Pillar Three:
Conclusion
The Company
Chapter 6:
The Competition
Chapter 4:
Pillar Two: The Product
The next Pillar in the framework is the Product Pillar. There are 3 elements within the
Product Pillar that you must evaluate:
1. Unfair Advantage
2. Reach
3. Replicability
Unfair Advantage
Overview
The focus of this element is to evaluate the depth of your domain expertise,
experience and/or connections and how well they serve you in building the product.

If you have little to no expertise, experience and/or connections, you have no significant
advantage over your competitors.
Factors to consider How to measure? Additional guidance
Deep insights (that

● What special expertise ● Consider factors such
others lack), lots of
or insights do you as how long you've
experience &
have? been working in a
connections in the
particular domain, the
● What's your level of industry.
number of patents you
experience in this have, and so on.
Have some level of
particular field?
domain expertise /
experience, but not
● Do you have a strong
very deep.
network of experts who
you can access for Little to no domain
advice and funding? expertise, past
experience or
connections in the
industry.
Reach
Overview
This element evaluates the strength of your reach across various distribution channels.

It doesn’t matter how good your product is if no one knows about it. Although you could
build up reach from scratch, it requires time and effort. You need to factor in this time and
effort to get a sense of how quickly you can grow your product.
● Do you already have a Massive community ● Real-life example: Even

large community, with or large # of though Uber was a
a strong email list followers. fast-growing company,
and/or following on UberEats was even
social media? Some community faster. Why? UberEats
and/or followers. was able to take
advantage of the reach
Uber had already built.
Little to no
community or
followers.
Replicability
Overview
This element evaluates your competitor’s ability and likelihood of copying your
Product’s feature set.

Anyone of the tech giants has the capability to enter almost any field and replicate almost
any feature set they want. However, unless it fits in with their current roadmap, it's unlikely
that they will do so. This element asks you to consider the ability and likelihood that your
competitors would/could replicate your feature set.
● Is it possible that your Features are unlikely ● Likelihood trumps

competitors will copy to be replicated by possibility. In other
your competitors
your feature set? words, the possibility
given their current
of competitors copying
product roadmap in
● Is it likely that your you matters less if they
the near future.
competitors will copy are unlikely to copy
your feature set? It is neither likely or
you (because it’s not on
unlikely that
competitors will copy their product
● Could you easily achieve
your feature set. roadmap).
further differentiation by
releasing new features? Features are likely to
be replicated by your
competitors given
their current product
roadmap in the near
future.
Chapter 7:
Strategy Playbook
Autos Mobile App
Chapter 1:
Chapter 8:
About the Product
Strategy Framework
Chapter 2:
Chapter 9:
About the Product
Entering the Market
Strategy Framework
Chapter 3:
Chapter 10:
Pillar One:
The Customer
Chapter 4
Chapter 11:
Pillar Two:
The Product
Chapter 5:
Chapter 12:
Pillar Three:
Conclusion
The Company
Chapter 6:
The Competition
Chapter 5:
Pillar Three: The Company
The next Pillar in the framework is the Company Pillar. There are 3 elements within the
Company Pillar that you must evaluate:
1. Technical Feasibility
2. Go-to-Market (GTM) Viability
3. Supplier Power
Technical Feasibility
Overview
The focus of this element is to evaluate your ability to build the product with available
resources.

An assessment of the technical feasibility is critical to the success of the project. If you don’t
have what it takes to build the product, it will be a sure failure.
● Have you built a Lots of available ● Almost any product is

product like this resources and ‘feasible’, but is the
before? experience in product you’re wanting
implementation. to launch feasible
● Can you build the given your specific
product with the Just enough time and resource
available time and resources and constraints?
resources? experience in
implementation with
some key risks.
Little to no
resources and no
experience in
implementation.
Go-to-Market (GTM) Viability
Overview
The focus of this element is to evaluate your ability to market and sell the product.

“Build it and they will come” is a misnomer. Go-to-market motions are critical to the success
of your product; even more so, if your product is in a space with a lot of competitors.
● Acquiring customers is a
● Do you have the Lots of past
science.
capability and experience selling in
infrastructure to this space and/or to ● Sales and Marketing are
market and sell this similar buyers. the activities you do to
acquire a customer. If you
product?
don’t think you have (or
Just enough can) define/implement a
● How will you reach experience selling in repeatable Sales and
your buyers/users? this space. Marketing system to
acquire customers, you’re a
● Have you marketed or No sales motions red.
sold a similar product figured out,

● Depending on your product
in the past? operating in a and price-point, it may take
new/untested a while to figure out the
domain. right channels to use and
sales motions that will work
for you.
Supplier Power
Overview
The focus of this element is to evaluate the amount of power your suppliers have.

This will help you determine your level of reliance on your supplier.
● For tech companies, your

● How many suppliers There are many suppliers could be the
are there? suppliers; your developers and/or marketers
responsible for creating and
dependency on marketing your product.
● What is your suppliers is low.
● For two-sided marketplace
dependence on the
platforms, suppliers would
supplier? Are they include those providing the
The # of suppliers is
critical to your value desired service. For example,
neither excessive Uber's suppliers would include
chain? What happens
nor non-existent; it’s their drivers, while Airbnb's
if a supplier fails? suppliers would include the
somewhere in the
accommodation hosts.
middle.
● What are the costs
● If you’re building AI-based
involved from technology, your technical AI
Suppliers are highly resources would be your
switching from one
specialized and/or suppliers.
supplier to another?
scarce. ● Focus on your most critical
suppliers.
Chapter 7:
Strategy Playbook
Autos Mobile App
Chapter 1:
Chapter 8:
About the Product
Strategy Framework
Chapter 2:
Chapter 9:
About the Product
Entering the Market
Strategy Framework
Chapter 3:
Chapter 10:
Pillar One:
The Customer
Chapter 4
Chapter 11:
Pillar Two:
The Product
Chapter 5:
Chapter 12:
Pillar Three:
Conclusion
The Company
Chapter 6:
The Competition
Chapter 6:
Pillar Four: The Competition
The final Pillar in the framework is the Competition Pillar. There are 3 elements within the
Competition Pillar that you must evaluate:
1. Competitive Rivalry
2. Barriers to Entry
3. Brand Power
Competitive Rivalry
Overview
The focus of this element is to evaluate the number and size of your competitors.

The more competition you have, the harder it will be for you to acquire customers. If you’re
in a very competitive market, it’s very important for you to have clear differentiation through
a focus on market positioning.
● How many Few or no ● Generally, the more

competitors are in the competitors (blue competitors there are,
same space? ocean). the harder you’ll have
to work to gain the
● What is their attention of your
Neither too many
market-share customers.
nor too few
concentration of your
competitors.
competitors?
Lots of competitors
(red light).
Barriers to Entry
Overview
The focus of this element is to evaluate how easy it is for your competitors to enter the
market.

Barriers to entry can give you an initial advantage. If the barriers to entry are high, it’ll be
difficult for competitors to enter your market; therefore, you can launch with a ‘more
imperfect’ product.
● Top tech companies like Amazon,

● How easy or difficult is it Low barriers and Facebook, LinkedIn and others
for your competitors to easy to enter the have hundreds of millions of
enter the market? customers; allowing the companies
space. to take advantage of network
effects.
● Do you have any ‘moats
of protection’ that give ● If you are trying to launch a new
you a significant Neither very low nor “LinkedIn” (for example), it doesn’t
advantage over new matter how good your user
very high barriers to
experience is; if there are very few
competitors, such as:
entry. members using your product, it will
network effects, have little value or incentive for
economies of scale, new users to sign up.
vertical integration,
strong brand loyalty, High barriers and ● Complex products or those that
require specific expertise/
control over important difficult to enter the resources that aren't readily
platforms, deep space. available to manufacture are
expertise or patent naturally going to be harder to
replicate; thus mean a higher
protection?
barrier to entry for your
competitors.
Brand Power
Overview
The focus of this element is to evaluate your level of brand awareness.

In the long-run, investments in brand can give you a significant strategic advantage because
it lowers the cost of acquiring new customers (CAC).
● What is your aided and High aided/unaided ● Companies that

unaided brand brand awareness. already have a strong
awareness? brand awareness have
an advantage over
● Is it enough to Not very high, nor new companies that
differentiate you from very low, brand have little to no brand
the competition? awareness. awareness because it’s
easier for strong brand
Little to no High companies to acquire
aided/unaided new customers.
brand awareness.
Chapter 7:
Real-life Example:
Strategy Playbook
Kijiji Autos Mobile App
Chapter 1:
Chapter 8:
About the Product
Strategy Framework
Chapter 2:
Chapter 9:
About the Product
Entering the Market
Strategy Framework
Chapter 3:
Chapter 10:
Pillar One:
The Customer
Chapter 4
Chapter 11:
Pillar Two:
The Product
Chapter 5:
Chapter 12:
Pillar Three:
Conclusion
The Company
Chapter 6:
The Competition
Chapter 7:
Real-life Example: Kijiji Autos Mobile App
Hopefully, you can already see how answering the questions in the Product Strategy Framework
can clarify the viability of your product. To illustrate how the Product Strategy Framework
works, let's take a look at a real-life example: the launch of the brand new Kijiji Autos app.
Kijiji, a marketplace that allows you to buy and sell goods, launched an app in Canada that
allowed users to shop for cars online. While users could already shop for cars on kijiji.com, it
was mixed in with the rest of the marketplace. Kijiji Autos, on the other hand, is an app that's
100% dedicated to buying cars.
Kijiji’s hypothesis was that the experience of buying a car sucks. With their massive customer
base and inventory, they set out to reimagine the experience and behavior around buying a
car on a mobile device.
Let's assess Kijiji Autos with the Product Strategy Framework and see how viable it is as a
product.
Pillar #1:
The Customer
Segments
Overview
The focus of this element is to evaluate the size and growth of your customer segments
you are targeting.

It doesn't matter how great your product is, or how fast you iterate. The market you’re in
will determine a significant part of your growth.
Questions to ask Evaluation
You can do a high-level, back-of-the-envelope market

● What is the total addressable market sizing exercise to estimate the segment size for used-car
customers:
(TAM) of the different customer ● There are approximately 30M Canadians.
segments that you’re targeting? ● Of those, 50% are in the age group where they're
likely to buy a car (20 - 60 years old).
● What is the year-over-year growth of ● Of those, we can assume 50% would buy a car,
rather than rely on public transit.
each segment? ● Of those, we can assume 50% would buy a used car,
rather than a new one.
● However, customers are highly unlikely to purchase
a car every year. Let's use a more realistic figure and
assume that the typical customer buys a car once
every 5 years.
Put that all together, and we have 750,000 used cars
bought in Canada every year.
For the growth rate, the used car market is stable, or
flat, with no significant changes.
Even with a flat growth rate, the large market opportunity
and the high price point means there's a lot of potential
here.
Result:
Pillar #1:
The Customer
Retention
Overview
The focus of this element is to evaluate how often users will actually use the product.

Strong retention is the prerequisite for growth for both B2B and consumer products. You
need to develop a hypothesis on the organic frequency of how often the product will be
used.
● What is the naturally occurring ● The organic frequency of people

frequency of the problem that your buying cars is not very often; the
product is solving? (Define this for typical Canadian family buys a car
each target customer segment once every 5 years, so they would
you’re targeting.) be unlikely to use the app more
often than that.
● Is this something that customers
will use daily, or is it more likely to
be something that's only used once
every few years?
Result:
Pillar #1:
The Customer
Customer Pain
Overview
The focus of this element is to evaluate the magnitude of your users' pain that your
product is solving for.

The bigger the pain that your product is solving, the more your customers will want to buy
and use your product.
● Is this product a vitamin or a pain ● Here we have to make a judgment:

killer? Are cars optional, or are they a
must-have product? For the 50% of
● Vitamin = a nice to have, but not the market that chose a used car
an essential need. over public transport, who might
be living in the suburbs or rural
● Painkiller = vital need; something
areas, they're an absolute
the customers cannot live without.
necessity.
Result:
Pillar #2:
The Product
Unfair Advantage
Overview
The focus of this element is to evaluate the depth of your domain expertise,
experience and/or connections and how well they serve you in building the product.

If you have little to no expertise, experience and/or connections, you have no significant
advantage over your competitors.
Factors to consider Evaluation
● What special expertise or insights do ● Before launching Kijiji Autos, Kijiji

you have? already had substantial experience
in marketplaces and selling online.
● What's your level of experience in this
particular field? ● They also had a large inventory of
cars readily available.
● Do you have a strong network of
experts who you can access for
advice and funding?
Result:
Pillar #2:
The Product
Reach
Overview
This element evaluates the strength of your reach across various distribution channels.

It doesn’t matter how good your product is if no one knows you. Although you could build up
reach from scratch, it requires time and effort. You need to factor in this time and effort to
get a sense of your overall product growth.
● Do you already have a large ● Kijiji is a household name,

community, with a strong email list recognized in Canada, the US, and
and/or following on social media? around the world.
Result:
Pillar #2:
The Product
Replicability
Overview
This element evaluates your competitor’s ability and likelihood of copying your
Product’s feature set.

Anyone of the tech giants has the capability to enter almost any field and replicate almost
any feature set they want. However, unless it fits in with their current roadmap, it's unlikely
that they will do so. This element asks you to consider the ability and likelihood that your
competitors would/could replicate your feature set.
● Is it possible that your competitors ● There are a few other competitors

will copy your feature set? are operating in the same space.
● Is it likely that your competitors will ● Even though Kijiji Autos has a lot of
copy your feature set? unique features, their most popular
features can be copied by a
● Could you easily achieve further competitor.
differentiation by releasing new
features?
Result:
Pillar #3:
The Company
Technical Feasibility
Overview
The focus of this element is to evaluate your ability to build the product with available
resources.

An assessment of the technical feasibility is critical to the success of the project. If you don’t
have what it takes to build the product, it will be a sure failure.
● Have you built a product like this ● Kijiji is a tech company with a lot of
before? experience building similar
products.
● Can you build the product with the
available time and resources?
Result:
Pillar #3:
The Company
Go-to-Market (GTM) Viability
Overview
The focus of this element is to evaluate your ability to market and sell the product.

“Build it and they will come” is a misnomer. Go-to-market motions are critical to the success
of your product; even more so, if your product is in a space with a lot of competitors.
● Do you have the capability and ● Kijiji has previously launched apps
infrastructure to market and sell in different markets, so they have
this product? the experience needed to sell in
this space.
● How will you reach your
buyers/users?
● Have you marketed or sold a

similar product in the past?
Result:
Pillar #3:
The Company
Supplier Power
Overview
The focus of this element is to evaluate the amount of power your suppliers have.

This will help you determine your level of reliance on your supplier.
● How many suppliers are there? ● In Kijiji's case, their key suppliers
are the people listing their car for
● What is your dependence on the sale. As they don't have too many
supplier? Are they critical to your options, their supplier power is low.
value chain? What happens if a
supplier fails?
● What are the costs involved from

switching from one supplier to
another?
Result:
Pillar #4:
The Competition
Competitive Rivalry
Overview
The focus of this element is to evaluate the number and size of your competitors.

The more competition you have, the harder it will be for you to acquire customers. If you’re
in a very competitive market, it’s very important for you to have clear differentiation through
a focus on market positioning.
● How many competitors are in the ● Kijiji has very few competitors, as
same space? not many have the inventory or
supply. Even if someone came
● What is their market-share along with a fancier app, they
concentration of your competitors? would not be able to compete
without the inventory.
Result:
Pillar #4:
The Competition
Barriers to Entry
Overview
The focus of this element is to evaluate how easy it is for your competitors to enter the
market.

Barriers to entry can give you an initial advantage. If the barriers to entry are high, it’ll be
difficult for competitors to enter your market; therefore, you can launch with a ‘more
imperfect’ product.
● How easy or difficult is it for your ● As with the previous element, even
competitors to enter the market? with technical knowledge, it's very
difficult for anyone to build an
● Do you have any ‘moats of protection’ inventory of cars. Therefore, the
that give you a significant advantage barrier to entry is high.
over new competitors, such as:
network effects, economies of scale,
vertical integration, strong brand
loyalty, control over important
platforms, deep expertise or patent
protection?
Result:
Pillar #4:
The Competition
Brand Power
Overview
The focus of this element is to evaluate your level of brand awareness.

In the long-run, investments in brand can give you a significant strategic advantage because
it lowers the cost of acquiring new customers (CAC).
● What is your aided and unaided ● As a household name, Kijiji has a

brand awareness? good reputation and very strong
brand power.
● Is it enough to differentiate you
from the competition?
Result:
Overall results of the Product Strategy Framework for Kijiji Auto’s Product Launch is as follows:
Chapter 7:
Strategy Playbook
Autos Mobile App
Chapter 1:
Chapter 8:
About the Product
Strategy Framework
Chapter 2:
Chapter 9:
About the Product
Entering the Market
Strategy Framework
Chapter 3:
Chapter 10:
Pillar One:
The Customer
Chapter 4
Chapter 11:
Pillar Two:
The Product
Chapter 5:
Chapter 12:
Pillar Three:
Conclusion
The Company
Chapter 6:
The Competition
Chapter 8:
Once you have your results, you can use the framework as a diagnostic tool, either to assess
the markets you're entering or looking back at an existing product and identifying areas for
improvement. The model is designed to help you validate your ideas, and give you evidence
before putting in the resources necessary to enter a tough new market. Before you assess
your results, consider running it by others. It's easy to become too close to our product and
become biased, seeing only green lights no matter what. For the model to be useful, you have
to be honest with yourself.
If every component on the framework is green, congratulations! You have a viable product.
If everything is red, you seriously need to assess your product and ask how you think you're
going to succeed.
Realistically, you'll likely have a mixture of red and green (with the occasional yellow). No
startup will ever have all greens, as at the very least they won't have the brand name and
power in place yet. That doesn't mean they can't succeed though.
The red sections show you where you need to focus your efforts. Focus on changing the reds
to yellows, and the yellows to green.
Bear in mind that not all Pillars of the framework are equally weighted. The Pillar that
is most important is the Customer Pillar, followed by the Product Pillar.
Remember, you can build almost anything today, and you can figure out sales motions.
However, if there isn't a strong need that you're solving, or you don't have a strong unfair
advantage to help you fill that need, then it's time to focus on what you could perhaps do
differently.
Chapter 7:
Strategy Playbook
Autos Mobile App
Chapter 1:
Chapter 8:
About the Product
Strategy Framework
Chapter 2:
Chapter 9:
About the Product
Entering the Market
Strategy Framework
Chapter 3:
Chapter 10:
Pillar One:
The Customer
Chapter 4
Chapter 11:
Pillar Two:
The Product
Chapter 5:
Chapter 12:
Pillar Three:
Conclusion
The Company
Chapter 6:
The Competition
Chapter 9:
Entering the Market
Once you've used the Product Strategy Framework to evaluate your product, you still need to
consider how you will launch your product and enter the market.
As you can see from the graph, we can divide consumers into different stages of product
adoption.
The only thing Innovators care about is being first. They don't mind taking a risk, and don't
particularly care about solving a problem or getting any benefits; these are the consumers
that stand in line for days just to be the first ones to get their hands on a product. They were
the very first people you know to use TikTok, to buy Google Glasses, and buy a Tesla.
Early Adopters are still willing to put up with a product that isn't fully refined, but they will
expect some benefits from the product. They've likely researched the product and are
reasonably confident that it has the potential to fill their need.
Next up is the Early Majority. They're less concerned with being early to the scene, and
instead are looking for a functional product. As a result, they're more likely to buy a product
after it has already gained significant momentum.
Finally, the Late Majority are warier when it comes to new and innovative products. They
purchase after the average person has and look for tried and tested products. They're more
likely to wait for price drops, and won't tolerate any defects or bugs.
When product managers look at the adoption curve, it might look like it makes more sense to
try and skip ahead and focus on the early/late majority. After all, that's where the most money
is. However, these are also the toughest crowds to sell to.
The solution is to follow the curve, building first of all for the innovators, then the early
adopters. Early adopters are sometimes referred to as "lighthouse customers," acting as a
signal to other consumers. Your innovators will carry you forward, and your early adopters
will set the path for the majority to follow.
Tesla is a prime example of how this works. The Tesla Roadster was made for the innovators.
It cost $150,000, was delayed a year, had half the mileage of later models, yet it still sold out.
This gave them enough leverage to move forward and build their brand. The next version was
an improved model, but there were still issues, such as concerns over the reach of the
charging network. This didn't stop early adopters from picking it up though. Now they're
serving the early/late majority market, providing a top service with a cheaper price tag.
For the tech industry, the curve looks a little different.
The rate of adoption is much faster when your product is an app. Thanks to the minimal
distribution cost, anyone can get in the app store — practically overnight — compared to the
years it can take to get your physical product into stores.
It isn't all good news though. You can lose your customers just as fast, and yesterday's
number one app can be quickly replaced. To succeed, you must keep innovating. That's why
companies like Facebook are constantly adding new features and revamping their design.
Chapter 7:
Strategy Playbook
Autos Mobile App
Chapter 1:
Chapter 8:
About the Product
Strategy Framework
Chapter 2:
Chapter 9:
About the Product
Entering the Market
Strategy Framework
Chapter 3:
Chapter 10:
Pillar One:
The Customer
Chapter 4
Chapter 11:
Pillar Two:
The Product
Chapter 5:
Chapter 12:
Pillar Three:
Conclusion
The Company
Chapter 6:
The Competition
Chapter 10:
For many product managers, that'll mean creating a minimum viable product (MVP). Is that
still an effective strategy today?
The MVP is a version of a new product with one goal: To maximize learning from the
customer. The aim is to get maximum feedback from the customer with the least amount of
effort. If you can do that without writing a single line of code, so much the better.
That minimum amount of effort — the level of investment required — will depend on the
amount of competition your product has, as identified in the Product Strategy Framework. If
your product serves a very specific niche, without much competition, you can get away with
more.
For a long time, one of the most featured apps on the App Store was Tech Basic. It was a
simple app that allowed you to control Bluetooth devices. The UX was non-existent, but that
didn't matter; the competition was also non-existent. In comparison, any finance app released
today needs everything to be on point from the very beginning. You wouldn't be able to get
away with poor UX or missing functionality, otherwise users will just ignore you.
To get past this competition we need to rethink how we go about creating an MVP.
In the old approach, if the long-term goal for your product was to have ten features, the MVP
would then typically have seven features. However, these would normally be features that
hadn't been fully developed, that were still buggy or poorly thought out. The idea was to put
the minimum version of those features out, to validate them before fully developing them.
Unfortunately, this has led to thousands of apps ending up in the startup graveyard.
The solution is to aim for the minimum viable experience. Rather than putting in seven
features that barely work, put in three essential features. Make them top quality, with no bugs
or other issues. Three amazing features will resonate with customers a lot more than seven
mediocre features.
Apple is a fantastic example of this. As you may remember, the first iPhones didn't have Copy
and Paste functionality. This wasn't an oversight though:
“
It's not that we forgot to put in
that feature. We hadn't figured
out how to do it well, so we didn't
include it at all.
- Jony Ive .
former SVP of Design at Apple.
This is the concept of the minimum viable experience, the MVE.
Chapter 7:
Strategy Playbook
Autos Mobile App
Chapter 1:
Chapter 8:
About the Product
Strategy Framework
Chapter 2:
Chapter 9:
About the Product
Entering the Market
Strategy Framework
Chapter 3:
Chapter 10:
Pillar One:
The Customer
Chapter 4
Chapter 11:
Pillar Two:
The Product
Chapter 5:
Chapter 12:
Pillar Three:
Conclusion
The Company
Chapter 6:
The Competition
Chapter 11:
To get started with with the Product Strategy Framework, download a copy of
the template using the link below:
Download Template
Chapter 7:
Strategy Playbook
Autos Mobile App
Chapter 1:
Chapter 8:
About the Product
Strategy Framework
Chapter 2:
Chapter 9:
About the Product
Entering the Market
Strategy Framework
Chapter 3:
Chapter 10:
Pillar One:
The Customer
Chapter 4
Chapter 11:
Pillar Two:
The Product
Chapter 5:
Chapter 12:
Pillar Three:
Conclusion
The Company
Chapter 6:
The Competition
Chapter 12:
Conclusion
The Product Strategy Framework helps product managers ask the right questions and ensure
that their product is not only feasible but also viable. By assessing the four key components
(Customer, Product, Company, Competition), you can quickly identify any areas that need to
be improved.
Once you're happy with your product, set yourself up for success by building for the
innovators and early adopters. Done correctly, they'll carry you to the mass market.
Then, by designing for a minimum viable experience, rather than a buggy MVP, your product
will resonate more with customers.
Chapter 7:
Strategy Playbook
Autos Mobile App
Chapter 1:
Chapter 8:
About the Product
Strategy Framework
Chapter 2:
Chapter 9:
About the Product
Entering the Market
Strategy Framework
Chapter 3:
Chapter 10:
Pillar One:
The Customer
Chapter 4
Chapter 11:
Pillar Two:
The Product
Chapter 5:
Chapter 12:
Pillar Three:
Conclusion
The Company
Chapter 6:
The Competition
About the Author
Moe Ali
Founder & CEO, Product Faculty
Moharyar (Moe) is the Founder and CEO of Product

Faculty, North America's most Advanced Product
Management Training institute. Over the last 8 years,
Moe has trained and mentored 1,000+ PM’s at the
world's best companies including Google, Facebook,
Amazon and Shopify to name a few.
As a Product Leader, Moe has consulted both B2B and

B2C companies including Apple, IBM, Loblaw Digital,
McKinsey & Company, among others.
Prior to this, Moe worked at Loblaw Digital, Canada's

largest grocery retailer, where he launched and grew
sales of the Online Grocery product from $40M to
$160M (300% growth).
To receive daily product insights, follow Moe at:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/productfaculty.
About Product Faculty
Product Faculty's Advanced Product Management Masterclass is a top-ranked, 6-week

career accelerator designed for Product Managers. This LIVE Online class ensures that each
student gets 1:1 support to master key concepts so that they can apply the learnings in their
product roles.
Depth is our differentiator. We pride ourselves in going beneath the surface to offer you
advanced insights and methodologies. Whether it’s product leadership or data science and
user psychology, you’ll leave with skills you'll feel confident using.
The moment you sign up with Product Faculty, you’ll be part of a community of like-minded
product professionals. Each Masterclass is hand-picked to ensure that discussions are rich
and curated and that you're surrounded by people who care about product as much as you.

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Product Strategy

A step-by-step guide for Product Leaders on how to create a

Introduction to Product Strategy Playbook 3

Chapter 1: Why use the Product Strategy Playbook? 4

Chapter 2: About the Product Strategy Framework 7

Chapter 3: Pillar One — The Customer 13

Chapter 4: Pillar Two — The Product 18

Chapter 5: Pillar Three — The Company 23

Chapter 6: Pillar Four — The Competition 28

Chapter 7: Real-life Example: Kijiji Autos Mobile App 33

Chapter 8: Assessing your Results 48

Chapter 9: Entering the Market 50

Chapter 10: The Death of the MVP 54

Chapter 11: Putting it into Practice 57

Chapter 12: Conclusion 59

About the Author 61

Who is this playbook for?

● A product manager, product leader, founder, CEO, or a senior leader of a company

Your challenges include:

Who is this playbook for?

By the end of this book, you will:

Dean was feeling burned out.

A Project-Manager-turned Product Manager, he was going into his second year at a

This is the ﬁrst time a comprehensive, end-to-end, one-page Strategic

This is what we want for you.

What is the Product Strategy Framework?

All models are wrong,

“ but some are useful.

These pillars are:

CUSTOMER PRODUCT COMPANY COMPETITION

ONE-PAGE PRODUCT STRATEGY FRAMEWORK

Why is this important?

Questions to ask How to measure? Additional guidance

● What is the total A large segment ● A customer segment is

Why is this important?

Questions to ask How to measure? Additional guidance

● What is the naturally The need for your ● This is based on

● Is this something that

Why is this important?

Questions to ask How to measure? Additional guidance

● Is this product a High magnitude of ● Just because your

ONE-PAGE PRODUCT STRATEGY FRAMEWORK

Why is this important?

Factors to consider How to measure? Additional guidance

Deep insights (that

Why is this important?

Factors to consider How to measure? Additional guidance

● Do you already have a Massive community ● Real-life example: Even

Why is this important?

Factors to consider How to measure? Additional guidance

● Is it possible that your Features are unlikely ● Likelihood trumps

ONE-PAGE PRODUCT STRATEGY FRAMEWORK

Why is this important?

Factors to consider How to measure? Additional guidance

● Have you built a Lots of available ● Almost any product is

Why is this important?

Factors to consider How to measure? Additional guidance

sold a similar product ﬁgured out,

Why is this important?

Factors to consider How to measure? Additional guidance