Product Strategist

What is a Product Strategist? 

A Product Strategist is a role that focuses on developing the long-term vision of a product or product portfolio, making sure that it aligns with the overarching business goals of an organization. By setting a clear direction, a Product Strategist ensures that development efforts, marketing initiatives, and business objectives are in sync, paving the way for sustainable success and market relevance.

Being a Product Strategist is a high-level role, and usually sits above the Product Manager in a typical Product Team structure.  Instead of being involved in the day-to-day improvement and execution of Product Design and Development, a Product Strategist is one step removed, looking at the big picture stuff. 

The driving goal of a Product Strategist is to find new market opportunities for business growth while assessing the current performance of the product to uncover ways to improve it. They’ll have more involvement in creating the product strategy and overall plan. 

A Product Strategist plays a critical role in translating abstract, hard-to-define business objectives into actionable, high-level goals for the product. By creating a strong, market-oriented product vision, they ensure that development decisions are not only reactive to customer needs but also proactive in capturing growth opportunities and maintaining a competitive edge.

What are the key responsibilities of a Product Strategist?

The role of a Product Strategist is to drive growth. There are many things they have to do to achieve that. The core list of responsibilities includes: 

1. Conducting market research: Product Strategists analyze market trends, competitor activity, and user behavior to identify new market opportunities and threats. This research forms the foundation for informed decision-making to help with data driven Product Management.
   
2. Defining product strategy: The Product Strategist will translate market insights into a comprehensive product strategy, detailing key objectives, target market segments, value propositions, and product-led growth plans.
   
3. Communicating product vision: Articulating the product strategy and vision to everyone else on the team is a key responsibility. You need to make sure everyone’s on the same page. This builds alignment and enthusiasm for the product.
   
4. Prioritizing features and roadmap: A Product Strategist will collaborate with cross-functional product teams to prioritize product features based on the overall strategy. 
   
5. Analyze product performance: A Product Strategist needs to look back to look forward. Monitoring and analyzing key performance indicators (KPIs) allows them to assess product success, identify areas for improvement, and make recommendations for optimization.

Product Strategist vs Product Manager 

If you’re a product person or practicing Product Manager, you may be reading our description of the responsibilities of a Product Strategist and thinking, ‘Hold on, I do some of that stuff already’. And yeah, you may well do. 

This is because the Product Strategist role isn’t one that you’re going to see in all organizations. In fact, it’s usually only reserved for large businesses. This means that for some, the tasks that a Product Strategist performs will fall onto the shoulders of a Product Manager. While developing the day-to-day improvement of a product, you should 100% also be thinking about the overall strategy and business goals. 

See the lines between a Product Strategist and a Product Manager are blurred when talking about start-ups, small, and even medium-sized businesses. Typically, one person will be performing all these tasks themselves, wearing different hats. 

However, if your business gets too big, or your product line gets too complicated, it can be a lot to ask a Product Manager to maintain the roadmap and follow the Product Management Lifecycle while also working on the strategy. It can get a bit too much. 

When that happens, it’s time to separate these roles and bring in a Product Strategist to dedicate time to strategy and long-term planning. This is where these roles start to separate and the blurred lines become more distinct. It’s in these large and complex businesses where the roles are defined and have separate responsibilities. 

A Product Strategist will take a broader view of the product, creating an overarching vision that meets business objectives. A Product Manager will be focused on executing the strategy. This means that a Product Strategist is more interested in the long term, looking ahead, while a PM looks at the now, addressing immediate product needs based on customer feedback and continuous discovery. 

So, a Product Strategist is like the Team Principle in Formula One. They’re determining what tires to use and what car parts are best to hit a faster lap and win the 24-race Championship, while the Product Manager is the driver, working out the fastest racing line one Grand Prix at a time.

What types of organizations need a Product Strategist?

Not every business is going to suit having a Product Strategist. In fact, it’s actually a pretty rare role among small and medium-sized companies. You’ll typically only find a Product Strategist in a large organization due to the scale of operations and amount of products across the entire portfolio. 

If you’re in a start-up or small business, now’s not the time to think about adding a Product Strategist to your roster. Hold off until you start to scale and when your current Product Managers begin to get stretched a bit too thin. At this earlier stage of a company, a Product Manager will take on the challenge of strategic planning, guiding the product’s vision and direction while ensuring alignment with overall business goals. As the organization grows and the product landscape becomes more intricate, bringing in a dedicated Product Strategist can be a game-changer for fostering innovation and enhancing market positioning.

Among the larger companies that suit a Product Strategist, the ones that get the most benefit are those who operate in a crowded and competitive market. Product Strategists come into their own when there are a lot of similar products that you’re competing against and need to work out a strategy to stand out, be different, and attract users in a competitive landscape. 

There may be a lot of fish in a pond, some massive, some small. A good Product Strategist will help you stand out in this pond by making your product into something more interesting and unique, like a crab, octopus, or eel – just something that’s not a fish like all the other guys.  

What are the advantages of having a Product Strategist? 

So you’re in a large enough business in a crowded marketplace that has the capital to bring in a Product Specialist. How’s that going to help? What tangible benefits should you expect to see? Well, there’s a lot of good that can come out of having a Product Strategist on your team. Here are some positive things that your whole organization will experience. 

Clear vision and direction

A Product Strategist will define the product vision and help everyone understand it. This creates a more synched-up product development process, as every department is striving for the same goals. This clarity nurtures alignment across all teams. When everyone is singing off the same song sheet, it reduces misunderstandings and misalignments, allowing teams to work more effectively toward common objectives. 

Better market insight

Understanding the market is crucial for product success, and a Product Strategist brings deep insights into market trends, user behaviors, and competitive dynamics. They conduct market research and competitive analysis to identify gaps and opportunities within the market, helping you know your competitors and potential customers inside and out. 

A successful product strategy allows the organization to anticipate shifts in customer preferences and react swiftly to competitive threats. By using these insights, a Product Strategist can inform Product Development and product positioning strategies, ensuring that the product resonates with target audiences and stands out.

A prioritized roadmap

Creating a well-structured Product Roadmap is essential for effective Product Management, and a successful Product Strategist can help to improve your roadmap. The insight they give helps teams prioritize features and enhancements based on strategic goals, customer feedback, and market demands, ensuring that the most critical initiatives receive the attention and resources they need. 

A well-prioritized roadmap helps teams focus on delivering high-value outcomes and prevents them from getting sidetracked by less impactful tasks. It also provides transparency to stakeholders, allowing everyone to understand the rationale behind decisions when sharing your roadmap presentation.

Measurement and analysis

A Product Strategist is instrumental in establishing the right key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure the product’s success and effectiveness. They define what success looks like and determine how to track it over time. 

This focus on measurement allows the team to make data-driven decisions, identify areas for improvement, and pivot strategies when necessary. Regular analysis of performance metrics helps the organization learn from successes and failures alike, fostering a culture of continuous improvement. 

By closely monitoring outcomes, a product strategist ensures that the product evolves in response to real-world feedback and changing market conditions.

How do you become a Product Strategist? 

There is no one way to become a Product Strategist. In fact, there’s no one route into any product role, and you’ll be surprised to hear about the backgrounds of some of the industry’s greatest Product Leaders. Every journey is different, but with that said, some roads into Product Strategy roles have been trodden more than others. 

You’ll find that a lot of Product Strategists have a background in business theory, so education or training in business management can help prepare you for the demands of the role. You could also get a certification specifically in Product Strategy to better prepare you and give you insight into some of the tasks and challenges you’ll face in the role. 

Another common avenue to becoming a Product Strategist is stepping up from a Product Manager role. As product strategy is firmly part of a Product Manager’s typical responsibilities – alongside everything else! – specializing in the strategic piece and going deeper in terms of market research and analysis is often an attractive career progression if you’re lucky enough to have that opportunity.

To progress from PM to Product Strategist, make sure you’re demonstrating a strong strategic focus as a Product Manager, being highly vocal and visible as the custodian of the product vision. 

The Product Strategist career path

Once you enter the world of Product Strategy, your career path may look like this as you improve your experience level:

• Associate Product Strategist: In this role, you collaborate with senior strategists to analyze market trends, gather customer insights, and develop product roadmaps. Progression comes from demonstrating strong analytical skills, strategic thinking, and the ability to translate insights into actionable recommendations.
  
• Product Strategist: Here, you’ll conduct in-depth market and competitive analyses, identify growth opportunities, and shape the product strategy. You advance by consistently delivering data-driven strategies that drive product success and align with company objectives.
  
• Senior Product Strategist: In this position, you lead a team of strategists, mentor junior members, and oversee the product development process of comprehensive product strategies. Progression is based on showcasing exceptional leadership, strategic vision, and the ability to navigate complex challenges.
  
• Director of Product Strategy: As a director, you oversee the product strategy function, align strategies across multiple product lines, and ensure they jell with overall business goals. Advancement occurs when you drive significant improvements in strategy execution, foster cross-functional collaboration, and deliver measurable business impact.
  
• VP of Product Strategy: A VP provides high-level executive guidance on Product Strategy, representing the strategic vision to stakeholders and influencing company-wide decisions. Progress is achieved by demonstrating a deep understanding of market dynamics, anticipating industry trends, and driving innovation that fuels business growth.
  
• Chief Product Officer: In this top role, which may also be known as a Chief Product Strategist,  you are the highest-ranking executive responsible for shaping the company’s overall Product Strategy and ensuring alignment across all divisions. Advancement comes from consistently delivering visionary strategies that drive long-term success and position the company as a market leader.

Key Product Strategist skills

Fancy trying your hand as a Product Strategist? Trying to figure out what you need to improve on to be a great Product Strategist? Here are some of the core skills you need to excel in this role. 

Be entrepreneurial

As a Product Strategist, you’ll need to think big and develop innovative ideas. Identifying opportunities where others see obstacles is crucial, and you must have the ability to execute those ideas effectively. Essentially, you should think and function like an entrepreneur within your organization.

Data savvy

Effective Product Strategists use data to uncover insights and opportunities rather than relying solely on gut instinct. A significant part of your role will involve gathering and analyzing data on your company’s performance, user interactions with your products, and competitive benchmarks to inform strategic decisions.

Superb communication skills

To succeed, you must effectively communicate with various teams across your company and engage with external and organizational stakeholders. Building strong relationships with the development team, sales teams, and support teams is essential for gaining a deep understanding of the company’s products and users. Additionally, you’ll need to articulate proposals for new markets or products clearly to executives or investors, making outstanding communication skills vital.

Strategic thinking

The ability to think strategically is an essential skill for a Product Strategist – the clue is in the job title. You must have the analytical skills to track industry trends, assess competitive landscapes, and align product strategies with broader business objectives. This involves both short-term planning and long-term visioning to ensure that your product direction is sustainable and impactful.

Customer-centric mindset

Understanding your customers and their needs is paramount. A strong customer-centric mindset allows you to empathize with users and anticipate their preferences, ensuring that your product strategies are aligned with user expectations. Engaging with customers directly and conducting user research provides valuable insights should be the backbone of your strategic decision-making.

Leadership skills

As a Product Strategist, you may lead cross-functional teams and drive initiatives that require collaboration and coordination. Strong leadership skills enable you to inspire and motivate team members, facilitate discussions, and manage conflicts effectively to achieve product goals.

Adaptability and flexibility

The product landscape is constantly changing, and as a Product Strategist, you must be able to adapt to new information, market shifts, and emerging technologies. Embracing change and being flexible in your approach allows you to pivot strategies as needed while keeping the product vision intact.

Technical acumen

While not necessarily required to be a technical expert, having a solid understanding of technology and how it impacts your product development process is beneficial. This knowledge helps you communicate effectively with technical teams and make informed decisions about product feasibility and implementation.

Setting the Strategy 

The role of a Product Strategist can be instrumental in driving success for any large organization aiming to stay competitive in a dynamic and tough market. By setting a clear vision and aligning it with business goals, a Product Strategist helps teams see the bigger picture and make informed decisions. 

They play a key role in understanding market trends, pinpointing new opportunities, and ensuring that the product’s roadmap supports long-term success. For smaller companies, while the role might not be essential, having someone think strategically about the future can provide valuable insights that inform the product’s direction.

For businesses where the product line is complex or highly competitive, a Product Strategist is often the missing piece that connects customer needs with market positioning. They bring a structured approach to defining product goals, prioritizing features, and aligning cross-functional teams to build a product that truly resonates with users. 

As a product grows and user expectations evolve, a Product Strategist ensures that the product’s trajectory remains proactive and innovative, fostering a culture of continuous improvement.

If you’re ready to take your product strategy to the next level, a robust Product Management tool like ProdPad can make all the difference. With ProdPad, you’ll have the tools to map out your roadmap, prioritize features, and streamline collaboration across your team. Try ProdPad today to see how it can empower you to execute a compelling product vision and drive meaningful growth.