{"id":861,"date":"2019-08-02T04:36:29","date_gmt":"2019-08-02T09:36:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lindagorchels.com\/blogs\/?p=861"},"modified":"2019-08-05T16:40:56","modified_gmt":"2019-08-05T21:40:56","slug":"what-are-the-strategic-imperatives-for-product-success","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lindagorchels.com\/blogs\/what-are-the-strategic-imperatives-for-product-success\/","title":{"rendered":"What are the Strategic Imperatives for Product Success?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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The title of this post was a question recently asked on Quora. It included a link to this video<\/a>, which stated that successful products had to fulfill three criteria: awesome, cheap, and profitable.  Hmm\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019d like to take my answer in a different direction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Strategic imperatives are the \u201cbig picture\u201d aspirations or\ngoals that guide product management. The extent to which products fulfill the\naspirations, or fit the desired strategy, determines their success. Let\u2019s\nconsider a few examples.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Example One: Political Campaigns<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Assume you are in charge of a political campaign, i.e., your \u201cproduct\u201d is a politician. Your strategic imperative is to win the general election. But the first win may need to come from beating opponents in a primary. The tactics to triumph in the primary might not accomplish your strategic imperative if they diminish the chances of prevailing in the general election. You might win the battle and then lose the war. Product success in this example is a carefully coordinated two-stage process, resulting in victory in the final voting contest.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Example Two: Harley Davidson<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Harley-Davidson has a strategic imperative to reverse the aging out of its customer base. Successful products, therefore, must contribute to this effort. This could include items aimed at niche markets, and trend-aligned offerings such as environmentally friendly motorcycles. Its current entry into this latter category is an electric motorcycle<\/a> (LiveWire) with a range of 95 to 146 miles on a charge. The challenge for product success<\/a> of this prototype will be appropriate targeting, price point, rapid recharge, and performance. The LiveWire will need to balance the uniqueness of an electric motorcycle against the brand identity of Harley-Davidson. Success requires both customer and brand fit.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Example Three: Apple<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

A few years ago, one of Apple\u2019s strategic imperatives for its iPhones was to better challenge Chinese models in India. Apple\u2019s three percent market share in the industry\u2019s fastest-growing market required a plan to compete against rivals with comparable specs and lower prices. By allowing resellers to market older-model iPhones (such as the 5S), it had the potential to extend the life-cycle while achieving a strategic imperative. The strategy went beyond the product since the targeted consumers had a low price-threshold. Therefore, according to Businessweek<\/a>, \u201cApple [was] hiring an undisclosed number of \u2018affordability managers\u2019 <\/em>in the country to negotiate with banks and other lenders on behalf of potential buyers.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

In each of these situations, there was a different definition\nof product success. Victory meant attaining specific \u201cbig picture\u201d imperatives,\nsuch as:<\/p>\n\n\n\n