Crafting a Winning Product Strategy- Key Insights and Approaches
The Concept of Product Strategy
A product strategy sets the vision for an organization, specifying the market needs that an organization seeks to satisfy through a specific product or range of products. A product strategy deals with various issues, including the number and diversity of products, product scope, design, and innovations required for different products (Marshall & Johnston, 2019). The product strategy, in alignment with an organization’s market strategy, ultimately dominates the company’s day-to-day operations.
Notably, implementing an organization’s product strategy requires cooperation among different departments, including finance, research and development, marketing, and the corporate staff. Coordinating multiple departments responsible for delivering the organization’s strategy is difficult; hence, most product strategy decisions are made by the top management (Marshall & Johnston, 2019). Alternatively, top managers make product strategy decisions, while different business units handle the details. Behind this alternative is an argument that top managers may not discern in-depth specifics of certain projects, thus the need to involve experts in the relevant departments.
One of the popular dimensions of product strategy is product positioning. Product positioning is the placement of a product in the part of the market where it is likely to receive the best reception (Ke et al., 2020). Since most markets are heterogeneous, it is unlikely that one product will make an impact on the whole market. That calls for the organization to sell the product to a segment of the market that it suits most (Ke et al., 2020). The product positioning end goal is to inform customers what the product is, what it stands for, and how customers can evaluate it. Another notable dimension of product positioning is the product scope strategy, which informs the organization’s number of product lines and items to be incorporated in each line. This strategy aligns with the mission of a business unit, which outlines the type of business the organization will be involved in.
Product Strategy Example: Starbucks
According to Xu (2023), Starbucks’s initial product strategy targeted consumers interested in consuming natural coffee and those who liked to take beans home. However, over time, the company’s product strategy has evolved, and it now focuses on fulfilling customer needs. The change in the company’s culture to becoming customer-focused is due to the desire to offer customers fulfilling experiences apart from product offerings. The company continues producing high-quality coffee but has adopted a new culture characterized by social commitment, environmental protection, and achieving store ambiance and sophistication. The ultimate goal is to create an environment where customers can meet, socialize, relax, and enjoy great food.
One of the customer-centered approaches adopted by Starbucks is displaying its menu with details about the nutritional value of different foods. By providing customers with such in-depth details, they will make informed decisions about what they would want to eat (Xu, 2023). Another action aligned with Starbucks’s customer-centeredness is allowing its customers to customize beverages and other products to suit their needs.
Starbucks’s product strategy aligns with its mission—to inspire and nurture the human spirit. To achieve this, the company has strived to enhance ambiance in its stores to encourage socialization and conversations among its clients. Also, the company works closely with its coffee farmers to ensure ethical standards stand. The company monitors its supply chain network due to inhuman labor practices that may have occurred in other industries, including child labor and exploitation. Starbucks encourages its suppliers to adopt humane practices that align with its mission of nurturing the human spirit.
Peer Question: What is the difference between product strategy and corporate strategy?
References
Ke, T., Shin, J., & Yu, J. (2020). A theory of brand positioning: Product-portfolio view. SSRN Electronic Journal. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3688098
Marshall, G. W., & Johnston, M. W. (2019). Marketing management. McGraw-Hill.
Xu, Z. (2023). The Marketing Strategy Analysis of Starbucks. Advances in Economics Management and Political Sciences, 58(1), 1–6. https://doi.org/10.54254/2754-1169/58/20230979
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Question 
DISCUSSION ASSIGNMENT INSTRUCTIONS
Original Post
You will create an original post in response to one of the available topics for each discussion. *The topic is Product Strategy*
Instructions:
• Title your post according to your selected topic.
• In at least 600 words, discuss your topic by addressing the following items:
Crafting a Winning Product Strategy- Key Insights and Approaches
o Explain the concept of the marketing management topic selected for your paper (Your textbook is a good source for this section).
o Examine at least 1 practical application/example for your topic. This must involve the mention of a specific industry or organization, explained in sufficient detail.
o Formulate a question for classmates about your topic that your classmates will respond to. Pose just one question of classmates. This must go at the very end of the document.
o Have a separate heading for each of these 3 sections. Use the headings as highlighted above in bold.
o Use at least two outside sources in addition to the course textbook. These can be scholarly marketing journals (Journal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research, etc.), or practitioner publications (Wall Street Journal, Ad Age, etc.),
o Use the current APA format.