1. Creating Vision and Strategy - A Guide to Crafting Your Product Vision

Welcome! Let’s dive into vision and strategy, and explore a fresh way to develop both for your product.

What is a Product Vision?

At its core, a product vision is a description of what your product will become in the future—it’s like imagining what your product will be when it “grows up.” As a product leader, defining a clear vision is one of your most important responsibilities. Without it, it’s difficult to make meaningful progress on any aspect of the product. In this document, I’ll walk you through how I approach crafting a product vision, based on my experiences.

Elements of a Product Vision

A product vision involves two critical components:

1. Strategic objectives of the company
2. User problems and needs

These two aspects serve as the foundation for constructing your product vision. By combining them with a SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) and thorough market knowledge, you’ll have the necessary ingredients to define a clear and robust product vision.

Understanding User Problems and Needs

There are several tools you can use to better understand your user’s problems and needs. Two of my favorites come from the world of Design and User Experience (UX): the Empathy Map and the Persona.

Empathy Map

The Empathy Map is a tool that helps you step into your user’s shoes and understand what they think, feel, say, and do when they encounter the problem your product aims to solve. It’s an excellent way to frame the right questions when talking to your users.

Persona

Personas allow you to personify or tangibly represent your user. For instance, in the past, we used a persona named Maria, who was a young, trendy 24-year-old user of an e-commerce platform. By breaking down her profile—her characteristics, behaviors, and problems—we could better understand who our user was and how to design for her.

SWOT Analysis

SWOT analysis is a simple yet powerful tool that helps you understand:

• Strengths: Internal factors that positively influence your product.
• Weaknesses: Internal factors that negatively affect your product.
• Opportunities: External factors that could positively impact your product.
• Threats: External factors that could negatively affect your product.

While creating a SWOT analysis, it’s easy to list too many weaknesses. A tip I’ve found useful is to limit each quadrant to a maximum of three items. This practice forces you to prioritize, helping you focus on what’s most important.

Market Knowledge

Understanding your market is another key part of forming a vision. It involves studying both direct and indirect competitors, potential market disruptions, and market growth trends. For example, when we looked at the market for email at Locaweb, we noticed a disruption—people were sending fewer emails, instead opting for messaging platforms like WhatsApp and Slack. This shift influenced our product strategy.

Template for a Basic Product Vision

A simple template for creating a product vision might look like this:

• Product Name: The name of your product.
• Purpose: Why does this software exist? What objectives are you aiming to achieve with it?
• Target Audience: Who will use this software? Use personas and tools like the empathy map to get a clear picture of your users.
• Problems or Needs: What problems will this product solve? How does it meet user needs better than existing alternatives?
• Pillars: What are the main pillars or values that will guide this product?
• Strategy: Based on your SWOT analysis, which aspects will you address first?

Strategy: Turning Vision into Action

Your strategy is essentially a prioritized list of actions drawn from your SWOT analysis. For example, you may decide to first tackle one or two weaknesses while also addressing an opportunity. Strategy, in essence, is about making informed choices about where to focus first. Review your strategy annually or when significant events (e.g., economic shifts, pandemics) occur.

Examples

Locaweb Email Vision

We created a vision for Locaweb’s email service that stated: "Locaweb’s email solution will be the most complete and flexible on the market." Our pillars were completeness and flexibility, and our strategy focused on opportunities like offering larger mailboxes, premium functionalities, and a hybrid solution combining multiple services.

Gympass Vision

At Gympass, we developed a vision using a visual model. Gympass is a three-sided marketplace, and we identified the unique value exchange for each of the three user groups:

• Gyms: Gympass provides new clients, while gyms provide activities for users.
• Companies: Gympass helps employees become more active, while companies provide revenue through subscriptions.
• Employees: Gympass offers employees access to multiple activities, and employees pay for the service.

This clear breakdown of value exchanges helped us focus product development on meeting the needs of each group.

Lopes Vision

At Lopes, a real estate company, our vision involved a “tri-match”—connecting the right customer, property, and broker. We identified the different parties involved in the transaction (buyers, sellers, and brokers) and their respective needs. For example, the broker needs leads and property listings, while buyers and sellers need a seamless transaction experience.

Conclusion

Creating a strong vision and strategy requires a deep understanding of your users, the market, and your company’s strategic objectives. Tools like empathy maps, personas, and SWOT analyses can guide you in this process, helping you align product development with real user needs and market opportunities. Reviewing and adapting your vision and strategy regularly ensures your product stays relevant and competitive.