A Simple Way to Frame New Strategies

Photo by Jiawei Chen on Unsplash

Creating a new product strategy is challenging. You have to research and understand the market, paint a vision for the future, and build a narrative that resonates with people.

You’ll need to put in the background work! But there’s plenty of strong foundational research that falls flat when it comes to framing and strategic narrative. That’s where this ‘framework’ comes in, answering the question: “how can I land this strategy with other people?”

The framework.

I know it looks like a lot, but it reads like a story. Picture it this way: if each point is 1 slide, it’s just 12 slides.

1. There’s this activity.
2. And the activity has been changing over time.
3. Here’s why people do it.
4. Here’s when they do it.
5. But the current way of doing it is broken.
6. And it’s broken for a lot of people.
7. Some companies are trying to fix it.
8. But they’re not perfect.
9. And we can uniquely solve it.
10. Here’s how we’ll solve it.
11. Here’s what happens if we solve it.
12. And here’s how we’ll win.

Now, here’s each step broken down in detail.

1. There’s this activity.

What are people doing? Orient your audience around an activity and drop them right in. No need for an intro or team mission. Start by walking them through exactly what the activity entails, perhaps even step by step.

For example:

• Here’s how people buy clothing.
• Here’s how people share photos with friends.
• Here’s how people find a job.

The more personal you make it, the better. Think of a time you’ve done this activity. If you haven’t, pick a person on your team or someone from user research. Stay away from jargon like “discovery” as you explain each step and just say what you did. It can be as simple as “I walked to the store” or “I felt the jeans”.

Here’s an example of me buying running shoes in 2010

2. And the activity has been changing over time.

You want your audience to understand how this activity has been changing over time — where it’s been, and where it’s going.

For example:

• People used to buy cars, now they sometimes don’t own cars and use ride sharing, and they’re starting to ride in self-driving cars.
• People used to cook on stoves, now they also use microwaves, and they’re starting to use smart-ovens.
• People used to buy used items at garage sales, then they used Craigslist & eBay, and now they also use social networks.

In technology, the change is generally something around “and now with the internet…” or “now with mobile…” etc., etc.

3. Here’s why people do it.

What’s really going on? What’s the underlying need people are trying to fulfill by doing this activity? You want your audience to understand exactly what people want as an end result… beyond just doing the activity itself.

For example:

• Yes, people shop for clothing online, but why? — Are they trying to buy stuff? Trying to kill time? Wanting to feel inspired and included in trends?
• Yes, people post stories, but why? — Are they trying to bring friends along with their day? Start a conversation? Show off? Get social validation?

If this sounds like Jobs Theory it’s because it is! I highly recommend reading Competing Against Luck.

4. Here’s when they do it.

What are the drivers for this activity? Again, Jobs theory is helpful here.

For example:

• Yes, people share photos with friends and family. But they just don’t just walk around all day thinking “I need to share! — maybe something cool happens to them or they get home from a long day and feel lonely.
• Yes, people message businesses. But they don’t just message out of the blue— maybe something inspired a question or they have an issue and need support.

5. But the current way of doing it is broken.

It’s not that people are unable to accomplish this activity, but it’s not perfect. What pain points has your team identified via user research and data analysis?

For example:

• Seeing my favorite fashion influencers’ style is easy, but finding the damn items takes a ton of research! And it’s all so expensive.
• Getting my business set up to accept credit cards online is super important for me. But it’s way too complicated. And IT consultants are tough to work with.

You need to drill in here and make your audience viscerally feel this pain. Don’t say “it can take multiple steps” — show just how long it takes to load today. Or how small and challenging the interface is on mobile. Your audience should leave this section thinking, “I cannot stand this. There has to be a better way!”

6. And it’s broken for a lot of people.

Help size the market. You want to land the idea with your audience that it’s not just you and the people you interviewed who feel this pain — it’s a lot of people.

For example:

• Businesses need to accept credit cards nowadays and the process of setting it up is painful… but look how many businesses set them up each year! And it’s growing 30% year over year.
• People love shopping online and mobile checkout is a huge hassle… but mobile shopping is the fastest growing checkout surface in retail!

The inference here is that if the market is growing, so is the pain, and so is the opportunity to fix it. (Charts are great here.)

7. Some companies are trying to fix it.

Who else is in the space? What companies are trying to solve these pain points, and how? What are they doing well?

For example:

• Craigslist is helping people buy and sell things in their area by letting people easily list and search for items. It’s super helpful!
• Amazon provides an incredibly easy way to buy items you know you need. Searching, price and feature comparison, and checking out is a breeze.

Only focus on the positives here. If other companies are playing in this space, it helps prove there’s an opportunity. Plus, your potential competitors aren’t idiots — they’re really bright. They’re building the best thing they can and you can learn from them.

8. But they’re not perfect.

Where are other companies falling short, and why are they falling short? What are they lacking in features, ‘moats,’ strategy, or business models that stop them from solving these pain points both today and in the future?

Maybe they could solve it but have no reason to since it doesn’t align with their business model or core competency. (Or perhaps they’re planning to solve it and you just don’t know it yet.)

For example:

• While Craigslist works well… the anonymity of their platform concerns many people — because they have little information on their users, they simply aren’t positioned to solve trust. They aren’t a social network.
• While Amazon is incredible for buying staple items… today, it’s not a great place to buy fashion clothing—because Amazon isn’t a social network, they lack the lifestyle shots and fashion influencers needed to merchandise certain categories like fashion clothing.

9. And we can uniquely solve it.

Why us? Why this company? And what about your product positions it to solve this problem better than any thing else?

For example:

• Facebook Marketplace can uniquely help solve trust in buying and selling items locally because they have a social network with real identity.
• In 2013, Apple was uniquely positioned to launch a digital music store (iTunes) because of their broad install base of iPods.

This is the first time in your presentation you’ve even mentioned your company or your product. For all your audience knows, up until now, it could be a competitor’s deck.

10. Here’s how we’ll solve it.

What vision does your team have for a solution? Try using a combination of stated principles and design mocks and for god’s sake… get people excited!

For example:

To help people rent rooms from strangers, AirBnb needs to:

• Build trust by verifying people’s identities and creating profiles.
• Create accountability with double-blind reviews.
• Provide customer service remotely.

11. Here’s what happens if we solve it.

Why does it matter to this company? How is it important to our overall company strategy or business goals? Convince your audience that even though we could solve it, we should solve it.

For example:

• If Jump Bikes succeed, Uber we’ll see an increase in $x over y years and reduce y% carbon emissions.
• If Twitter Moments succeeds, we’ll see x% increase in engagement and be set up strategically for long-form news.
• If Snap Maps succeeds, we’ll 2x ‘close friends interaction’.

I personally don’t feel numbers need to be defined in all cases since the solution is still a “vision” and not yet tangible — meaning it’s hard to estimate. But each company is different and benchmarking can help.

12. And here’s how we win.

Paint the path forward in terms of the steps you’ll take to succeed in solving this problem. You can also think of this as “here’s how we get there.”

For example, for AirBnb it may have been:

1. Help people trust strangers.
2. Make booking simple and fun.
3. Help people live like locals while on vacation.

You don’t need to present a roadmap. Just help people understand how you get from today to your vision.

That’s it!

If you try using this framework, let me know how it goes.