How can you develop a product vision that motivates stakeholders?

A product vision is a clear and compelling statement that describes the value, purpose, and direction of your product. It guides your decisions, aligns your team, and inspires your stakeholders. But how can you develop a product vision that motivates stakeholders? Here are some tips to help you craft a powerful product vision that engages and energizes everyone involved.

Find expert answers in this collaborative article

Selected by the community from 4 contributions. Learn more

1 Understand your stakeholders

Before you write your product vision, you need to know who your stakeholders are and what they care about. Stakeholders are anyone who has an interest or influence in your product, such as customers, users, employees, partners, investors, and competitors. To understand your stakeholders, you need to conduct research, interviews, surveys, and feedback sessions. You need to find out their needs, goals, expectations, challenges, and preferences. You also need to identify their pain points, frustrations, and desires. By understanding your stakeholders, you can create a product vision that addresses their problems and offers solutions.

Add your perspective

Shahil Mohammed

Wealth Management Operations-Account Services at Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank
Report contribution
To better understand your stakeholders you need to: Know who they are in the first place. Identify where they are, inside your organization or outside of it. Determine what they need from you and what you need from them to move your work forward. Engage with your stakeholders accordingly.

Like
Nakesh Mangui

| Leadership | Airport Terminal Operations | Oil & Gas PPE Sales | Strategic Communication & Management
Report contribution
Developing product vision is essential for the success of any product as it serves as guide for stakeholders to get involved in the process. To do so, defining the problem the product aims to solve is important because you'll have to identify ( target users, understand users' need and pain points, evaluate current situations and define problem statement). Then, establish clear goals: you could use the SMART method, and, craft a compelling product vision statement with clear understanding of the product's purpose, target audience, and how it intents to make a unique impact in the market.

Like

2 Define your value proposition

Your value proposition is the foundation of your product vision, summarizing how your product solves a specific problem or fulfills a need for your target market. It should also explain how your product is different from and better than other alternatives. To define your value proposition, you need to ask yourself questions such as: what problem does your product solve or what need does it fulfill? Who are your target customers or users and why do they care about your product? How does your product solve the problem or fulfill the need in a unique and effective way? What are the main benefits and features of your product that deliver value to customers or users? And what are the key differentiators that make your product stand out from the competition? Your value proposition should be concise, clear, and compelling, emphasizing the most important aspects of your product and demonstrating how it creates value for stakeholders.

Add your perspective

3 Write your vision statement

Your vision statement is a one-sentence summary of your product vision that captures the essence of your value proposition. It should include your product name and category, target market and need, solution and benefit, and unique selling point. The vision statement should be simple, memorable, inspiring, realistic, achievable, and measurable. For instance, Airbnb's vision statement is "To make people around the world feel like they can belong anywhere," Spotify's is "To unlock the potential of human creativity by giving a million creative artists the opportunity to live off their art and billions of fans the opportunity to enjoy and be inspired by it," and Slack's is "To make work life simpler, more pleasant, and more productive." These examples demonstrate how effective a good vision statement can be.

Add your perspective

Shahil Mohammed

Wealth Management Operations-Account Services at Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank
Report contribution
Here's a quick breakdown of what to do when formalizing your vision statement: Project five to 10 years into the future. Dream big, and focus on success. Use the present tense. Use clear, concise, jargon-free language. Infuse it with passion, and make it inspiring. Align it with your business values and goals.

Like

4 Validate and refine your vision

Once you have written your vision statement, it's important to validate and refine it by testing your assumptions and hypotheses with stakeholders. Ask them questions such as whether the statement resonates with them, clearly describes the problem, solution, and value of the product, inspires and motivates them to support the product, and aligns with their goals and expectations. Additionally, inquire about how the vision statement can be improved or clarified. After collecting and analyzing the feedback, make adjustments to your vision statement accordingly to ensure it is consistent, relevant, and meaningful to your stakeholders.

Add your perspective

Shahil Mohammed

Wealth Management Operations-Account Services at Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank
Report contribution
Reviewing and refining can help you measure your vision and mission statements by showing you how far you have come, how close you are to your goals, and what you need to do next. You can review and refine by using various tools and frameworks, such as OKRs, KPIs, SWOT analysis, and retrospectives.

Like

5 Communicate and reinforce your vision

The final step is to communicate and reinforce your vision to your stakeholders. You need to share your vision statement with them and explain how it guides your product strategy, roadmap, and development. You need to show them how your product vision aligns with their interests and values. You also need to demonstrate how your product vision translates into tangible outcomes and results. You need to use various channels and formats to communicate your vision, such as presentations, videos, blogs, newsletters, and social media. You also need to repeat and reinforce your vision regularly and consistently. You need to make your vision a part of your culture and identity. By communicating and reinforcing your vision, you can build trust, loyalty, and commitment among your stakeholders.

Add your perspective

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?

Add your perspective

How can you develop a product vision that motivates stakeholders?

1

2

3

4

5

6

1 Understand your stakeholders

2 Define your value proposition

3 Write your vision statement

4 Validate and refine your vision

5 Communicate and reinforce your vision

6 Here’s what else to consider

Supervisory Skills

Rate this article

Thanks for your feedback

More articles on Supervisory Skills

More relevant reading

How can you develop a product vision that motivates stakeholders?

1

2

3

4

5

6

1 Understand your stakeholders

2 Define your value proposition

3 Write your vision statement

4 Validate and refine your vision

5 Communicate and reinforce your vision

6 Here’s what else to consider

Supervisory Skills

Rate this article

Thanks for your feedback

Explore Other Skills