The document outlines Ramkumar Narayanan's approach to product strategy with a focus on the customer. It recommends defining the market opportunity and addressable size, developing customer personas to understand needs, creating a solution to address the top customer pains, setting metrics for success, and planning marketing to drive adoption through channels and campaigns while constantly iterating based on customer feedback. The overall approach emphasizes deep customer understanding and delivering value to drive business outcomes.

1. Product Strategy
A Customer Centric
Approach
Ramkumar Narayanan
General Manager, eBay Centre of Excellence, India

2. Strategy
A plan, method, or series of maneuvers or
stratagems for obtaining a specific goal or
result
Source: Dictionary.com
Ramkumar Narayanan - Dec 2012

3.  What is the market opportunity?
 Who is the customer?
 How will the solution address customer
need?
 What defines success?
 How to effect customer adoption?
Ramkumar Narayanan - Dec 2012

4. Market Opportunity
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5. Market Opportunity
 Clearly define the market you want to play in
… Geo, Demo, Consumer, Enterprise, Large, Small etc.
 Define the bounding box
… BUT not too narrow – nor too wide
 Arrive at the addressable opportunity
… Evaluate constantly
 Market situation analysis
… Porters 5 forces – the popular framework
Ramkumar Narayanan - Dec 2012

6. Customer Definition
Ramkumar Narayanan - Dec 2012

7. Customer Definition
 Get a deep view of your customer
… Demog, Psychog, Socio-Economic, Cultural etc.
 Develop persona(s)
… NEEDS to become the lingua franca
 Build a view of their life that is material (to you)
… ILLUSTRATE the unmet need or pain point
 Understand the competitive environment
… WHAT else do they use and value derived
 Create a hypothesis on the business model
… WHO is going to pay for the solution
Ramkumar Narayanan - Dec 2012

8. The Solution
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9. The Solution
 Stack rank the unmet needs
… PICK the top ones to focus on
 Get in front of customers early and often
… Access, Simplicity, Usability, Validation etc.
 Develop the value proposition (differentiation)
… DEMONSTRATE why they need it (critically)
 Understand the dependencies
… THIS is a connected eco-system
 Deliver to customer fast and build for scale
… INSTRUMENT for insight and iterate
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10. Success Metrics
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11. Success Metrics
 Define realistic goals for users and revenue
… STRETCH but don’t go overboard
 Validate a scalable business model
… DRIVE revenue based on customer and channel
 Evaluate customer satisfaction constantly
… THIS is what matters
 Measure against competition
… EVEN if things appear extremely good
Ramkumar Narayanan - Dec 2012

12. Marketing Plan
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13. Marketing Plan
 Define clear marketing objectives and strategy
… MATRIX of market and product type
 Availability strategy
… DECIDE gradual/full, markets etc.
 Drive adoption and usage
… USE channels, campaigns, partnerships etc.
 Beware the 2 guys with a laptop chasing you
… BE on your toes and look over your shoulder
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14. ITERATE
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15. Good luck!
Ramkumar Narayanan - Dec 2012