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thank you. What does the last point mean- does your core motion distil into a primary loop?

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the basic idea is your product discovery / activation / engagement / expansion is a "loop" (versus a funnel or a flywheel) and can be (a) operationalized from a GTM perspective and (b) automated from a product perspective - you can't do more sophisticated / higher value things with you product (and grow as a company) until the foundation runs itself - you can read more about the concept here -> https://www.reforge.com/blog/growth-loops

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May 7, 2021Liked by Ibrahim Bashir

This concept is fascination. How do you think about the difference b/t "product strategy" and "growth strategy"? If you're small enough to have one sprint team, do you try to make sure the product strategy includes a growth loop? Or is the growth loop something you graduate into alongside investing in core functionality?

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they are complementary

the growth loop is a way to model your product/market motion - if we solve problem X for persona Y then outcome Z happens which increases our access to more of persona Y dealing with problem X (and so on, in a virtuous cycle)

where strategy comes in is identifying leverage points - where do we have a differentiator with regards to X, Y, and/or Z that we can take advantage of relative to other players in the market

and finally where product strategy comes in is answering how can we build/buy/partner (and use R&D budget) to accumulate and utilize advantages

the key part of loops is understanding how the system works and where it needs a boost

the key part of strategy is understanding where you have leverage and choosing to focus

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The timing of this post is spot on. I was working on spot checking our strategy, literally this week. Couldn't have read this at a better time - thanks!

I just have one question -

>>how does product usage tie to a buying decision?

Could you shed more light on what you mean by this?

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if the usage decision (end user) and the buying decision (IT, CxO) are separate motions, connecting those dots has to be part of your strategy

for example are you offering a free version that user adopt, and once you reach a tipping point you have a purchase conversation? do people pay as they go with a self-serve option? is there a direct sales team that sells into a line of business that is then responsible for deploying within a department?

basically, does buying follow usage or does usage follow buying?

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