Product goal: To outcompete players with the best product ensuring long-term sustainable superiority. Competitive advantage (CA) occurs when a product’s EVC ( Economic Value Created [WTP - Cost]) exceeds its competitors/alternatives.

Competitive strategy breaks down into two

• WHERE should we compete?
• HOW should we compete?

As a PM, I must track trends and events in the general environment and my industry as they evolve and try to anticipate the implications of these trends and events because the general environment often substantially influences my product + organisation’s level of success.

CA stems from two key areas: external opportunities and internal strengths. I can identify these factors by analysing my user’s macro-environment through PESTEL and Porter's Five Forces frameworks.

• PESTEL reflects the names of the six segments of the general environment
• Five Forces Analysis by Porter analyses the industry examining 5 key forces

<aside> 💡 To lay the foundations for this strategy, what do we need - internal strengths?

1. What are the strategic resources for us to realise our product vision and how can we start building/expanding on them now?
2. Immediate vs Long Term cost structure & business model
3. Organisational Culture: What mindset is important for our talent? What should our product teams look like? How fast do we need to learn what works (agility)?
4. Industry regulations: What can we do? What must we comply with? What is likely to change & when? How will they influence the thoughts, feelings and size of our customer segment?
5. How easy is it to replicate? Are we first movers or Late Arrivals? </aside>