Product Expansion Strategy

Once you’ve achieved traction with your core product, the next challenge is: where do you go from here? Most companies start to consider how to grow their current product offering. Product expansion can come in many forms, but most companies choose to focus on one of four broad approaches. Each has its own benefits, risks, and long-term consequences.

Deepening Strategy: Be the Best Point Solution

This strategy focuses on becoming the undisputed leader in a narrow problem space. Instead of expanding horizontally, you double down vertically, adding depth, polish, and differentiation until you’re known as the product for solving a specific issue.

This strategy has a lot to love from a design standpoint. It provides focus throughout the organization, and makes it easier to align stakeholders. It also allows you to dive deep on iterating on and making a product the best it possibly can be. But beware: this strategy is almost always a temporary phase.

Pros of Deepening Strategy

Focus and speed. Every decision is simpler when you’re centered on one clear problem. Product, sales, and marketing all line up behind a single purpose. By narrowing scope, you avoid spreading yourself thin, allowing you to deliver fast product improvements to the market.