How does aligning your product vision with internal stakeholders differ from external stakeholders?

Internal stakeholders that are customer facing or in sales roles should be an integral part of the product vision development. Engineers and product managers benefit from hearing directly from sellers what the key challenges are that their customers are up against. This information should help inform the product vision and roadmap. Broader market data is very informative, but hearing directly customer facing teams will help ensure product adoption and growth within the existing customer base.

3 practical tips: 1. Understand the interests & concerns: - Internal Stakeholders: Through regular team meetings, one-on-one discussions, and surveys. - External Stakeholders: Conduct customer interviews, surveys, and feedback sessions to gain insights. 2. Identify overlapping goals: Look for common themes, shared goals, and areas where their interests align - e.g. both groups may value improvements on product quality, customer satisfaction, pricing power and market relevance. 3. Communicate and educate -to align on resource prioritization: Clearly communicate the shared goals and the rationale behind the product vision. Provide context on how achieving these shared goals benefits not only the product but also the organization as a whole.

One of the key internal stakeholder alignment challenges is often between sales or customer facing teams and product teams - both in terms of the content of the vision or roadmap and also the timing and how they can sell. Ultimately adapting the product output to match the selling process and strategy is the key.

Getting internal stakeholder buy-in starts with understanding their goals and challenges. ?? Communicate your vision clearly and consistently across the organization. ?? Involve teams in discovery, testing and positioning to build shared ownership. ?? Provide resources, training and support to smooth adoption. ? Collaboration, transparency and enablement turns skeptics into evangelists. ?? Without it, lack of alignment can torpedo launch success. ?

When it comes to Internal stakeholders who are in the customer facing and sales roles can be aligned to the product vision by providing regular updates, reports, presentations and trainings to demonstrate progress and address concerns.

External stakeholders seek solutions and value from your product. Understand Their Needs: Comprehend needs, preferences, and pain points for stakeholders. This can be achieved through market research, customer feedback, and user testing. Communicate Value: Highlight how your product addresses and solves their problems. Use clear and compelling messaging that speaks directly to them. Build Relationships: This is KEY. Maintain open lines of communication, respond to their feedback, and show that you value their input. Showcase Success: Share success and case studies that demonstrate the effectiveness of your product. This not only validates your product vision but also builds trust with external stakeholders.

Analysts help provide an interesting point of view with regard to product vision development. If you have the luxury of working strategically with an analyst to test your vision, you will often gain valuable insights into what both customers are looking for, and how the market as a whole is fluctuating.

A key process here is to think about the order in which external stakeholders need to be consulted on the vision or roadmap. For example product partners would usually come before prospects and customers, especially if the partner is a key component of delivering the roadmap etc.

Externally, first know your target segments and buyers intimately. ?? Then communicate an inspiring vision through tailored messaging per persona. ?? Involve target users early to gain feedback. ?? Showcase how you deliver superior value vs. competitors. ?? Provide the info and incentives needed to motivate purchase. ?? Pulling customers into your vision attracts advocates who validate you to new buyers. ??

External stake holder can include customers, users, consumers. To align them the main aim could be to meet their needs, expectations, and demands. To make sure that the product vision is align with the external stakeholder, it is important to understand the market, customer pain points and market trends.

Most external stakeholders will not have come on the full journey with you, from idea through build. So when it comes times to think about communication, remember the context or lack of that the audience will have - in other words, do not forget to catch certain audiences up on what has happened!

Internal stakeholders focus more on product viability and execution. ??? Externals care about desirability and experience. ?? Internals want factual proof it works. ?? Externals want emotional resonance. ?? Internals prefer direct communication. ??? Externals favor interactive engagement. ?? Understanding these differences allows tailored alignment per audience. ??

The beauty about aligning stakeholders, either internal or external, is that they will always ask questions and provide valuable feedback that ultimately works to improve the overall vision and roadmap. So listen carefully and make note!

Despite differences, some alignment principles work across the board. ? Start by connecting your vision to the stakeholder's goals and values. ?? Craft compelling narratives demonstrating relevance and impact. ?? Back up claims with credible evidence and metrics. ?? Listen and empathize to improve the vision. ?? Involve stakeholders as partners. ?? Do this, and any audience can be inspired. ??

A fully vetted and aligned vision and roadmap is a truly powerful selling tool - one that can inspire and generate legitimate excitement in the future.

Thoughtful alignment unlocks benefits that amplify success. ?? Gain stakeholder insights to refine the vision. ?? Build enthusiasm and advocacy. ?? Strengthen value proposition and positioning. ?? Foster trust and credibility. ?? Achieve buy-in across the organization and market. ? Get it right, and your vision becomes their vision, powering adoption and growth. ??