The Major Components of a Product Strategy

The recipient of a BS in business administration from Central Washington University, Chris Blaser has served as the vice president of audience and circulation for the Las Vegas Review-Journal since 2016. Chris Blaser oversees the audience/circulation volumes, income, costs, operations, and profitability. He is also well-versed in developing and executing print and digital product strategies.

A product strategy is a road map that a company follows to develop a new product or feature. It comprises all the tasks that corporate teams must perform in order to meet the company's objectives. This document will serve as a guide for the team, and they will refer to it if they have questions. When making significant decisions, the majority of firms look to their product strategy for clarity.

A product strategy explains how a product will help a company succeed. It explains the product's solution to a problem as well as the influence it will have on consumers and the organization. Once the strategy is established, the product definition, which explains what a product will be and when it will be created, will be developed.

Three key components make up a product strategy. These are:

Market vision

The market vision explains who will be utilizing a product and what that will mean for the company. It focuses on target consumers, how the business will position the product, and how it will compete with other products in its category.

Product goals

Product objectives are important metrics that a company will evaluate as a product is under development. These metrics serve as a guide for the development team and also aid in the evaluation of the product's performance after it is introduced.

Product initiatives

These are major concepts or trends that a company's new product will have an impact on. For example, rather than merely selling a new marketing automation product, a software business may launch the product with the goal of becoming seen as a leader in this area of the industry.

United Way of Southern Nevada’s Efforts

As vice president of audience and circulation at the Las Vegas Review-Journal in Las Vegas, Nevada, Chris Blaser employs a range of strategies to boost audience outreach and generate revenue. When he isn’t working, he is active with several different industry and nonprofit groups. For example, Chris Blaser sits on the board of directors for the United Way of Southern Nevada.

For over the past six decades, the United Way of Southern Nevada has been dedicated to addressing gaps in human services and helping people overcome poverty. Its services to local students are critical to this overarching mission.

The United Way of Southern Nevada is dedicated to helping students of all ages and at all stages of learning. Preschoolers have access to its early education programs, while elementary students can benefit from its afterschool enrichment and extracurricular activities. When students enter high school, they can take advantage of United Way of Southern Nevada’s college preparation assistance, as well as opportunities to apply for a variety of college scholarships and financial aid.

How Retention Strategies Work at the Las

Chris Blaser is a senior executive with over 30 years of experience in the newspaper industry. As the vice president of audience and circulation at the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Chris Blaser implements churn and retention strategies to keep the journal profitable and readers happy. These strategies include targeting the right audience, improving customer service, and improving the integration process.

Customer churn is the number of customers who leave a business, while retention is the number of customers that return. Companies must minimize customer churn and maximize retention to stay afloat.

To help maximize retention, the Review-Journal targets the right audience by a range of initiatives, including partnering with Starbucks. Through its free wi-fi network, local Starbucks’ customers have free digital access to the newspaper, putting it in front of people who are more likely to value its content and subscribe.

To improve customer service, the Review-Journal implemented an inbound customer self-service feature that makes it easier for subscribers to make payments and report non-deliveries.

Subscribers need to experience a smooth transition during digital product updates. Glitches in software can be frustrating. The Review-Journal improved its integration process when switching its outdated e-edition with an updated optical distribution network. The transition was seamless, and subscribers reported a much smoother reading experience.

The Danger of Churn and How Personalization Can Reduce It

The vice president of audience and circulation at the Las Vegas Review-Journal in Las Vegas, Nevada, Chris Blaser spearheads efforts to boost audience retention and revenue for this local daily newspaper. As part of his focus on retention, Chris Blaser endeavors to reduce potential damage from churn.

A company’s churn rate shows the rate at which its customers or subscribers discontinue engagement or cancel subscriptions over a given period of time. Although attracting new subscribers is great, companies that fail to keep them will continually court failure.

Independent industry resources such as MarketingProfs and Smart Insights have released a range of tips to help subscription-based businesses limit churn. Reinforcing feelings of connection is key. Wise companies should reach out to their subscribers regularly in personalized ways. This outreach is particularly important for new subscribers who have yet to solidify a comfortable relationship with a company. It may also be beneficial to give new subscribers a small gift to welcome them and demonstrate appreciation. In order to better personalize subscriber interactions, companies will want to consider segmenting their customer bases. It makes little sense to reach out to long-term subscribers and newcomers with the same methods and campaigns.