Product Strategy Consulting: The Fast Track to Growth and Market Leadership

Author: Mark Lydon, Senior Content Manager

Product strategists need to align their portfolios with customers’ evolving mindsets and validate their decisions in the boardroom. Industry experts' consultation is a key facilitator of both.

In a world where customers constantly shift preferences and competitors accelerate innovation, product strategy consulting is a game-changer. Many organizations think they have the perfect product to fulfill customers’ every wish. But if they fail to validate the market and keep pace with technological advancements, they will have a rude awakening.

Mind the Product survey results show that influencing stakeholders is the top challenge facing product professionals today.

And for a good reason.

Failure to meet internal expectations causes executive teams to panic. Those responsible for developing the solution will be held accountable.

To avoid this unfortunate scenario, product development teams require the convergence of market intelligence, external verification, and expert advisory. Consulting services equip product teams with the timely insights to move beyond reactive decision-making to a proactive, future-proof approach.

With more than 30 years of driving product success, ABI Research delivers tailored advisory solutions that drive clarity, credibility, and competitive advantage.

Key Takeaways:

• Consulting Validates Product Strategies: It helps teams test assumptions, confirm market fit, and secure executive and investor buy-in.
• Timely Insights Drive Better Decisions: Consultants provide real-time intelligence on customer needs, competitor moves, and market shifts.
• External Validation Builds Credibility: Third-party benchmarks and endorsements boost product visibility and trust with customers and stakeholders.
• Tailored Guidance Creates Lasting Impact: Every organization needs a customized approach, ensuring product roadmaps and positioning align with unique business goals.

Table 1: Tackling Product Strategy Challenges with Consulting

What Is Product Strategy Consulting?

Product strategy consulting is the process of helping organizations validate and tailor their products for maximum revenue. This is done through market analysis, competitive intelligence, customer surveys, and expert strategic advice.

Consulting allows product strategy teams to answer three key questions:

• Is our product roadmap aligned with customer needs and market timing?
• Do we have the right validation to secure internal and external buy-in?
• Are we positioned to stand out in a crowded, fast-moving marketplace?

Consultants work closely with product development teams to ensure their solutions fit a specific market. After all, customer needs/wants are the top priority for product teams, according to ProductPlan’s The 2025 State of Product Management Report.

Consultants step in here to guide product teams with insight they can act on immediately. They regularly check in with clients to share critical findings that impact their product strategy. This empowers organizations to be agile, which is essential to appeal to customers in the long term.

Finally, consultancy services are critical to securing executive buy-in. For example, our Digital Security team delivers Total Addressable Market (TAM) analysis and regular strategy calls with product team leaders. Clients tell us that this information fuels engaging conversations in the boardroom.

Why Do Product Strategy Leaders Need Consulting?

Even the most seasoned product strategy leaders face roadblocks to success. Data collection may take too long, competitors might establish new differentiation, and customers could alter their buying behavior. Additionally, novel technology can abruptly disrupt an entire market.

These challenges inhibit product teams from making quick strategic decisions and fragment internal alignment. Without consulting, product strategy teams risk experiencing:

• Market timing uncertainty makes aligning product roadmaps with shifting customer needs difficult.
• Limited strategic validation means leaders often struggle to justify investments internally.
• Low market visibility leaves products overlooked in crowded categories.
• Fragmented competitive intelligence reduces efficacy in tracking competitor moves and customer sentiment in real time.
• Pressure to differentiate forces teams to constantly re-articulate value.
• Unclear internal influence prevents product leaders from shaping perception without third-party validation.

What Value Can Consulting Provide for Product Strategy?

Consulting programs designed for product strategy teams help overcome the most common issues in product positioning, validation, and market recognition. Below are the key value drivers of consulting for product strategy teams:

• Timely Market Insight: Consulting firms provide product development teams with real-time assessments of customer sentiment, competitor shifts, and market projections. This intelligence is used to fine-tune product roadmaps that align with current and upcoming trends. For instance, our Supply Chain Management & Logistics Survey Results highlight the top investment priorities of supply chain stakeholders. Vendors use this information to ensure key features are integrated into products and messaging to address customer challenges.
• External Validation: Endorsements, benchmarks, and recognition programs build product credibility across digital communities and in-person conferences. These signals reassure customers that the product is viable and confirm market-readiness to investors and executives.
• Cross-Channel Visibility: Consultants can identify the channels where specific audiences reside, expanding brand reach. Beyond traditional marketing tactics, this can include selecting niche platforms and conferences where industry decision-makers frequent.
• Access to Strategic Experts: Product leaders can tap into consultants' wealth of knowledge. Regular back-and-forth dialogue empowers teams to test assumptions, plan product roadmaps, and refine market positioning.

Tailored Solutions Are Key to Product Strategy Consulting

Advising product strategy leaders should never be a one-size-fits-all approach. What works for one company will not necessarily work for another.

As an analogy, think of consulting as training for a marathon. An Olympic gold medal winner will have a different training regimen than an unaccomplished newcomer. Similarly, the priorities of a large company rarely align with those of a startup or mid-sized firm. The goal of capturing a market is the same, but the path there is not.

Your next consulting partner must craft solutions that align with your organization’s pace and product development goals.

At ABI Research, every client engagement is customized. Our tailored consulting services provide product strategy teams with:

• Independent Product Strategy Validation: On-demand access to analysts who provide guidance, assess competitors, and confirm whether your product direction is on the right track.
• Broaden Market Visibility: Licensed content displays your products in analyst-driven reports, creating credible material for marketing and outreach.
• Deep Market Intelligence: Use AI-based tools to quickly surface the forecasts and insights that matter most for your competitive environment.
• Collaborative Strategy Sessions: In scheduled sessions, you will work directly with consultants to refine your product roadmap and align it with market conditions.
• Expanded Product Exposure: Distribute licensed content in ABI channels and partner publications to ensure your message reaches wider audiences.
• Ongoing Market Updates: Regular briefings every two months highlight emerging opportunities, competitor activity, and shifts that could affect your product strategy.
• Establishing Industry Authority: Engage in interviews and research contributions that build your reputation as a thought leader in your industry.
• Shaping Research Direction: Provide feedback that guides ABI’s market research coverage so it reflects the topics most critical to your business goals.

Is your product strategy team lacking the timely insight to expedite decision-making and optimize portfolios? Schedule a strategy session with ABI Research today to break through obstacles and move your technology products toward market leadership.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is product strategy consulting?

Product strategy consulting is the act of helping organizations validate and refine their products for market success. It combines market intelligence, competitive analysis, customer feedback, and expert guidance to align product roadmaps with customer needs and market timing.

What does a product strategy consultant do?

A product strategy consultant works with product teams to test assumptions, analyze competitors, and identify growth opportunities. They provide ongoing insights and advice that help teams adjust roadmaps, strengthen positioning, and secure internal and external buy-in.

What are the benefits of product strategy consulting?

The benefits include timely market insight, external validation, expanded channel visibility, and direct access to strategic experts. The clarity, credibility, and agility consultancy provides help product strategy leaders to stay competitive in fast-moving markets.