Setting the product strategy is the first step in marketing.
To come up with a strategy for a product, one requires the understanding of the different levels of a product, which are a direct reflection of the customer-value hierarchy.
3C model
To understand this evolution of a product which a marketer has to envision while designing a product strategy, we can use the 3C model or the 'Kenichi Ohmae' model.
1) Customer – A customer is the person who seeks benefits and therefore value from the product. He/she is also the person who expects certain attributes or features from the product.
2) Company – A company is any organization which comes up with the basic product that delivers the core benefit to the customer. It is also any organization which comes up with products that far exceed the expectations of people and possibly, that encompass all the possible transformations and applications the product might undergo or offer in the future.
3) Competitor – A competitor is any organization which plays a catch-up with the company that launched the basic product. So, it is that organization which comes up with products that far exceed the expectations of people and possibly, that encompass all the possible transformations and applications the product might undergo or offer in the future.
So, a marketer who wishes to come up with a product strategy can apply the results of the product level model to this model to predict the possible evolution of the product and industry.
Conclusion
The product level and 3C models are the most accurate models to understand the customer-value hierarchy and predict the product and industry life cycles. They can be used to design a product strategy since they are customer-oriented and suit the modern marketing practices.