CASE STUDY
DRIVING PRODUCT STRATEGY EXCELLENCE: HOW ABBEYGATE CONSULTING HELPED CHILTERN OAKMONT LTD REFRESH THEIR PRODUCT STRATEGY

INTRODUCTION

Chiltern Oakmont Ltd are a leading firm of Council Tax and Business Rates appeals specialists who engaged Abbeygate Consulting to conduct a review of their industry and operating model. As they sought to scale and refine their product offerings, they also recognised the need for a more structured and forward-thinking product strategy, and that formed a key part of the engagement.

Abbeygate Consulting leveraged their deep expertise in product strategy, operational efficiencies and service strategy development to partner with Chiltern Oakmont to revamp their approach. This case study outlines how Abbeygate Consulting helped refresh Chiltern Oakmont’s product strategy, aligning it with their business growth and market demands.

THE CHALLENGES

EXISTING STRATEGY

Chiltern Oakmont's existing product strategy lacked clarity, leading to inefficiencies in decision-making and execution.

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

The competitive landscape was evolving rapidly, requiring a more agile and customer-focused approach including a customer research/insight strategy.

PRIORITISATION

Internal teams needed better prioritisation frameworks to ensure high-impact initiatives were delivered effectively and lower impact initiatives were captured.

SCALABILITY

Key person dependencies existed and the operating model limited growth, scalability and the exploration of new product areas.

THE APPROACH

Collaborating with the team at Chiltern Oakmont, the approach was split into three distinct sections with clear focus areas

PRODUCT DISCOVERY

Conducted stakeholder interviews across leadership and support staff.
Performed a competitive landscape analysis to identify key competitors, market trends and gaps.
Gathered customer insights to better understand pain points and unmet needs including recent client outreach.

STRATEGY DEFINITION

Delivered a refreshed and compelling vision and strategy aligned with Chiltern Oakmont’s growth objectives.
Introduced a Lean Product Strategy Framework, focusing on delivering value efficiently.
Recommended quick wins to improve internal workflows leveraging AI and standard process redesign.

IMPLEMENTATION SUPPORT

Equipped the small team with agile product management practices to enhance execution speed.
Created prioritisation and decision-making frameworks for better resource allocation and focus.
Provided ongoing advisory support to ensure seamless adoption of the new strategy.

DELIVERABLES & IMPACT

CUSTOMER RESEARCH

Chiltern Oakmont now know how their clients feel about their service and they have an ongoing method to collect and analyse this from every client. This gives them increased responsiveness to changing customer needs.

They will also track and align targets around a newly introduced CSAT metric alongside quarterly OKRs to align the team around common goals and outcomes.

PRODUCT VISION, STRATEGY & ROADMAP

Chiltern Oakmont has a new compelling product vision and strategy meaning every stakeholder understands the goals of the company, both current and future.

A new benefits aligned prioritisation framework allows the business to focus on high impact initiatives and new business lines whilst tracking current and future work on a new 'Now/Next/Later' roadmap including two new potential product offerings.

NEW OPERATING MODEL

The small team are now embracing more agile ways of working increasing their decision making on product priorities by 30%.

Thanks also to process redesign and the leveraging of AI capabilities, the team have increased their core task productivity by 50%.

An employee satisfaction survey is also planned for Q2 2025

KEY TAKEAWAYS

PRODUCT STRATEGY IS KEY

Without a clear product strategy, businesses risk chasing opportunities blindly, leading to wasted resources, misaligned efforts, disengaged employees and missed market potential.

WE MUST UNDERSTAND CLIENT NEEDS

A Client Insight Strategy is key because it enables businesses to make informed, data-driven decisions that enhance customer experience, drive revenue growth, and sustain competitive advantage.

DEMONSTRATE AGILITY TO STAY AHEAD

Success belongs mostly to those who demonstrate the required agility to stay ahead. Organisations like Chiltern Oakmont must adapt, innovate, and lead before the market demands it.

DON'T STAND STILL

Innovation is the key to long-term success. In a fast-moving world, standing still means falling behind. Businesses like Chiltern Oakmont who embrace change, adapt to market shifts, and continuously refine their strategies are the ones that thrive.

As Chiltern Oakmont moves forward, Abbeygate Consulting continues to provide advisory support, ensuring that their product strategy evolves with market dynamics and business growth.

"I instructed Abbeygate Consulting to complete discovery on our market including competitor analysis. The engagement was first class and the output gave us new avenues to explore which I wouldn't have thought of ... the final product strategy really brought our business goals to life which helps inspire my team ... and me!"

Andrew Van Loen, Director at Chiltern Oakmont Ltd

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CASE STUDY DRIVING PRODUCT STRATEGY EXCELLENCE: HOW ABBEYGATE CONSULTING HELPED CHILTERN OAKMONT LTD REFRESH THEIR PRODUCT STRATEGY