(2008-05-12) Cagan Market Discovery Vs Product Discovery

Martin Cagan: Market Discovery vs. Product Discovery: product discovery process – discovering a product that is valuable, usable and feasible.

I want to contrast product discovery with what others have termed “market discovery.” Market discovery is all about identifying opportunities worth pursuing. (business model)

I find that the market vs. product discovery lens is a useful way of looking at product-led companies. And it helps to dispel the myth that you can only win big by identifying new markets. For example, Apple rarely discovers new markets. Instead, their magic is in product discovery – coming up with great products to serve well-established but unmet needs

In contrast, I would argue that eBay, TiVo, and the Nintendo Wii all succeeded first with market discovery, and then they delivered on product discovery as well.

It’s worth noting that lots of companies succeed at market discovery and then fall short in product discovery. This is why the fast-follower strategy can be so effective

It doesn’t do you any good to come up with all these great opportunities and then not deliver products that meet the need.