Our StartCharlotte Series continues…Think customer discovery is all about your product? Think again..
Previous installments of this series focused on the critically important entrepreneurial action of customer discovery. Understanding the customer’s problems in the context of a proposed solution almost always generates insights that require the entrepreneur to adapt.
Now, let’s consider how the entrepreneur responds and the importance of a realistic, fact-based assessment of the market.
Customer discovery sometimes confirms the entrepreneur’s original product or service with only minor changes. More typically, the process uncovers information that requires a substantial change known as a “pivot.” For instance, the founder may think that the newly invented material will be of interest to automotive manufacturers, but through customer discovery, learns that the real opportunity is in the home improvement sector. This pivot in target market changes the value proposition, the sales channels and other elements of the business model canvas.