“All customers change from something”
Sean Ellis, my favorite blogger who never blogs, has written a rare post, “The Cult of ‘Great Product’”. A key excerpt on differentiation:
All customers change from something. Generally they either switch from a competitive solution or from just tolerating a problem without a solution. New products should decide on one of these markets. Trying to serve both markets generally leads to failure. …
If you decide to target “greenfield” people (those without a current solution), then your product roadmap should be focused on simple, effective execution of their desired task. Simplicity is usually much more important for greenfield users than being feature rich. …
If you are targeting people who will be switching from another solution, then usually features are an important part of people’s decision to try it. … If you can differentiate on one of the key gripes of the competitive solution, there is a good chance you can be successful. … You’ll need to both message this differentiation and also deliver on the promise.
