Brands almost always come to us with this “simple” request. And we totally get it! As websites become more interactive and personalized, many companies see their sites as obsolete and out-of-fashion. Surely sales performance could improve if the website was up to snuff, right?
Websites, custom-built apps, and many other digital products are often seen as this “fix-all” for brands—an obvious, client-facing way to inject new life into a company. Unfortunately, that’s a serious oversimplification of what these products can offer (and many companies spend a lot of time and money finding that out).
These companies are on the right track, they just took a wrong turn. They recognized a problem in their current makeup and tried to identify a solution that would solve that problem. This is the basic beginnings of product discovery. But before we get into that, let’s clarify what we mean when we say “product.”
What Is a Product?
Products are items or services that are created to meet a specific customer need. Most people would immediately think of products you see on store shelves—a physical exchange of goods.
Our work mostly deals with intangible products, like a brand new website, a customer portal, or even an app. So when we talk about the discovery process, have these types of products in mind.
