Market vs Target

A big mistake companies make when building products is confusing market with target. Thinking going broad means capturing more market share. But it usually means building something mediocre for everyone instead of something essential for someone specific.

Market is the opportunity. Target is who you’re solving for. When you nail it for a specific target customer, you often discover they’re a wedge into a much larger market. Solving it really well for the target, opens the door to every other closely related segment.

This confusion shows up in two predictable ways. New companies go broad because they’re afraid their specific target won’t be enough to sustain a business. Existing companies go broad because they think new features need to work for their entire customer base. Both approaches backfire for the same reason. Specificity in who you’re serving leads to specificity in what you’re building.