No. 184 · Strategy · Economics
Customer Development
Treat every idea about customers as a guess, and test it with real people early.
In the Almanac
“The perfume samples”, 1886 · “Superhuman”, 2018
Both stories in full, three ways to use it and where it misleads.
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Questions
What is Customer Development?
Customer development is the practice of discovering what customers truly need by testing ideas with them early, instead of building first and hoping. David McConnell noticed buyers loved his free perfume more than his books and founded what became Avon.
How do you use Customer Development?
Use it whenever you create something for others. Show rough versions to real users, validate side projects with small sales before investing, and listen for what people you love actually want. Customers cannot always imagine new things, so combine their feedback with your judgement.
When does Customer Development matter?
Customer Development is one of the 56 mental models for strategy, the situations where you ask: How do I win when others want the same thing? Within that, it belongs to “Winning customers”, alongside Adverse Selection, Apostle Model and Churn.
What is an example of Customer Development?
Two stories show it at work: The perfume samples (1886) and Superhuman (2018). Both are told in full in The Mental Models Daily Almanac, which has two stories for each of its 365 models.
Which mental models are related to Customer Development?
Minimum Viable Product, Hypothesis and A/B Testing. Customer Development itself comes from economics.