What is product discovery?

Effective product discovery is crucial for creating products that solve essential customer needs rather than merely being desirable. By accurately understanding customer necessities, companies can achieve higher demand and success, as evidenced by products like Google search and smartphones. However, many companies fail in product discovery due to inadequate customer research and reliance on unverified assumptions, leading to costly product failures like New Coke and the Segway. To improve product discovery, companies should challenge assumptions, conduct thorough qualitative and quantitative user research, and utilize product analytics to gather and analyze customer data. Creating design artifacts such as journey maps, empathy maps, and consumer personas based on empirical research helps maintain a user-focused approach throughout the product development process. Ultimately, leveraging customer insights and data-driven methods can transform a product from a 'nice to have' into an indispensable necessity.