Is your product or service delightfully or fundamentally different?
Ryan Jacoby wrote a great post today about the difference between a delightfully different experience and a fundamentally different experience. If you apply his train of thought to a product or service in the market today, a delightfully different product is one that is a cut above the rest because it offers the consumer value not present in the competition. A fundamentally different product offers an entirely new consumer experience that forces a paradigm shift and creates new revenue streams for a firm. Think Tivo, iPhone and Kindle.
Creating a delightfully different product is relatively easy. Conduct market research and make incremental changes that differentiate your product. Creating a fundamentally different, now that's hard. Is there a market for this innovation? How do you conduct research for a product that solves a need the consumer doesn't even know exists yet. Innovators often have to go with their gut when creating a fundamentally different product. What's the ROI on your gut?
