CaliTeam | How to leverage customer discovery to explore a new market

By Isabelle Bart, Caliteam

Many companies, whether they are startups or already well established, think that market research can be done “offline” and remotely.

Customer discovery has been proven by many renowned experts such as Steve Blank as a great methodology to build a strong foundation to launch a product/innovation/technology.

Customer discovery consists of understanding customer needs through speaking to customers directly and creating true value as a fundamental principle for success. Customer discovery revolves around interviewing customers about their objective and needs, and not about pitching products.

I strongly recommend finding a local partner to help with customer discovery which will be an effective way to leverage their network, their cultural expertise and even soft launch business development for the future.

Great Innovation Doesn’t Equal Market Success

My work involves helping technical founders understand that innovation alone does not guarantee commercial success. To build a thriving and scalable company, a founder must offer real value to customers—value that is significant enough for people to change their behavior and adopt something new. Many founders become so emotionally attached to their ideas that they struggle to recognize when the market opportunity simply doesn’t exist—or isn’t big enough.

Multiple studies show that the number one reason startups fail is not a lack of funding, poor team dynamics, or even bad timing. It’s the absence of market need. I like to stress the concept of having enough of a market. If your solution is only relevant to 20 people worldwide, no matter how revolutionary it is or how high a price those 20 people are willing to pay, it’s unlikely you’ll build a sustainable company.

Founders can’t afford to waste months—or even years—pursuing an idea that doesn’t have solid commercial potential. Early validation is critical. And this validation must come from the market, not just friends, mentors, or industry experts.

Keep in mind that this process is relevant even if you have a successful product in a given market and are considering market expansions such as geographic expansion because cultural differences can create very different market dynamics.

The Critical Role of Customer Discovery

The most important step in launching an innovation is figuring out who cares enough to buy it and why. In other words, who are your customers, and what value are you providing them? This is where marketing plays a crucial role—particularly through methods like customer discovery and tools such as the Business Model Canvas and Lean Startup methodology.

Too often, founders overlook this step. Some assume that their product’s technical superiority will naturally attract attention. Others fear rejection and hesitate to speak directly with customers. But avoiding customer conversations is a critical mistake. You can’t validate your assumptions in a vacuum. The best way to determine if an innovation addresses a real, pressing problem is by conducting interviews with potential customers.

Customer discovery is more psychology than business—it requires empathy and curiosity. You need to deeply understand what your customer wants, how they currently solve their problem, and what trade-offs they’re willing to make to adopt a new solution. If your innovation addresses a problem that ranks low on their list of priorities, it may be difficult to gain traction. Worse, you may be targeting the wrong customer segment altogether.

Because founders are often emotionally invested in their solutions, they tend to underestimate how much effort it takes to get customers to change. Change is hard—even when the alternative is better. If your product is 20% better than their current option, will they switch? What if it’s only 5% better? And how much would they be willing to pay for that improvement? The answers vary by customer segment, industry, and situation, which is why contextual understanding is essential.

As you can imagine, even for two customers who seem very similar on paper, there may be significant differences between countries on what may motivate this customer to change and adopt a new solution (a simple example to illustrate the point could be a regulation that are obviously different by country, sometimes by region/state within a country).

Iteration, Learning, and Humility

What I love about the customer discovery process is that it’s iterative. You’re constantly learning—validating some hypotheses while discarding others. This approach works in both B2B and B2C settings. In fact, I consider customer discovery to be a foundational step for building any business.

For technical founders, this process can be daunting. That’s where marketing expertise can be transformative. I often help founders reframe their mindset—from one focused on “pitching” their product to one centered on listening and learning. Customer discovery is not about showcasing your product’s amazing features—it’s about understanding what truly matters to your customers.

Imagine you’re on a first date. Would you spend the entire evening talking about yourself—your job, achievements, and hobbies—or would you ask your date thoughtful questions to learn about them? Founders often forget this. They assume customers will fall in love with their product just because they did. But in reality, customers are assessing the risk and reward of adopting something new.

For example, if your customer is a salaried employee at a large organization, their top priorities might be job security, career advancement, or meeting KPIs. Innovating may sound exciting, but the risk of championing a new, untested product could outweigh the potential upside—especially if it could jeopardize their reputation. If the innovation you’re offering might threaten their role (as is often the case with AI tools), they may resist it—even if it offers tremendous value. In this case, you may need to reposition your offering toward their manager or another stakeholder.

This is why understanding the customer ecosystem is crucial. There are often multiple people involved in a purchase decision, each with different roles: end users, economic buyers, influencers, champions, and sometimes even saboteurs. For instance, if you’re designing a learning app for children, the child may be the user and influencer, but the parent is the buyer. Your value proposition must speak to both audiences.

What to Ask in Customer Discovery Interviews

When interviewing potential customers, use open-ended questions such as:

• “What keeps you up at night?”
• “What’s your biggest challenge right now?”
• “How do you currently solve this problem?”
• “What’s working? What’s not?”
• “What have you tried before?”
• “What would success look like for you?”

You may uncover information about competing solutions or makeshift workarounds. These interviews also provide a natural opportunity to ask about budget, procurement processes, and pricing sensitivity.

Customer segmentation is another essential aspect of discovery. You want to identify the traits that group customers together—whether that’s demographics (age, role, company size) or behaviors (interests, pain points, goals). Map out the ecosystem so you can see how various actors interact. This is particularly important in industries where users, buyers, and decision-makers are not the same person.

And remember: Even in highly technical fields, emotions matter. If your solution helps a small business owner stop working late nights and spend more time with family, that emotional driver can be more powerful than any efficiency metric.

Start with Desirability

Ultimately, customer discovery helps you move in the right direction toward commercialization. If no one wants what you’re offering, it doesn’t matter how feasible or profitable it could be—you won’t succeed. That’s why you should always start with desirability: who wants your solution badly enough to change their current behavior to adopt it?

Only once you’ve confirmed desirability should you dive into feasibility (can we build it?) and viability (can we make money from it?). Skipping these steps often leads to wasted time and investment.

Marketers Can Articulate Strong Value Propositions

One of the core strengths marketers bring to the table is the ability to communicate clearly and succinctly. A strong value proposition isn’t a technical spec sheet or a feature list—it’s a simple, powerful statement of why your product matters to a specific audience.

I often tell founders: you should be able to explain your innovation to a first grader. That doesn’t mean dumbing it down—it means distilling it to its essence. A great value proposition captures the benefit of your product, not just its features.

Here’s a common trap I see: Founders list all the amazing things their product does—“it’s faster, cheaper, more efficient, more secure, and uses a completely novel approach!” But none of that matters if the customer doesn’t understand how it helps them achieve their goals.

A value proposition should be one or two sentences. Focus on the outcome your customer cares about most. And if you’re unsure what that is, keep asking yourself, “So what?” until you reach the root benefit. For example:

• “It saves time.” So what?
• “So the customer can focus on strategic work.” So what?
• “So they can meet their KPIs and get promoted.” That’s the value.

The deeper you go, the more powerful your message becomes.

Don’t Underestimate the Competition

Another common misstep is assuming you have no competition because your innovation is completely novel. That’s rarely true. Even if there’s no direct substitute, your customer is doing something today to address their problem—however imperfect that may be.

In many cases, the biggest competitor is the status quo. Getting someone to change what they’re already doing is hard—especially if they’ve invested time, money, or effort into their current solution.

Founders must stay aware of competitive activity. Even if it’s not a core part of customer discovery or the Business Model Canvas, competitors often come up in interviews. Be prepared to ask about alternative solutions, homegrown tools, or prior experiences with similar products. You might discover gaps in the market—or learn what not to do.

Staying informed helps you position your innovation more effectively. You can’t stand out if you don’t know what else is out there.

Conclusion: Marketing and On the Ground Approach Matter—A Lot

To sum up, I believe marketing skills and a strong market knowledge are just as critical as technical skills in launching successful innovations. From customer discovery to value proposition design to ecosystem mapping, marketers play a vital role in ensuring a product resonates with its target audience.

This work starts early, long before the product is ready for launch. In fact, these marketing activities are often essential to shaping the product itself—ensuring it solves a meaningful problem for a clearly defined customer.

Founders should make sure marketing expertise is represented on their team—either internally or through advisors, and ideally with local experts when going into new geographies. Marketers bring storytelling, empathy, and customer insight to the table. They start with why, and that’s what ultimately moves innovation from the lab to the lives of real people.

Caliteam specializes in helping businesses establish a strong and successful presence in the USA.

 

Compliments of CaliTeam – a member of the EACCNY