What is the difference between a market alternative and a product alternative as discussed in Crossing the Chasm?

A market alternative is the standard product in a market segment that a company's product targets by leveraging a discontinuous innovation to overcome the standard product's limitations. On the other hand, a product alternative is a discontinuous innovation that does not have the same commitment to the customer segment. It signals that it's time to embrace change, setting the company's product apart from the product alternative.

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A product's unique positioning can be highlighted by choosing a market alternative, and a product alternative. The market alternative is the de-facto standard product in the market segment. The organization's product targets this budget by leveraging a discontinuous innovation to overcome that product's limitation. The product alternative is a discontinuous innovation that does not have the same commitment to this customer segment. The product alternative signals that its time to embrace change while the niche commitment sets the organization's product apart from the product alternative.

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Crossing the Chasm

How can the most cutting-edge start-ups fail? Start-ups fall to their death in the deep chasm that separates early tech adopters and the pragmatic mai...

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