Wedge
Why it matters
A broad product launched against established competitors rarely wins early, because nobody has a strong reason to switch to something that is merely as good. A wedge gives a small team a fight it can actually win. Winning it produces three things a broad launch struggles to get: proof that the product works, early revenue, and a group of customers who talk to each other and recommend it.
What it is
A wedge is a deliberately small starting position. Instead of launching a product that does everything for everyone, a business picks one problem that a clearly defined group feels strongly and that bigger competitors treat as too small to bother with. The name comes from the way a thin edge can split something much larger than itself. Once the edge is in, the rest of the market can be opened up from there.
Common mistakes
Choosing a wedge that is too small to pay for itself is the usual failure, so check that the group is large enough to build a business on. The opposite mistake is widening too early, which blurs the message and removes the advantage.
How to apply it
- Name the one group that feels the problem most sharply. "Marketing agencies with five to fifteen staff" is a wedge. "Small businesses" is not.
- Solve that one problem better than any general tool bothers to, even if the rest of the product is thin.
- Prove it with real, paying customers before building anything broader.
- Expand from strength: add the next problem for the same group before chasing a different group.
- Test the wedge with one question: could the customer describe it in a single sentence to a colleague?