Market-In and Product-Out

Tue, 15 Jul 2025 20:18:22 +0900

Market-In vs. Product-Out

Hello, this is kenji.

Sometimes in business books or proposals,

“We use a market-in strategy.” “This is a product-out approach, isn’t it?”

You see people saying things like this, but…

Wait, market-in? Product-out? Which one is better???

Don’t you ever feel that way?

So this time, I want to break down these terms “market-in” and “product-out” as simply as possible, with a slightly critical eye.

Simply put…

Market-in: Listening to the voice of the market and creating products that match it.
Product-out: Creating what you think is good (the product) and putting it out into the world.

That’s it. Simple.

For example, with a ramen shop…

A market-in ramen shop would be like, “Iekei ramen is popular lately. Alright, let’s go with plenty of fat and garlic!”

A product-out ramen shop would be like, “This soy milk basil salt ramen I made is seriously the best, so eat it.”

Which one is the correct answer… Both are.

With market-in, you cater to customer needs, so “the probability of it selling is high,” but it’s hard to produce breakthrough ideas or innovations.

With product-out, you “give shape to the justice you believe in,” so it’s edgy and attractive, but if you miss the mark, it won’t resonate with anyone.

The iPhone is quite product-out

Apple released the iPhone in an era when people were saying “I don’t need a smartphone.”

This is completely a successful example of product-out.

If they had just listened to users, they would have been told “A phone without a keyboard? Impossible,” and that would have been the end of it.

But product-out can easily become “self-satisfaction”

Sometimes there are companies or people who say, “We are a product-out type,” but

Wait, isn’t that just ignoring the user?

I sometimes think that.

“I made it because I wanted to. But it didn’t sell.” That’s not product-out, that’s “self-indulgent-out.”

Market-in has pitfalls too

On the other hand, market-in is not omnipotent either.

If you say, “I’ll do everything because the users want it!”, the core of the product gets blurred, and in the end, it might not resonate with anyone.

It’s like when you keep adding features, and before you know it, it’s become a chaotic tool.

The ones who are truly amazing are “those doing both”

Amazing products perfectly present “something users truly wanted but couldn’t put into words.”

In other words, it means “getting market-in style empathy with a product-out mindset.”

It’s easy to say, but incredibly difficult to do. However, if you can pull this off, it instantly becomes a “god-tier product.”

Conclusion: User reaction is everything, not words

Market-in or product-out. Which is right is a pretty meaningless question.

“Is it properly reaching the users’ hearts?” That’s everything, I think.

I feel like saying “we’re doing this kind of strategy” is fine as long as you can write it in marketing materials later.

So, that was a talk about market-in and product-out!

Without being confused by weird loanwords, thinking about “In the end, what will make people happy?” is the healthiest approach, I think.

See you around~.

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