A product can satisfy the people who discover it and still struggle to grow. Product preference and access to customers answer different questions. HBW-004 uses a fictional desk lamp to separate them.
Two products, two paths
Imagine a market of 10,000 potential shoppers. Lamp A reaches 8,000 shoppers and converts 5% of those reached: 400 buyers. Lamp B reaches 1,000 and converts 10%: 100 buyers. Every number is illustrative. The higher conversion rate does not establish that B is universally better: the two audiences may differ.
| Fictional product | Shoppers reached | Conversion among those reached | Buyers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lamp A | 8,000 | 5% | 400 |
| Lamp B | 1,000 | 10% | 100 |
The arithmetic shows why conversion alone is an incomplete growth measure. It does not identify the cause of either product's performance. Price, audience, product quality and the purchasing experience still need evidence.
Distribution is part of the offer
Harvard Business School places channels within the wider value system. Its Five Forces framework also identifies access to distribution as a possible barrier to entry. The strength of that barrier depends on the market; a direct route may be practical in some settings.
A route includes more than impressions. Customers must encounter the offer, understand it, trust it, buy it and receive it. A retailer may provide discovery and confidence while charging a margin. A direct website may offer control while requiring the business to earn its own traffic and trust. Neither is automatically superior.
Test the complete route
Choose one customer segment and one channel hypothesis. Write down how customers will discover the product, what will make the offer credible and how the purchase will happen. Track qualified reach, purchases, returns and contribution after the costs of serving that channel.
A channel with many sales may still be expensive. A smaller channel can be useful if it reaches the right buyers economically. Compare the complete path rather than maximizing a single intermediate metric.
The practical lesson is to ask two questions together: do customers want the offer, and can this business reach and serve enough of them at workable economics?
Sources and qualifications
Framework sources: HBS Online's go-to-market guide and the SBA business-planning guide, alongside the HBS links above. The lamp comparison is an original fictional teaching model, not evidence about any real product.