Benchmarking can seem like one of those words like 'brainstorm' that you use over and over again until it means nothing. That said, benchmarking plays a pivotal role in creating a continuous discovery culture.
Product managers should, in theory, focus on de-risking business decisions in favor of user needs. You do this through discovery, and since it's a role rather than a process, it needs to be continuous.
Benchmarking, on the other hand, isn't a continuous effort. It's a punctual observation, usually when you feel the need to close a gap. You might benchmark competition when losing clients to try and understand why.
This means you're always playing catch-up instead of getting ahead. Discovery and benchmark aren't opposites and you can bridge these two concepts together. Try and think of continuous discovery as a sequence of short benchmarks.
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