Customers, users & segmentation · Working

Lead user

Also called: advanced user

ELI5

A user facing needs the wider market may have later.

Used in conversation

“Lead-user research shaped the enterprise roadmap.”

Definition

A user whose needs are ahead of the broader market and may reveal future demand.

Here “Lead user” means: A user whose needs are ahead of the broader market and may reveal future demand.

Pitch context

You will see “Lead user” in strategy decks, market analyses, business plans and planning workshops when the discussion reaches customers, users & segmentation.

Why it matters: It helps a reader interpret customers, users & segmentation without confusing the measure, decision, role or evidence being discussed.

Sources & evidence · 5

Supporting source families. This entry is an editorial synthesis rather than a quotation from one canonical glossary.