Public recognition is like running through a cave of cobwebs.
There are two pieces to this analogy: the cave and the cobwebs.
The cave represents the narrow path that one must take when public recognition occurs to capitalize on the increased attention.
For example, recognition gives a product momentum to penetrate the exposure barrier that a large company would spend millions to get. By following this narrow path, the recognition is suddenly the guiding focal that shapes the perception of your product. Hence, the cobwebs.
Once the product strategy is ignited or pivots to capitalize on recognition, it is difficult to shake off while in motion. It can impede progress or sit idly attached as a future liability.
But recognition is obviously necessary for product success and impossible to avoid for a marketable product offering.
So how can we capitalize on recognition?
I think an answer lies with the design of the business model: offer both a product or a service to a target market and then offer an analysis of the target market for consulting opportunities. I.e., if you are forced to run through a cave collecting cobwebs along the way, teach those that follow the best way through.
By building in consulting services into your offering, your underlying business becomes experiments in targeting markets and navigating through. And by giving information about the market, you're influencing the market even more because you're curating the perception of those that follow.