There is a concept that is essential for determining whether you have found the right customers. It's called Product Market Fit (PMF), and it means that you are selling the right thing to the right people. This is such a powerful concept that in the tech world, it is the holy grail for any startup to attain. I believe that it's time for the concept of Product Market Fit (PMF) to be a central priority for every business regardless of size, industry, or years in business. If you sell something to people or companies, then you must always be able to answer the question, have we found Market Fit (PMF) yet, or are we still looking? Every time you release a new product or service, you need to ask the question, "have we found product-market fit?"
However, finding the right market to sell your great product to isn't the only challenge; you have to make sure you're telling people about that product in a way that they can understand.
The best example of this is when Apple released its "Think Different" commercial. Have you seen it? If not, stop reading and YouTube it. Prior to that commercial, Apple had been buying huge spreads in magazines and detailing every feature of their amazing computer. The problem was those spreads, and product details didn't seem to do anything for their sales. Then they released "Think Different," and suddenly Apple wasn't selling features and specs no one could understand; now they were selling the idea that their computers were for people who "think different." This was the beginning of Apple becoming the computer of choice for creative professionals. That ad was when Apple started telling the right people about what they were selling in the right way.
How well do you know your customers? If you have a great product and the right market, then what do your future customers need to hear to be motivated to buy?
So many businesses try to be right for too many different types of customers. Trying to sell to the wrong people leads you to accidentally hide what's great about your product.
Example (details have been changed to protect client anonymity): I was hired to help a high-end custom home builder figure out what was keeping them from growing. They had been in business for almost 20 years and saw barely any growth year over year. When I started working with them, it became clear that they were trying to run two different types of businesses at the same time. They built high-end custom homes and lower-cost homes in developments. Their customers sang their praises, but potential customers were confused about what exactly they were selling. People wanting high-end custom homes thought they primarily built low-cost homes. They weren't clearly telling the customers they wanted to work with what they offered in the right way, and it got in the way of their growth. All along, they had wanted to build only high-end custom homes, but in the early days, they had started taking on lower-cost home builds to keep the lights on. This is an understandable situation, but they needed to focus on telling the right people about what they offered in the right way if they were going to grow their business.
If you aren't clearly telling the right people about what you are selling in the right way, then it will be a major barrier to your growth. Go ahead and answer the questions in the Principle Two Assessment.
There is a concept that is essential for determining whether you have found the right customers. It's called Product Market Fit (PMF), and it means that you are selling the right thing to the right people. This is such a powerful concept that in the tech world, it is the holy grail for any startup to attain. I believe that it's time for the concept of Product Market Fit (PMF) to be a central priority for every business regardless of size, industry, or years in business. If you sell something to people or companies, then you must always be able to answer the question, have we found Market Fit (PMF) yet, or are we still looking? Every time you release a new product or service, you need to ask the question, "have we found product-market fit?"
However, finding the right market to sell your great product to isn't the only challenge; you have to make sure you're telling people about that product in a way that they can understand.
The best example of this is when Apple released its "Think Different" commercial. Have you seen it? If not, stop reading and YouTube it. Prior to that commercial, Apple had been buying huge spreads in magazines and detailing every feature of their amazing computer. The problem was those spreads, and product details didn't seem to do anything for their sales. Then they released "Think Different," and suddenly Apple wasn't selling features and specs no one could understand; now they were selling the idea that their computers were for people who "think different." This was the beginning of Apple becoming the computer of choice for creative professionals. That ad was when Apple started telling the right people about what they were selling in the right way.
How well do you know your customers? If you have a great product and the right market, then what do your future customers need to hear to be motivated to buy?
So many businesses try to be right for too many different types of customers. Trying to sell to the wrong people leads you to accidentally hide what's great about your product.
Example (details have been changed to protect client anonymity): I was hired to help a high-end custom home builder figure out what was keeping them from growing. They had been in business for almost 20 years and saw barely any growth year over year. When I started working with them, it became clear that they were trying to run two different types of businesses at the same time. They built high-end custom homes and lower-cost homes in developments. Their customers sang their praises, but potential customers were confused about what exactly they were selling. People wanting high-end custom homes thought they primarily built low-cost homes. They weren't clearly telling the customers they wanted to work with what they offered in the right way, and it got in the way of their growth. All along, they had wanted to build only high-end custom homes, but in the early days, they had started taking on lower-cost home builds to keep the lights on. This is an understandable situation, but they needed to focus on telling the right people about what they offered in the right way if they were going to grow their business.
If you aren't clearly telling the right people about what you are selling in the right way, then it will be a major barrier to your growth. Go ahead and answer the questions in the Principle Two Assessment.