11–20 of 68 posts
Sure in the end you need some term to explain whether a particular product at a specific price point within its context would do well on a market or not. But it still feels like something people would use who don't care if it just makes them the bucks.
Another PMF-inspired practice in vogue is using Google Adwords to channel keyword searches to a dummy product site listing various features. The idea is to establish PMF before even beginning work on the product. A certain click-through rate establishes a clear need and a ready market to consume the product. I've always disliked this strategy. It doesn't feel good to start off your relationship with a customer with d…
People building AI-powered things are doing this a lot: add AI and clearly the product will now do .
Another PMF-inspired practice in vogue is using Google Adwords to channel keyword searches to a dummy product site listing various features. The idea is to establish PMF before even beginning work on the product. A certain click-through rate establishes a clear need and a ready market to consume the product. I've always disliked this strategy. It doesn't feel good to start off your relationship with a customer with d…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
It should not be deception. The landing page should say: "We are building this product, but it's in the early stages. Leave us your email if you're interested to learn about its progress and availability before your competitors do. Early adopters will get discounts / free plans." If this page gains any traction, subscriptions, interest expressed via the "Contact us" page, then the product is likely worth building pas…
>>I've always disliked this strategy. It doesn't feel good to start off your relationship with a customer with deception. > It should not be deception. > The landing page should say: "We are building this product, but it's in the early stages. But you aren't building that product. You're considering building that product. IOW, it's still deception.
If you have a proof of concept, have put in some thinking, made UI sketches and flows, etc, you have started building the product, because you can't advance further without that. But you have to find out if it's worth putting more effort and money into it.
In our startup we have 3 or 4 large areas - on being data acquisition from legacy devices which gets us most of our B2B contracts. Yes there is a problem to solve as most of our customers don’t want to do it and we have now building blocks.
The problem: All our other areas like data analytics and other more fancy and higher margin areas we fail to achieve PMF and therefore since years we struggle to grow. What is it when only a small part of your company/product has PMF and another to expand (we can’t go to kore customers as specific market)?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
>>I've always disliked this strategy. It doesn't feel good to start off your relationship with a customer with deception. > It should not be deception. > The landing page should say: "We are building this product, but it's in the early stages. But you aren't building that product. You're considering building that product. IOW, it's still deception.
If you have no idea how to build that product, no plans, no realistic way to do it, then yes, a deception. If you have a proof of concept, have put in some thinking, made UI sketches and flows, etc, you have started building the product, because you can't advance further without that. But you have to find out if it's worth putting more effort and money into it.
Cleverly worded gotcha deception, sure. But deception none the less.
The problematic part is to think about finished products, instead of "developed capabilities" which might end up in a whole tree of products, in total different fields, after a slight pivot.
Companies can starve to death, next to a grain storage, with a wall made out of concepts.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
>>I've always disliked this strategy. It doesn't feel good to start off your relationship with a customer with deception. > It should not be deception. > The landing page should say: "We are building this product, but it's in the early stages. But you aren't building that product. You're considering building that product. IOW, it's still deception.
If you have no idea how to build that product, no plans, no realistic way to do it, then yes, a deception. If you have a proof of concept, have put in some thinking, made UI sketches and flows, etc, you have started building the product, because you can't advance further without that. But you have to find out if it's worth putting more effort and money into it.
I think that that bar is too low to move from "we're considering building $FOO" to "we're building $FOO".
I mean, with the bar for "we're building $FOO" being "Investigate demand for $FOO", then the phrase "we're building $FOO" loses all meaning.
It's the difference between "we're getting divorced" vs "we're considering divorce".
"we're starting a new job" vs "we're looking for a new job"
"we're building a LEGO deathstar" vs "we're buying a box of LEGO"
I see no reason that "we're determining whether to build $FOO" is the same as "we're building $FOO"
- Every business is unique, and metrics frameworks apply differently. Focus on the metrics that matter for your product, and make sure they’re clearly defined
- Product Market Fit (PMF) can rise and fall as the product and market change and grow. It’s not this static thing that once you get it, you always have it.
B2B
Every enterprise company should run a 30-day proof of concept trial. To make these trials productive, company usually requires the customer to agree to buy the product after 30 days if it meets expectations. But… pull the trial after 30 days (no matter what). Then:
“If the customer doesn’t scream, you don’t have product-market fit because if they’re not going to buy it at the end of 30 days, they’re not desperate, and if they’re not desperate, you don’t have product-market fit.”
“The second biggest mistake I see entrepreneurs make, especially in enterprise, is when they pitch a potential customer on an idea, and when the customer doesn’t like the idea, they try to iterate on the product to build something the customer would want.”
“That’s the absolutely wrong thing to do, even though it feels right. You want to find people who love what you’re doing, not try to convince the ‘no’s’ and turn them into ‘yes’s.'”
B2C
“The only way you know if you have product-market fit is if you get word of mouth” (and the best test of word of mouth is exponential, organic growth)
Benchmark: Users scream for the product so you can screw everything up and still win (for a period of time).