Written by Cindy Gamal. Photo by Austin Distel.
We are going to explore how to uncover Product-Market Fit by tracking the right metrics and using user feedback to guide the product direction.
The most common reason for startup failure is a lack of Product-Market Fit. Product-market Fit (PMF) occurs when your product perfectly addresses the needs and demands of your target market. This alignment results in strong customer satisfaction and most importantly establishes your product as the new standard in their process and lifestyle. PMF is the most important goal of an early-stage venture and should be top of mind for early-stage founders to validate and derisk.
Unfortunately, many ventures fail to achieve Product-Market Fit because they do not leverage market feedback to determine product direction.
Here are four reasons founders face challenges in reaching product-market fit:
- Reason #1: Lack of Understanding of Your Target Market
- Reason #2: Insufficient Data and Metrics Tracking
- Reason #3: Misalignment with User Behavior and Demands
- Reason #4: Inadequate User Feedback and Iteration
In the following steps, we will guide you on how to overcome these challenges and achieve product-market fit.
Step 1: Identify Key Metrics for Success
Tracking the right metrics is key to gaining visibility and uncovering PMF. When you have user satisfaction, higher customer retention, and sustainable growth, you know you are providing a valuable product that solves a critical problem for your users and is aligned with their needs, leading to a higher chance of long-term success and profitability.
Understanding and tracking the right metrics are crucial to gauge your product’s performance accurately. To do this, focus on user engagement metrics such as active users, time spent on the platform, and frequency of usage. Metrics are indispensable in this process as they provide measurable insights into user behavior, feedback, and overall product success. Make it a priority to start tracking them from the earliest stages of the venture so that you know you are headed in the right direction.
Consider these metrics as a starting point:
- How many active customers does my product have?
- How frequently do customers use the product?
- How satisfied are customers with the product?
- To what extent does the product deliver customer gains or alleviate pains?
- How likely are customers to recommend the product?
- How many customers renew their subscriptions or expand their usage?
- How many customers churned and why?
The metrics you select should closely correlate with your core value proposition. For example, Crewscope is solving the labor shortage problem in the skilled trades workforce. Its value proposition lies in facilitating teams to set and achieve goals and incentivize workers accordingly. By tracking foreman goal setting and worker reward redemption, Crewscope can assess how effectively it delivers this value proposition. This clarity empowers Crewscope to make informed decisions on product iterations to achieve PMF.
Step 2: Gather and Analyze User Feedback
One common mistake many ventures make is underestimating the value of user feedback. They might rely solely on their assumptions and fail to truly understand their users’ pain points. To avoid this, actively seek and analyze user feedback to gain insights into their needs and preferences. Aim to have a direct conversation rather than a survey so that you can ask follow-up questions based on their responses and uncover deeper insights.
Ask your customers these questions:
- What is your primary goal in using our product?
- What is preventing you from achieving that goal?
- How effectively did our product address your challenges?
- What is the main benefit you receive from the product?
- What do you love the most about the product?
- What do you like least?
- What feature could we add to better serve your goal?
- How could we have gone above and beyond?
- Do you feel our product is worth the cost?
- What convinced you to buy the product?
- What nearly stopped you from buying?
Crewscope regularly asks its users and buyers about worker engagement, team participation, and productivity improvements to identify areas for improvement and innovation. By interviewing various levels of the customer organization, Crewscope was able to uncover a key product improvement: to be able to use Crewscope to engage and motivate subcontractors. This feedback was critical for Crewscope’s product development, especially in its early stage, where having a clear understanding of product development priorities and optimizing resources was incredibly important.
Step 3: Align Requested Features with User Behavior
It’s essential to focus your priority on high-value improvements, and sometimes, this isn’t what is requested the most. You have to ensure your priority is not set by the loudest voice or the most recent voice but actual data.
Reflect on the following factors:
- Have you gathered enough data to validate the significance of the demand for this feature?
- What specific problem or pain point does this feature solve?
- Who is experiencing that problem or pain point?
- Is the demand primarily from your target user segment or other users?
- Are the users, buyers, and various organizational levels aligned on this feature?
- Will the feature enhance user experience and drive key metrics?
- Does the feature contribute to achieving key performance indicators and north star metrics?
- What technical scalability challenges might the feature present? What risks and challenges are associated with building and maintaining this feature?
- How will the development of this feature impact the product roadmap?
- How does the feature align with your overall product strategy and vision?
The feature Crewscope is considering, sub-trade and general contractor access, requires some adjustments to the existing product. The team has to ensure whether this feature is a priority by validating with the market. They did research and discovery through desk research and customer interviews and discovered:
- Sub-trades are experiencing similar problems in crew engagement and motivation.
- General contractors are experiencing similar problems in incentivizing workers and real-time progress reporting. They find Crewscope’s value proposition valuable.
- General contractors represents a massive market opportunity.
- This feature will tremendously boost Crewscope’s ability to empower skilled trades.
By listening to user feedback and corroborating this with behavior and customer motivations, Crewscope is able to find an adjacent market that resonates with its value proposition and adjust their product roadmap effectively.
Step 4: Continuous Iteration and Improvement
Remember, these steps require constant repetition. Regularly gather user feedback—monthly, quarterly, or tied to specific positive or negative milestones—and use these insights to enhance your product continuously. This iterative process of constant updates and feature enhancements brings you closer to product-market fit with each improvement.
Achieving product-market fit is a challenging but rewarding journey for any venture builder. By tracking the right metrics, gathering user feedback, aligning your product with market demands, and iterating continuously, you can overcome common challenges and pave the way for success. I hope you can use these actionable insights to guide you toward product-market fit and unlock the full potential of your venture.