Product-led growth · Product-market fit
Product-market fit: how to know people want it
Product-market fit means you've built something a clear group of people want badly enough to pay for, keep using and tell others about. Marc Andreessen, who made the term famous in 2007, described it as being in a good market with a product that can satisfy that market.
Signs you have product-market fit
People come back
They use it again next week without a reminder from you.
People pay without a push
The price is not a fight. They see the value.
People tell others
New users turn up because someone sent them.
People would miss it
Take it away and they'd be upset. That's the strongest sign of all.
How to test for product-market fit
Sean Ellis, who led early marketing at Dropbox, made a simple survey popular. Ask users how they would feel if they could no longer use your product. In his test, if 40% or more say "very disappointed", you likely have fit.
Ask the one question
"How would you feel if you could no longer use this?" Count the people who say very disappointed.
Watch what people do
Do they return? Do they finish the main task? What people do beats what they say.
Talk to the keen ones
Ask your happiest users what they'd lose without it. Their words tell you what to build next.
Product-market fit when you sell a program
Here's the good news. If clients already pay for your program and get results, you have proof that the market wants the outcome. What you don't know yet is whether they want it as software.
Your program proved the need
Paying clients and real results. Most start-ups would love to begin there.
Software is a new test
Some people buy the program for you, not the method. Check they'd use it without you in the room.
Test small
Show a clickable prototype to ten past clients. Watch where they light up and where they get lost.
What to do before you build
- 01
Name the group
One kind of person with one problem. Not everyone.
- 02
Name the result
The outcome they want, in their words.
- 03
Show them something
A clickable prototype is enough to learn from.
- 04
Ask for a real yes
A deposit, a pre-order or a signed pilot. Kind words are not proof.
Your next step
The Software Plan Workshop
Get the clickable prototype you need to test fit, before you pay for a build.
- A written software plan
- A clickable prototype you can show people
- The first-version scope, ready to quote
- The $5,000 comes off the price of a build
- Price
- $5,000
- If you build with us
- Credited to the build
Fixed price. Test the idea with real people before you spend on a build.
★ Keep reading
More in the product-led growth guides
Product-led growth
The main guide: PLG for experts who sell a program.
Read more →Onboarding and time to value
How fast a new user gets a first win.
Read more →SaaS metrics
The numbers that show fit, like how many users stay.
Read more →How to validate a SaaS idea
Steps to check an idea before you build it.
Read more →Should you build a platform for your program?
When it makes sense and when it doesn't.
Read more →AI product-market fit testing
How to test fit for an AI product.
Read more →Questions, answered
What is product-market fit?
Product-market fit means a clear group of people want your product enough to pay for it, keep using it and tell others. Marc Andreessen described it in 2007 as being in a good market with a product that can satisfy that market.
How do you measure product-market fit?
Use the Sean Ellis survey. Ask users how they'd feel if they could no longer use your product. If 40% or more say "very disappointed", you likely have fit. Then check what people do: do they come back and do they pay?
How do I know I don't have product-market fit?
People sign up and don't return. Every sale needs a long push. Nobody refers a friend. If that sounds like you, change who it's for or what it does before you add features.
Does a proven program mean I have product-market fit?
It means the market wants the outcome. That's a big head start. You still need to check people will use your method as software, without you in the room. A clickable prototype is the cheap way to find out.
Can I test product-market fit before I build?
Yes. Show a clickable prototype to people who fit your market and ask for a real yes: a deposit, a pre-order or a pilot. The Software Plan Workshop gives you that prototype.
How long does it take to find product-market fit?
There's no set time. It depends on how fast you can put something in front of real users and learn from it. Small versions and short tests get you there sooner than one big launch.