Nothing beats the thrill of creating something the world didn’t know it needed but suddenly can’t live without.
But getting there?
It’s usually a wild ride filled with bumps and bruises and wrong turns and a fair share of “what were we thinking” moments. Finding product/market fit is a challenge for developers and researchers alike. The stakes are high, the competition can be fierce, but the payoff—when the long process comes together in a clear product-market marriage—is sweet.
Here are three steps to help guide your process in finding product/market fit.
Step 1: Identify genuine market needs over passing trends
Trends are a bit like high school crushes—intense, exciting, and mostly fleeting. (Remember fidget spinners? One minute, they were all the rage, the next, they were collecting dust under the backseat of your car.) A genuine market need, on the flip side, is like a true love story: it stands the test of time. But how do you tell the difference?
Trends are temporary spikes in popularity driven by hype (or, sometimes, an isolated event that captures the attention of the news cycle) while genuine needs address long-standing problems or desires.
A good example of the difference between a trend and a persistent need is how virtual reality (VR) gaming had its moment in the spotlight versus the ongoing, steady demand for cloud storage solutions. VR gaming was exciting and immersive but it didn't solve a significant problem for the majority of users, whereas cloud storage addresses the continuous need for secure, scalable data storage. Cloud storage solutions will be “in” for the foreseeable future thanks to the growing demand for data accessibility and backup in both personal and professional contexts.
The key to knowing the difference is to pay attention to your research and listen to your audience. Your target audience will tell you what you need to know to determine if a product you’re considering falls within the “passing trend” category or is a genuine need. Look for pain points that persist over time, not just the ones that are being pushed by influencers across their social feeds. Conduct surveys, focus groups, and in-depth interviews. Collaborate with your team to brainstorm and validate ideas through real-world feedback.
Listening closely to your audience and identifying patterns in your research will keep you attuned to real and persistent market demands. As shiny as the trends on social media might be, they’re not going to tell you much about what your users really, actually need.
Step 2: Validate your solution with real users
You’ve identified a need; now it’s time to validate your solution. This isn’t about asking your mom if she likes your idea (spoiler: she’s probably going to). It’s about getting honest feedback from potential users. Validation of this sort is necessary because it lets you know whether or not your solution meets a need in practice and not just in theory.
When Airbnb started, the founders didn’t just build a platform and cross their fingers, hoping it would “land.” They had early users stay in their own apartments and gathered their feedback to refine the product. This allowed them to tweak their offering to meet user needs better. Those initial, early iterations that were based on real user feedback helped them understand the nuances of what travelers and hosts wanted and allowed them to present a more robust and user-friendly platform that has done well for years.
Creating a minimum viable product (MVP) is a smart way to validate a solution with real users. This is a stripped-down version of your product that addresses the users' core needs without the distractions nice-to-have features. Release it to a select group of users and gather their feedback. Observe how they interact with your product, note what they love, and—more importantly—what they don’t. Use A/B testing to compare different versions of your product and determine which features resonate most with users. Engage in usability testing to identify any pain points or areas for improvement. Continuously iterating based on real user feedback (and doing so from the start, before tons of money has been spent on a design that’s conceptually flawless but that misses the mark practically) is necessary if you want your product to fit a market need and to evolve with it.
Step 3: Iterate and refine relentlessly
The final step evolves naturally out of the previous two. You’ve identified a market need, you’ve listened to your audience, and gotten feedback. Now comes iteration. The goal is to refine your product until it seamlessly fits the market. Sometimes this requires a level of relentlessness–you can’t be afraid to make changes, even big ones, during this phase.
Instagram is a great example of how making a well-informed, huge change can pay off. The platform began as Burbn, a check-in app with a heavy focus on whiskey. The founders realized quickly that users were more interested in sharing photos from their everyday lives with each other, so they stripped down the app to focus solely on photo-sharing. This pivot wasn’t just a lucky guess on their part, though. It was the result of careful observation and iteration. Their willingness to listen to users and shift gears based on feedback turned Instagram into a billion-dollar company.
Most of us aren’t going to be involved in a product that epic, but the principle of iteration remains the same. Whatever the size and scope of a given product, developers should instate a feedback loop where user insights continuously inform product development. This means regular updates, beta testing, and constant communication with your users. Encourage a culture of experimentation within your team, where failures are seen as learning opportunities rather than setbacks (within reason).
Bringing it all together
Finding product/market fit isn’t a one-and-done deal. It’s an ongoing process of discovery, validation, and refinement. It requires an open mind, a willingness to embrace failure, and a relentless drive to improve.
This process isn’t a solo undertaking. Researchers, developers, and other relevant parties need to work collaboratively in order for magic to happen (which is to say, in order for a product to really land and succeed in a target market). Researchers provide the insights, developers build the solutions, and marketers communicate the value. Regular cross-functional meetings and open lines of communication are essential to ensure everyone is aligned and working towards the same goal.
So, get out there, identify those genuine needs, validate your solutions, and iterate like your product’s life depends on it—because it does. You might just create the next big thing that people didn’t even know they needed.