5 REASONS WHY MARKETING A PRODUCT-CUSTOMER FIT CAN BE CHALLENGING
23 July 2024
Written by Omneya Nabil
Being too focused can make it challenging to market or sell your product.
Especially when you focus on product-customer fit rather than product-market fit.
- Product-market fit is when you develop a product that meets the needs of a broad market segment.
- Product-customer fit is when you tailor your product to meet the specific needs of a single customer or a very narrow segment.
Here’s what usually happens: you build an MVP, land your first customer, and then continue to build your product based on that one client and their specific needs—disregarding the needs and pains of your broader prospects.
Yes, it might seem like a good idea to cater to your first customer. It can also be valuable in the early stages or for niche markets. However, this approach can lead to a narrow focus that doesn’t address the broader market’s needs.
Here are five reasons why marketing a product-customer fit can be challenging.
1. Limited marketability
A product tailored too closely to one customer’s needs might not resonate with other potential customers.
Your marketing messages may fall flat because they don’t address a wider audience’s diverse pain points and needs.
2. Inconsistent messaging
Crafting a consistent and compelling marketing message becomes difficult when your product lacks a clear, broad-based value proposition.
Marketing efforts may come across as fragmented or confusing if they’re overly focused on specific features that only matter to one customer.
3. Difficult scalability
A product designed for one customer is often not scalable.
Marketing such a product requires significant customisation and personalisation, which is neither efficient nor sustainable for reaching a larger market.
4. Wasted resources
Marketing campaigns tailored to a narrowly defined product-customer fit are likely to yield lower returns on investment.
You’ll spend more resources trying to attract a small, specific market segment instead of casting a wider net.
5. Missed opportunities
Focusing on the needs of one customer may cause you to overlook broader market trends and opportunities.
This can limit your product’s growth potential and hinder your ability to tap into new markets.
Over to you. Are you a champion of product-market fit or product-customer fit? Join the conversation by visiting the original post on LinkedIn.