How to Determine Product-Market Fit In Your Industry

Building a New Product

When companies embrace the idea of building a product that fits both internal and external stakeholders, they are likely to foster an environment that drives exceptional management and understanding among themselves. In one of my previous companies, the marketing team conducted a consumer data analysis to understand whether their marketing campaigns were effective. It helped them plan. The goal was to utilize the data analysis work and work collaboratively with our partners for an effective outcome. It was apparent to me that we needed to build a self-service analysis capability for the marketing directors.

However, based on my prior experience, it came to my attention that we might have found something external to such a suit. Therefore, we decided to build a product that would fit both internal and external customers, adjusting it slightly (by adding different security aspects etc.).

Communicate Your Product

To begin with, we utilized our in-house resources — e.g., the marketing directors. We used them to understand and polish the design of our product before we could move on to showcase it to our external customers.

We defined the needs of the products — what we were supposed to be doing with them. Before taking any steps, we ensured that the product was well communicated to the internal stakeholders. In that regard, many problems appeared that we needed to validate. Of course, we couldn’t improve on the product without any feedback.

Potential stakeholders and users must know the benefits of the product, why they need to use it, and the difference it would make in their lives. Since we tailored the product to cater to our needs, it became one of the most successful products within the organization. To date, I have received ample feedback from the users about it.

Find Strategies That Fit the Market

• Emphasize product marketing. Bridge gaps between marketing and product in order to get a better understanding of what differentiates your product from the rest of them. In our case, our marketing directors shared it with our telco partners, and their feedback helped us improve.
• Although there is no ‘one size fits all’ in the product industry, holistic products can go long. Find a product that can benefit several companies for big markets instead of just one.