“I ask existing users of a product how they would feel if they could no longer use the product.” Sean Ellis

Here is the conversation I had with myself this morning:

I woke up late – again!

I was going to make muffins for the kids for breakfast.

At this point, muffins will take too long to bake.

Last night, I put the waffle iron away.

Mixing waffle batter will take too long.

All I have to do to make muffins is add 1/2 cup milk and an egg to the dry ingredients. (Martha White Gluten Free Muffin Mix is the best!)

If I mix muffins, I can use the waffle iron.

It’ll make flat muffins. They’ll be crunchy muffins. But, they’ll be done quickly.

Solution!

What I wasn’t expecting, was that my kids would think that because the “muffins” look like waffles, they would need maple syrup.

#5. Product

So, tonight, I hope to inspire you to find solutions for your business and motivate growth for your social market by looking for the obvious possibilities in everyday opportunities… even everyday situations like flat muffins and non-waffles.

As you continue to work through your marketing plan, your Business Model Canvas and/or your inspiration for a prosperous 2017, take into account this advice from Tristin Kromer of Grasshopper Herder about how to think about your product(s):

It is important to differentiate between product/market fit and problem/solution fit when measuring a company’s customer base.
When gauging a customer’s desire, companies need to be sure they are measuring desire for the product or service—not just for a solution.
Misinterpreting customers’ desire for a solution as desire for a company’s product or service will end up being a false positive for product/market fit.

Do you want to measure your product fit, your customer base or market fit, but don’t know where to begin? Here are 10 suggestions from Ash Maurya of The Lean Canvas:

Your product is not “product”
Explore different business models and prioritize where to start
Understand the three stages of startups: problem/solution fit, product/market fit, scale
Focus on the right metrics
Formulate falsifiable hypotheses
Architect for learning
Architect for speed
Go only as fast as you can learn
Validate qualitatively, verify quantitatively
Systematically test your model

“Life’s too short to build something nobody wants.” Ash Mauyra

Whether you make flat muffins or chocolate chip waffles, it is necessary to to build perspective of a successful product… a product that others want, will use, will value, will miss if it’s gone. A MVP requires action from these four parts of your BMC: customers, value proposition, channels and relationship.

Go out there. Find your pockets. Do big things… no syrup necessary.

Darla

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To read THE MOTIVATOR, the first post in my “17 Reasons to” series —-> CLICK HERE

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