Achieving problem-solution fit is an early indicator of market success. It refers to how well a solution solves a problem faced by target customers. It is assessed before investing significant time, money, and resources into developing and launching a product or service.
As many companies have experienced, either through startup failure or wasted time and effort in launching products or services that customers didn’t need or want, there are numerous pitfalls in neglecting to test for problem-solution fit.
Before exploring the pitfalls, if you want a deeper understanding of problem-solution fit, read Why problem-solution fit matters and how to achieve it.
Focusing too much on the solution
This is a common mistake by tech startups with engineers who often want to jump into building stuff immediately. Building stuff is what engineers do, so it’s only natural. However, ponder this: CB Insights reports that 35% of startups fail because there is no market need.
35% of startups fail because there is no market need
It’s critical to validate that you have discovered a problem worth solving first. Deeply understanding the problem and the target market will significantly improve your chances of developing a solution that customers want and love. Neglecting this vital step will likely result in minimum viable products (MVPs) that don’t meet customer needs.
Having a “solution looking for a problem” is not a fun place to be in.
Underestimating the complexity
Complex problems typically require complex solutions. Complex solutions usually require a long time to develop. Do you have the resources (people and funding) to solve the problem? Will the problem still exist by the time you create a solution?
Another top reason why startups fail is that they run out of cash. Underestimating the time to develop a solution may sink the company unless investors are willing to top up funding. Given the complexity of the problem, you need to assess the probability of successfully developing a solution. Yes, there’s always risk involved, and it’s best to evaluate that before diving too deeply into building a solution.
Assuming one solution fits all
Don’t assume a solution for one customer represents the needs and wants of all customers. It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking a big customer represents everyone else. You aim to develop a solution with broad market appeal and sufficient revenue potential. In the B2B space, you’ll want to validate your solution with a handful of paying customers in the real-world setting before proceeding to a full market launch.
It’s also essential to interview early adopters and prospective customers who may purchase your solution later (the early majority, as identified by Geoffrey Moore in Crossing the Chasm). While initially, you want to validate problem-solution fit with early adopters, it’s good to know how you may need to evolve your product roadmap down the road to appeal more broadly.
Validating with non-paying customers
The ‘willingness to pay’ test is crucial. If you have a solution that customers love, that solves a real problem, but they are unwilling or unable to pay for the solution, you don’t have a viable business. Don’t confuse need with demand. Validate that customers are willing to pay to have the problem solved with your MVPs.
Ignoring customer feedback
Gathering feedback is one thing; heeding it is another. If you ignore it, you likely won’t achieve success. Understanding the entire customer experience with your solution and making changes based on feedback is essential to gain a better problem-solution fit. The challenge, of course, is to validate that feedback from a single customer is representative of the needs of the broader market.
Assuming problem-solution fit represents product-market fit
These are two separate things. Problem-solution fit validates that you have a solution that addresses a problem faced by early adopters before launching your product or service into the broader target market. Product-market fit is assessed after product launch. You’ll likely need to iterate and evolve your MVP from the pre-launch stage further to validate that you have broad market appeal.
In Summary
Avoiding these pitfalls will help you as you seek problem-solution fit. Many new products fail for various reasons, but the chance of success increases when properly assessing problem-solution fit before launching your product or service into the market.
Drop a comment if you have other pitfalls to share. And if you want to chat about this or other business challenges over a coffee (virtual or in real life), give me a shout.
Originally published at https://www.linkedin.com.