How do I know if we have a product strategy problem or a go to market problem? Our product isn’t growing as fast as we’d like.

A product that is working well for its users will show strong user retention metrics and very positive qualitative feedback from users. If you're retaining the vast majority of your current userbase with some signs of user-driven growth or upsell activity, your core product is probably on solid ground. From here, figure out where in your funnel you're underperforming: are you having a hard time acquiring traffic or in converting traffic to signups or customers? As you analyze each stage, you'll ...Read More

If the problem isn't growing as fast as you'd like, you need to check several key performance indicators that tell you it's a product strategy or go-to-market problem. Unfortunately, it also could be a little bit of both - but it's important to dig into specifics as much as possible so you solve the right problem. I'd look into: Product usage metrics: Are people who try your product continuing to use it? High churn suggests a product issue, while good retention but low acquisition points to go-t ...Read More

I would argue that a market problem IS a product strategy problem. Your product strategy should be a clear direction for the product to win within the constraints of the market context and customer context. If you are not growing with the current product strategy, I would start by evaluating each element to where you are struggling:  Market elements Maturity - how mature is the market? Are people ready for adoption?  Market saturation - how strong is the competition?  Size - is the market big en ...Read More

When it comes to customer behavior, you usually detect that a problem exists before you figure out why that problem exists. "What people are doing" shows up every day in your metrics. "Why are people doing what they're doing?" is a harder question that often requires research techniques to nail down. In a small scrappy company, these techniques can involve click recording and watching replays, getting out of the building and talking to people, surveys, diary studies, usability studies, market aw ...Read More

To determine the root cause here, you will need to determine if the problems you are solving with your product are something that resonates with users. The best way to determine that is to talk to your target users. If your product and roadmap do not align with your target users' pain points, then you'll need to re-think your strategy. If your product and roadmap offer solutions to their pain points, then you will need to focus on go-to-market. There's a possibility that while your product does ...Read More

Product Market Fit (PMF) is elusive and attaining it can be a challenge for thousands of start-ups. In many cases, your growth might actually be a combination of strategy and go-to-market. The only way to truly know is to run some experimentation with A/B tests with various markets and targets as well as campaigns to validate if you are using the right GTM for the target market or have the product strategy. This is a nicely written article with some great visuals on PMF: https://theproductmanage ...Read More

Without specifics, I fear providing a generic answer, but: Are you defining what a 'market problem' is accurately? I recommend, "People with a specific problem (JTBD) they are willing to pay for a solution to." Have you talked to these specific types of people and validated they would pay for your solution? Are there enough of these 'users' to merit strong revenue? If so, then yes, maybe you have a marketing or messaging problem. That can be easier to solve than poor 'product market fit' (meanin ...Read More

This is one of the most misdiagnosed problems in product. GTM teams assume they have a product problem when they actually have a messaging problem, AND vice versa. Here's one approach to untangling it: Start with the data, not the narrative. Look at three signals: Retention vs. Acquisition. If people who try your product keep using it (strong retention, good NPS, healthy engagement) but growth is slow, you likely have a GTM problem. Your product delivers value but the market doesn't understand t ...Read More