Unlocking Product Market Fit: Advocacy for Growth in the Age of AI
An article we liked from Thought Leaders Sean Ellis and Ethan Garr:
Unlocking Advocacy: Growth’s Force Multiplier in the Age of AI
Introducing the Perfect Customer Loop Framework
“You have got to try this! It solved my problem, and it will solve yours.” This is advocacy in action, and in the age of AI, it is no longer optional.
AI makes it easier and faster for businesses to deliver must-have experiences, which means even the best companies will struggle to find differentiated value. But nothing will set your product apart more than the enthusiastic recommendation of a trusted friend. Advocacy creates its own moat.
But here’s what most teams miss, advocacy isn’t magic, and it isn’t random. Products can be designed to consistently deliver emotional and functional value so that users feel compelled to share.
We have found two tools that when used together, give teams an actionable playbook to unlock and activate advocacy:
The Product/Market Fit survey - the input that identifies must-have users
The Perfect Customer Loop - the output that unlocks word of mouth
In this article, we will show you how to use this approach to drive advocacy as the new engine of sustainable growth in your business.
Activate Must Have Users as Advocacy Heroes
Must-have users are the foundation of every growth engine. They are the people who try, use, love, and keep using your product. The transition to advocacy happens when the experiences become so emotionally resonant that these users intrinsically feel compelled to help others solve the problems your solution helps them with every day. When this happens the effect is compounding.
Ethan loves to tell a story from his Robokiller days when he was chatting with some guys on a dock after a sail. When one of them learned Ethan was “The RoboKiller Guy,” he pulled out his phone to show off an “AnswerBot” at work. RoboKiller wasn’t just blocking a spam call, its AnswerBot was tormenting a scammer. Within seconds, everyone on the dock was leaning in and laughing and describing their own spam call struggles. That’s when the guy with the phone began advocating for RoboKiller as the solution to spam calls they all needed.
It’s a perfect example of how must-have users can trigger a chain reaction of enthusiasm and adoption. But how do you engineer this loop? How do you tap into a user’s enthusiasm not just when they are using your product, but across all the touchpoints where your product impacts their lives?
The first step is knowing exactly who your must have users are, and why they love your product.
Input - The Product/Market Fit Survey
Startups don’t always have a clear picture of who loves their product and why. They may have personas that highlight user archetypes, and they may have data that shows where users are most engaged, but often they lack a way of pinpointing who their must-have users are and why they feel that way about the experience.
That’s where the Product/Market Fit Survey, sometimes called the “Sean Ellis Test”, becomes super-valuable. Most startups use the survey to measure whether they have enough Product/Market Fit to scale, but the survey’s other superpower is in identifying and understanding must-have users and why they are so passionate about your product:
How would you feel if you could no longer use [this product]?
Very Disappointed
Somewhat Disappointed
Not disappointed (it isn’t really that useful)
N/A – I no longer use [product]
“Very Disappointed” respondents are your “must-have” users. They are the “who” in “who loves your product,” and they are the “potential energy” for advocacy. The rest of the survey unlocks that potential, by uncovering “why” these must-have users feel the way they do.
When viewed through the lens of “Very Disappointed” users, the rest of the survey’s questions such as, “what is the primary benefit that you have received from [Product Name]?,” can then surface why these users love and keep using your product over time. Knowing that helps you to activate them as advocates.
Product/Market Fit is the necessary condition for advocacy and it isn’t static. As your product and market evolve, the emotional drivers of your must-have users may shift. This is why continuous PMF measurement is essential for building advocacy momentum.
While you are probably familiar with, or already using Sean’s Product Market Fit Survey, the Perfect Customer Loop is probably new to you. Ethan developed this as an exercise to help teams identify and amplify must-have experiences. When combined with Sean’s survey it helps you design the experiences that power advocacy.
Output - Designing Advocacy With The Perfect Customer Loop
Advocacy is not a random act. It is the natural outcome of experiences that build emotional connection and conviction to your product over time. Just as you can unlock more must-have users by…
Read the rest of this article at seanellis.substack.com...
Thanks for this article excerpt and its graphics to Sean Ellis and Ethan Garr.
Want to share your advice for startup entrepreneurs? Submit a Guest Post here.