How would you like to find product market fit fast and instead of waiting years to find it and burning tons of money? I’m about to give you a roadmap to finding it without spending a ton of money and to make sure that you and your team are working on the right things to build and scale your business faster.

So first off I want to walk you through the steps and show you what I did to bootstrap and scale my company Order Solutions where we found product market fit in months instead of years.

step 1. Brainstorming On Potential Markets

You first want to start off by thinking about all of the potential industries and markets that you can build a product or service to solve a problem.

I recommend coming up with 5 markets: Start by identifying a range of potential markets where your product or service could significantly meet customer needs.

Case Study - Order Solutions: What Id was was write down all of the industries where I could create a unique use case for a call center that I thought was unique, different, and unmet needs. So I came up with ideas like pest control, hotel reservations, and phone order management for restaurants, assessing where a specialized call center service could be most beneficial.

step 2. Defining Your Value Proposition

General Principle: So for each market come up with a unique value proposition for each use case or market.

Case Study - Order Solutions: So I wrote down the value proposition for each specialized service and the benefits it would bring to each customer and role.

step 3. Testing Market Demand

General Principle: So you want to make contact with the market and actually see if any real customers would want to buy your your solutions. The way you do this is reach out and promote your concept to each avatar and track the response rate. If you get one market that really outperforms the others than put all of your focus on that market.

Case Study - Order Solutions: I did this Through targeted cold email and linkedin campaigns to C-level executives in various industries, the restaurant sector showed a significantly higher response rate, indicating a strong market demand for the proposed service. I got a much higher response rate with restaurants than all of my other ideas which I then decided to brand as Order Solutions.

5. Developing a Minimum Viable Service (MVS)

General Principle: Create a product or service model that addresses key customer issues using minimal resources so without spending a ton of time or money. The simplest solution to solve the problem.

Case Study - Order Solutions: Embracing a bootstrap mentality, the company formed a partnership with an existing call center, white-labeling their service, enabling a cost-effective launch with minimal initial investment. That way I could test my idea fast and actually on-board a customer.

6. Testing and Validating

General Principle: Pilot your product with beta testers or try to get a customer and see how it works in a real-world settings to collect feedback and assess its effectiveness.

Case Study - Order Solutions: I went after large restaurants chains and offered a 60-day free pilots to clients, which not only sped up the sales cycle but helped build our credibility, and helped us improve our service's performance and results.

7. Iterating Based on Feedback

General Principle: Regularly update and refine your offering based on customer feedback and market data.

Case Study - Order Solutions: The feedback from pilot programs led to the implementation of tiered pricing, encouraging client expansion and increasing revenue opportunities.

8. Scaling Your Product/Service

General Principle: Expand your offering strategically, targeting customers who most benefit from your product or service.

Case Study - Order Solutions: The company created a client avatar representing the ideal buyer - those who were easiest to service, most satisfied, and most profitable. Attributes included using a specific online ordering platform, having at least 100 corporate-owned stores, and operating in specific food niches. This strategy enabled scaling without needing custom integrations, standardizing operations to quickly drive incremental revenue and profits.

9. Monitoring Market Trends and Customer Feedback

General Principle: Stay attuned to industry trends and customer feedback to continually adapt and innovate.

Case Study - Order Solutions: Continuous dialogue with clients revealed interest in additional services like voice AI, catering orders, and drive-thru management, guiding the company's service expansion.

10. Fostering Customer Relationships

General Principle: Cultivate strong, ongoing relationships with customers to create a loyal base and a valuable feedback loop.

Case Study - Order Solutions: So for us we did Quarterly Business Reviews (QBRs) with clients to discuss data and introduce new products and services, enhancing cross-selling opportunities and reinforcing client relationships.

Order Solutions' journey exemplifies a strategic and methodical approach to finding and scaling product/service market fit. From initial market exploration to customer-driven service development and strategic scaling, the case study highlights the importance of understanding market needs, leveraging customer feedback, and being adaptable in response to evolving market demands. This narrative offers valuable insights for business owners and founders seeking to navigate the complexities of market alignment and business growth successfully.

Want help selling to big companies and mastering founder led sales? get my book, 'The Art of The Enterprise Sale.' Get your free copy now by just clicking the link in my bio or the link below and transform your business into a sales powerhouse!"