Pain Relievers vs. Vitamins

In agony, we reach for pain relievers made to kill the torment. When everything feels normal, we may pop vitamins to support a healthy lifestyle, but missing a day is not a problem. For every vitamin, the medicine cabinet has just as many intentions collecting dust.

As we study a team/product/service, is true pain for real customers being relieved, or it a nice-to-have idea that may (or may not) provide unquestioned value?

When people like the idea but hesitate to buy, you have a vitamin. If you always have to explain why someone needs it, you have a vitamin. If it’s unclear what you have, you have a vitamin. Pain killers are easy to spot. They sell as fast as supply can keep up with demand.

Ongoing customer discovery keeps a pulse on demand and helps us build with product-market fit. As we ease true pain, stories that sell (marketing) should highlight the results that target customers desire without question. Forget the jargon, impressive features, and pretending to be passionate. Lean into the pain.