A problem well stated is a problem half-solved.

"A problem well stated is a problem half-solved. "This quote is from the American inventor and businessman, Charles Kettering (holder of 186 patents 🤯).

It couldn't be more true when it comes to identifying customer growth opportunities. As a founder, here are four (of many) questions you need to ask yourself before investing in growth or demand generation for your startup:

𝟭. 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 𝗺𝗲𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘁𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁? 𝗜𝗳 𝗻𝗼𝘁, 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲? This is the foundation of successful demand generation. Product-market fit means your product or service meets a real need in the market and resonates with your target audience. If you're not there yet, you need a roadmap to help you get closer to seeing initial traction and validation.

𝟮. 𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗴𝗻𝘀 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘀? Running small tests can help you validate your demand generation approach and indicate potential for scalability. Important: make sure you're looking at the right metrics.

𝟯. 𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗿𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆? Customer scaling requires adequate resources and infrastructure to support increased efforts. It's about ensuring you have in place the right processes to handle higher volumes of leads and customers.

𝟰. 𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗰𝘀? Do you have data on crucial metrics like customer acquisition cost, customer lifetime value, and customer retention rate? Having a solid understanding of these metrics offers a clear view of successes and areas ripe for enhancement.

This is only the starting point. By asking the right questions before heavily investing your time and money in customer growth, you can determine if the timing is right to scale your demand generation efforts effectively.

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I sincerely hope this helps!
G