Unlocking Startup Success using the WISE Criteria to find Market Fit
WISE Criteria
Willing
Irresistible
Swiftly
Endorsed
Starting a business is an exhilarating journey filled with challenges and opportunities. For many founders, achieving sustained growth and sales success can often feel like navigating a labyrinth. But what if there were a clear, structured pathway to guide you through this complex process? Introducing the WISE criteria—a comprehensive framework designed to help you find the five essential fits needed to achieve startup success.
What are the WISE Criteria?
The WISE criteria focus on four key elements essential for any startup's success:
1. Willing: Identifying a market willing to consider offers to solve a problem.
2. Irresistible: Crafting an offer and solution that your target market finds irresistible.
3. Swiftly: Developing a sales funnel that swiftly converts your market into users and buyers.
4. Endorsed: Creating a product and business model that are endorsed by your users and buyers.
To achieve lasting sales success, startups must use these criteria when testing for the six critical "market fits":
The Six Critical Market Fits
1. Problem-Market Fit
Definition: This fit is about ensuring there is a genuine problem in the market that your product aims to solve. Your target market should be highly motivated to solve this problem.
Evidence of Fit: Quotes and feedback from potential customers indicating they are eager to solve the identified problem.
How to Achieve:
Conduct thorough market research and customer discovery interviews.
Validate your findings by seeking direct quotes from potential users who express a strong need to solve the problem.
2. Offer-Market Fit
Definition: Creating an offer that resonates deeply with your target market, leading to high engagement and response rates.
Evidence of Fit: High response rates from marketing outreach and positive feedback on the proposed offer.
How to Achieve:
Experiment with different offers to see which ones generate the most interest.
Use A/B testing in your marketing campaigns to identify the most compelling offers.
3. Solution-Market Fit
Definition: Ensuring that your solution meets the needs and desires of your target market, motivating them to take action.
Evidence of Fit: Positive feedback and quotes from potential customers who are highly motivated by your solution.
How to Achieve:
Gather feedback on your product or service through beta testing and early adopters.
Refine your solution based on user feedback to better align with market needs.
4. Funnel-Market Fit
Definition: Developing a sales funnel that efficiently converts leads into users and buyers.
Evidence of Fit: High conversion rates within your sales funnel and positive feedback from customers on their buying experience.
How to Achieve:
Map out your customer journey and identify key touchpoints.
Optimize each stage of your sales funnel to reduce friction and improve conversion rates.
5. Product-Market Fit
Definition: Achieving strong endorsements from users and buyers, indicating that your product meets their needs and exceeds expectations.
Evidence of Fit: Positive testimonials, reviews, and endorsements from satisfied customers.
How to Achieve:
Continuously improve your product based on customer feedback.
Encourage satisfied customers to share their positive experiences and endorse your product.
6. Model-Market Fit
Definition: Achieving a economically viable business model that the buyers of your product endorse.
Evidence of Fit: Buyers are satisfied with the price of your product and you have become cash flow positive or profitable.
How to Achieve:
Become more efficient especially with your customer acquisition costs.
Do pricing tests to find what the market will bear at scale.
Achieving Sales Success with WISE Guides
The journey to finding these five fits can be daunting, but it is made simpler with the help of WISE Guides. These AI-customized, step-by-step guides provide tailored advice and actionable steps for each stage of your startup journey. From identifying a willing market to crafting an irresistible offer, and from developing a streamlined funnel to ensuring strong product endorsements, WISE Guides cover every aspect of building a successful startup.
"We're actually really excited about this...I think getting those guides would be absolutely amazing on how to build this like five-step process." — Ayush Garg
Conclusion
Finding the six essential fits — Problem, Offer, Solution, Funnel, Product and Model — is crucial for achieving sales success in your startup journey. By leveraging the WISE criteria and utilizing the comprehensive WISE Guides, you can navigate the complexities of building a startup with confidence and precision.
Ready to transform your startup idea into a success story? Contact us today to learn more about our guides and how they can be customized to your unique needs.
Special Support for North Carolina Founders
Thanks to the support from NC IDEA, the WISE Guides are available for free to founders in North Carolina. If you are a founder or organization outside NC, please contact us to learn how you can access these valuable resources.
Thank You
Thanks to NC IDEA for supporting the WISE Guides project. Thanks also to Merrill Mason, John Austin, Jan Davis, Dina Rousset, Dave Neal, Jay Bigelow, Josh Guter, Lewis Sheats, Gabe Gonzalez and the numerous founders, students, accelerator managers and others who helped me do the Customer Discovery that led to these Guides