Overview
The Product/Market Fit Survey is an evaluative product experiment that uses a single question to assess whether a product has achieved market fit with a specific customer segment.
Core Question
The survey asks users: "How would you feel if you could no longer use [product]?" with these response options:
- Very disappointed
- Somewhat disappointed
- Not disappointed (it isn't really that useful)
- N/A – I no longer use [product]
Success Metric
If 40% or more of respondents indicate they would be "very disappointed," the product is considered a "must have" for that segment and ready for expanded marketing efforts.
Key Requirements
The survey should target users who have:
- Experienced the core product offering
- Used the product at least twice
- Used it within the last two weeks
Implementation Timeline
- Simple setup: 0.5-1 day
- Full survey integration: 2-3 days
Delivery Methods
Email, Survey.io, Typeform, Google Forms, or Intercom.
Important Considerations
The 40% threshold is "necessary but not sufficient" for product-market fit—additional metrics matter. Sample size should include at least 30 respondents. Pre-segmenting users allows tracking how different groups respond to the question.
Adapted from The Real Startup Book, edited by Tristan Kromer and published by Kromatic, under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.