Traction

1. Traction is the key to startup success

Traction is a sign that your company is taking off. It's obvious in your core metrics: If you have a mobile app, your download rate is growing rapidly.

Traction defines a startup. It's quantitative evidence of customer demand, manifesting as growth in users, revenue, or other key metrics. Traction reduces risks, making fundraising, hiring, and partnerships easier. Without traction, even great products can fail.

Traction channels are diverse. There are 19 primary channels, including viral marketing, PR, SEO, and content marketing. Most founders focus only on familiar channels, missing potentially lucrative opportunities. The key is to systematically explore all channels to find the most effective ones for your business.

Traction trumps everything. A startup with traction can overcome many other shortcomings. It's the clearest indicator of potential success and should be the primary focus of early-stage companies.

2. Use the Bullseye Framework to find your core traction channel

The first step in Bullseye is brainstorming every single traction channel. If you were to advertise offline, where would be the best place to do it?

The Bullseye Framework has three rings:

• Outer ring: Brainstorm ideas for all 19 traction channels
• Middle ring: Run cheap tests on promising channels
• Inner ring: Focus on the single most effective channel

Overcome biases. Many founders ignore potentially profitable channels due to unfamiliarity or personal preferences. The Bullseye Framework forces you to consider all options objectively.

Test and measure. Run small, inexpensive tests to evaluate each promising channel. Measure key metrics like customer acquisition cost, number of customers available, and customer quality. Use this data to identify your most effective channel.

3. Implement the 50% rule: balance product and traction efforts

Traction and product development are of equal importance and should each get about half of your attention. This is what we call the 50 percent rule: spend 50 percent of your time on product and 50 percent on traction.

Avoid the product trap. Many startups focus solely on product development, neglecting traction until it's too late. This approach often leads to failure, even with a great product.

Parallel development is key. Working on product and traction simultaneously allows you to:

• Incorporate traction data into product development
• Build the right product for your market
• Launch with a built-in user base
• Adapt quickly to market feedback

Traction informs product. Customer interactions during traction development provide valuable insights for product improvement, helping you build what the market actually wants.

4. Test multiple traction channels in parallel

We want you to have more than one channel in your middle ring because we don't want you to waste valuable time testing channels sequentially when you can do so equally well in parallel.

Efficient experimentation. Testing multiple channels simultaneously allows you to quickly identify the most promising avenues for growth. This approach saves time and resources in the long run.

Design effective tests. For each channel, create a cheap, quick test to answer three key questions:

1. How much will it cost to acquire customers?
2. How many customers are available?
3. Are these the right customers for your business?

Avoid premature scaling. Keep tests small and focused on learning, not immediate traction. The goal is to determine which channels have the potential to move the needle for your startup.

5. Focus on moving the needle with meaningful metrics

Your traction strategy should always be focused on moving the needle for your traction goal. By moving the needle, we mean focusing on marketing activities that result in a measurable, significant impact on your traction goal.

Set clear traction goals. Define specific, measurable objectives that align with your overall business strategy. These goals should represent significant milestones for your startup's growth.

Prioritize impactful activities. Focus on efforts that can realistically achieve your traction goals. Avoid activities that, even if successful, would only result in marginal improvements.

Adapt as you grow. What moves the needle changes as your startup evolves:

• Phase I: Getting initial customers and product validation
• Phase II: Achieving product-market fit and scalable growth
• Phase III: Scaling your business and dominating your market

6. Leverage underutilized channels for competitive advantage

If everyone in your industry uses social ads to grow, you might be better off using another channel.

Seek out overlooked opportunities. Less competitive channels often offer better returns on investment. Look for traction channels that your competitors are ignoring or underutilizing.

Be creative and unconventional. Consider unique ways to reach your audience. For example:

• Offline events in a digital-focused industry
• Direct mail in a world of email marketing
• Podcast advertising for B2B services

First-mover advantage. By pioneering an underutilized channel, you can establish a strong presence before competitors catch on, potentially locking in long-term benefits.

7. Optimize your core channel through continuous testing

Almost no optimization is too small to test: even changing one word in a headline can have a significant impact.

Implement systematic testing. Once you've identified your core traction channel, focus on optimizing it through continuous experimentation. Use A/B testing to refine every aspect of your approach.

Test elements such as:

• Ad copy and creative
• Landing page design and messaging
• Email subject lines and content
• Pricing and offer structure
• Targeting and audience segments

Compound small gains. Even minor improvements can lead to significant results over time, especially in channels with viral or network effects.

8. Build a lasting community around your product

People want to feel like they're part of something bigger than themselves. You need to have a mission if you want to build an awesome community.

Create a shared purpose. Develop a compelling mission that resonates with your target audience. This gives your community a reason to engage and contribute beyond just using your product.

Foster connections. Encourage interactions between community members. This can be done through:

• Online forums or discussion boards
• Local meetups or events
• User-generated content initiatives
• Collaborative projects or challenges

Empower community leaders. Identify and nurture passionate users who can become community evangelists. Give them special roles, access, or recognition to encourage their continued involvement.

9. Use content marketing to establish thought leadership

The secret to shareable content is showing readers they have a problem they didn't know about, or at least couldn't fully articulate.

Create valuable, original content. Focus on producing high-quality content that addresses your audience's pain points, answers their questions, or provides unique insights into your industry.

Consistency is key. Maintain a regular publishing schedule to build an audience and establish your brand as a reliable source of information.

Diversify your content:

• Blog posts and articles
• Infographics and visual content
• Podcasts or video series
• Whitepapers and e-books
• Webinars and online courses

10. Exploit existing platforms to reach large user bases

Focusing on existing platforms means focusing your growth efforts on a megaplatform like Facebook, Twitter, or the App Store, and getting some of their hundreds of millions of users to use your product.

Identify relevant platforms. Research where your target audience spends time online and which platforms align with your product's purpose.

Tailor your approach. Customize your product or marketing strategy to fit the unique characteristics and user behaviors of each platform.

Examples of platform strategies:

• Developing mobile apps for iOS or Android
• Creating browser extensions for Chrome or Firefox
• Building integrations with popular SaaS tools
• Leveraging social media platforms' native features

11. Harness the power of viral loops for exponential growth

Viral marketing is the process of getting your existing customers to refer others to your product.

Understanding viral coefficients. The viral coefficient (K) is the number of new users each existing user brings in. A K > 1 leads to exponential growth, while a K > 0.5 significantly aids growth.

Types of viral loops:

• Word of mouth: Natural sharing of a remarkable product
• Inherent virality: Product value increases with more users (e.g., Skype)
• Collaborative virality: Product enables or encourages working together
• Incentivized virality: Rewards for referring new users

Optimize your viral cycle. Reduce the time it takes for a user to go through your viral loop. Shorter cycle times lead to faster growth. Focus on simplifying sharing mechanisms and reducing friction in the signup process.

Last updated: October 19, 2024