Product-Market Fit Assessment Framework
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When to Use This Prompt
Use this when evaluating whether your product has achieved true product-market fit before scaling marketing spend, entering new markets, or making major product pivots. Ideal for CMOs working with product and revenue teams to align on growth readiness and identify which metrics need improvement before aggressive expansion.
The Prompt
You are a strategic market analyst specializing in product-market fit evaluation. Analyze the following product and market scenario to assess current PMF status and identify gaps.
## Product Information
- Product/Service Name: [PRODUCT NAME]
- Target Market Segment: [PRIMARY SEGMENT]
- Key Features/Value Proposition: [3-5 KEY FEATURES]
- Current Customer Base Size: [NUMBER OF CUSTOMERS]
- Time in Market: [MONTHS/YEARS]
- Monthly Recurring Revenue (if applicable): [MRR OR REVENUE]
## Market Context
- Total Addressable Market (TAM): [MARKET SIZE]
- Primary Competitors: [LIST 3-4 COMPETITORS]
- Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC): [COST]
- Customer Lifetime Value (LTV): [VALUE]
- Monthly Churn Rate: [PERCENTAGE]
- Net Retention Rate: [PERCENTAGE]
## Customer Feedback Summary
- Top 3 reasons customers choose us: [REASONS]
- Most common feature requests: [REQUESTS]
- Primary pain points mentioned: [PAIN POINTS]
- Customer satisfaction score (NPS/CSAT): [SCORE]
## Market Signals
- Organic growth rate (month-over-month): [PERCENTAGE]
- Viral coefficient or referral rate: [METRIC]
- Sales cycle length: [TIMEFRAME]
- Win rate vs. competitors: [PERCENTAGE]
## Analysis Framework
Evaluate PMF across these dimensions:
1. **Customer Demand Validation** - Is there genuine, sustained demand?
2. **Market Penetration** - What percentage of TAM are we capturing?
3. **Unit Economics** - Is LTV:CAC ratio sustainable (target 3:1+)?
4. **Retention Metrics** - Do customers stay and expand usage?
5. **Competitive Positioning** - Clear differentiation vs. alternatives?
6. **Scalability Readiness** - Can we grow without product changes?
Provide:
- Overall PMF Assessment (Early Stage/Developing/Strong/Mature)
- Confidence Level (Low/Medium/High) with supporting data
- Top 3 PMF Strengths with evidence
- Top 3 PMF Gaps or Risks with recommendations
- Specific metrics to monitor for next 90 days
- Go/No-Go recommendation for scaling investment
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Tips for Best Results
- 1.Input actual metrics rather than estimates—PMF assessment accuracy depends on real data. Use historical CRM, analytics, and customer feedback data from the past 6-12 months.
- 2.Include qualitative customer feedback alongside quantitative metrics. Quotes from win/loss interviews and support tickets provide crucial context that numbers alone cannot convey.
- 3.Run this assessment quarterly and compare results to track PMF trajectory. Create a simple dashboard showing the 6 core dimensions to monitor progress over time.
- 4.Share the output with product, sales, and revenue teams, not just marketing. PMF assessment should drive cross-functional alignment on growth strategy and resource allocation.
Example Output
## Product-Market Fit Assessment: CloudSync Analytics
**Overall PMF Status: Developing (Confidence: Medium-High)**
CloudSync shows promising early PMF signals but hasn't yet achieved the consistency needed for aggressive scaling. The product demonstrates clear customer value in a defined segment, but retention metrics and market penetration suggest optimization opportunities before major expansion.
### PMF Strengths
1. **Strong Unit Economics** - LTV:CAC ratio of 4.2:1 exceeds the 3:1 benchmark, indicating sustainable customer acquisition efficiency. CAC payback period of 8 months is healthy for B2B SaaS.
2. **High Customer Satisfaction** - NPS of 52 with 89% retention in Year 1 shows strong product-market alignment within the current customer base. Top 3 reasons for adoption directly map to stated value proposition.
3. **Competitive Differentiation** - 67% win rate vs. primary competitor demonstrates clear market positioning. Customers specifically cite integration capabilities as primary differentiator.
### PMF Gaps & Risks
1. **Limited Market Penetration** - At 2.1% of addressable TAM, significant growth runway exists but suggests market awareness or positioning challenges. Recommend competitive analysis of messaging vs. top 3 competitors.
2. **Churn Acceleration Risk** - Month 12-18 churn increases to 8% from 4% in months 1-6, indicating potential product-market fit degradation with larger customer cohorts. Investigate whether onboarding or feature gaps emerge at scale.
3. **Organic Growth Plateau** - MoM growth declining from 18% to 9% over past 6 months suggests market saturation in current segment. Expansion into adjacent segments or new use cases needed.
### 90-Day Monitoring Metrics
- Cohort retention curves by customer segment and size
- Win/loss analysis vs. each primary competitor
- Feature adoption rates among at-risk churn cohorts
- CAC trends by channel and segment
- NPS trend and sentiment analysis by customer size
### Recommendation
**Proceed with Measured Scaling** - Increase marketing investment in current segment while simultaneously testing expansion messaging for adjacent markets. Allocate 20% of marketing budget to retention optimization and churn prevention before aggressive new customer acquisition.
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