How to Solve Customer Indifference Before It Kills Your Product

Customer indifference is the number one killer of new products and services. It can be a tricky problem to solve and even more difficult to detect, because it’s often mistaken for something else.

When customer indifference goes undetected, we wind up wasting a lot of time and money polishing and promoting a product that nobody is going to buy because nobody thinks they need it.

In my startup career, one that has included creating and selling dozens of new products, customer indifference has almost always been my number one enemy. Here’s how I learned to find it and fight it.

Are Your Customers Indifferent?

Customer indifference usually reveals itself in a lack of momentum. It starts with a successful product, one that has withstood the rigors of testing, maybe gotten public attention or funding, and may even have a small and loyal customer following.

But that’s where it stops.

Repeated attempts at traction are met with silence, or close to it. Maybe sales are making incremental gains from push to push, but not enough to assure survival, let alone hit the next level of growth.

Admittedly, there are a lot of reasons why momentum can stall, especially with something…