Ever poured your heart (and bank balance) into a product that…well, people just didn’t care about?
Before you ship the next shiny feature, ask yourself one question:
Is your product a pain-killer or a vitamin?
Pain-Killers Heal Real Hurts
Pain-killers are those must-have solutions that ease an urgent problem. Think:
- Zapier automates tedious manual tasks.
- Slack ended the email avalanche.
When customers feel genuine pain, they grab the “pill” without a second thought—and change their habits to keep taking it.
Vitamins Are Nice to Have
Vitamins make life better, but nobody’s lining up at the pharmacy for them. They depend on mood, timing, or a friendly nudge. For example:
- Fancy workout apps—you download them in a burst of New Year’s motivation, then they gather digital dust.
- Premium sticker packs—cute, fun, but entirely optional.
If your product falls here, you need extra marketing muscle or a compelling hook to remind people why they need it.
Why This Binary Matters
- Launch Focus: If you’re building a pain-killer, nail the core feature first. If it’s a vitamin, invest more in storytelling and habit hooks.
- Pricing Power: Pain-killers command higher, recurring prices; vitamins often end up as low-price add-ons or free plans with paid extras.
- Growth Strategy: Pain-killers spread through word-of-mouth—people are desperate to share solutions. Vitamins need clever campaigns and reminders.
Quick Self-Check
- List your top three user benefits.
- Ask a stranger: “Would you pay right now to solve this?”
- If the answer is “yes,” congratulations—you’ve got a pain-killer. If it’s “maybe later,” you’re in vitamin territory.
Final Thought
Treat this as your north star. Build the pill people can’t live without, or craft a vitamin so delightful they can’t resist popping it into their daily routine. Either way, knowing which you’re making is half the battle won.
Happy building!
