Product-Market Fit Score
A survey-based metric that asks users "How would you feel if you could no longer use this product?" The percentage answering "Very disappointed" indicates product-market fit strength.
Also known as: PMF score, Sean Ellis test
Why product-market fit score matters
Created by Sean Ellis, this metric gives you a direct measurement of product-market fit. If 40% or more of your users say they would be "Very disappointed" without your product, you have strong product-market fit.
Unlike NPS which measures general satisfaction, the PMF score measures dependency and irreplaceability - how critical your product has become to users' workflows.
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How to calculate product-market fit score
Survey active users with the question: "How would you feel if you could no longer use [product]?" Options: Very disappointed, Somewhat disappointed, Not disappointed, N/A. The PMF score is the percentage who answer "Very disappointed."
What is a good product-market fit score?
Above 40%: strong product-market fit, safe to scale growth. 25-40%: promising but needs iteration. Below 25%: significant product improvements needed before scaling.
Common Mistakes
- -Surveying all users including those who signed up but never activated
- -Not segmenting by user type - you may have PMF with one segment but not others
- -Treating 40% as a binary threshold rather than a signal to investigate further
Pro Tips
- +Ask the follow-up: "What is the primary benefit you get?" to understand your core value
- +Segment responses by user profile to find your highest-PMF segments and double down
- +Re-measure quarterly as your product and market evolve
Related Terms
Net Promoter Score (NPS)
A customer loyalty metric measured by asking "How likely are you to recommend us?" on a 0-10 scale. Scores range from -100 to +100.
Activation Rate
Activation rate is the percentage of new users who complete a predefined set of key actions that indicate they have experienced the core value of a product, marking their transition from signup to engaged user.
Retention Analysis
Retention analysis measures the percentage of users who continue to return to and engage with a product over time, tracking how well a product sustains its user base beyond initial acquisition.
Customer Effort Score (CES)
A metric that measures how easy it was for a customer to accomplish a specific task or resolve an issue, typically on a 1-7 scale from "Very Difficult" to "Very Easy."
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Record the response as a property on the person and every report splits by it, so you can see what promoters do differently rather than watching a number move.