You've built something useful. You know it solves a real problem. So why isn't anyone buying? The answer usually isn't your product—it's who you're trying to sell it to. Most founders make the same fatal error: they define their target market as everyone who could potentially use this.

That approach feels logical. More potential customers means more potential revenue, right? But in practice, trying to appeal to everyone means your messaging resonates with no one. Your features satisfy no one completely. Your product becomes a mediocre solution for a dozen different problems instead of a perfect solution for one. Finding product-market fit requires the courage to exclude.

Customer segmentation isn't about demographics on a spreadsheet. It's about identifying groups of people who share the same pain, in the same context, with the same urgency. A busy parent and a busy CEO might both need productivity tools, but their constraints, budgets, and decision-making processes couldn't be more different.

Start by examining your early users or potential customers. What problem brought them to you? How do they currently solve it? What would make them switch? You're looking for patterns—not in who they are, but in what they need and why. The best segments share three characteristics: they have a problem they're aware of, they're actively seeking solutions, and they have the means to pay for one.

Interview at least ten people who fit your hypothesis. Ask about their last attempt to solve this problem. What frustrated them? What would a perfect solution look like? The specific language they use will become your marketing copy. The specific features they mention will become your roadmap. Segmentation done right gives you clarity on what to build and how to describe it.

Takeaway

A customer segment isn't defined by who people are—it's defined by what problem they share and how urgently they need it solved.

Counterintuitively, narrowing your focus accelerates growth. When you target a specific segment, three things happen. First, your marketing becomes sharper. Instead of generic claims, you can speak directly to specific pains in language your customers already use. Second, your product decisions become clearer. Every feature request gets filtered through one question: does this serve our target segment?

Third—and this is crucial—you can actually win. Competing for everyone's attention means competing against every general-purpose solution and every well-funded competitor. But owning a niche? That's achievable. Slack didn't launch as a tool for all workplace communication. It started with tech teams frustrated by email overload. Airbnb didn't target all travelers—they started with conference attendees who couldn't find affordable hotels.

The math is simple. A product that perfectly serves 10,000 people will outperform one that sort-of serves a million. Those 10,000 become evangelists. They tell friends in similar situations. They write reviews. They provide the testimonials that help you expand. Broad targeting feels ambitious but usually reflects fear of commitment.

Takeaway

Dominating a small market proves your model works. Chasing a huge market while small usually proves nothing except that you're spread too thin.

The fear behind broad targeting is reasonable: what if you pick the wrong niche? What if it's too small? Here's the truth—you can always expand, but you can't un-dilute a muddled market position. The goal isn't to stay small forever. It's to win small first, then use that momentum to grow.

Expansion works in concentric circles. Start with your beachhead—the segment where you have the strongest advantage. Once you've achieved clear product-market fit there (high retention, organic referrals, customers actively recommending you), identify adjacent segments. These are groups with similar problems but slightly different contexts. Your existing customers often point toward them: My friend at another company would love this, but they need...

Each expansion requires adaptation—new messaging, possibly new features—but you're building on proven foundations. Amazon started with books, not everything. Facebook started with Harvard students, not everyone with an internet connection. Your first segment isn't a limitation. It's a launchpad.

Takeaway

Expansion isn't abandoning your niche—it's using the trust, proof, and momentum you built there to earn the right to serve adjacent markets.

The instinct to cast a wide net comes from scarcity thinking—the fear that narrowing down means missing out. But product-market fit isn't found by being acceptable to many. It's found by being essential to a specific few.

Pick a segment. Learn everything about their problem. Build exactly what they need. Win their loyalty. Then—and only then—expand. The path to serving everyone starts with serving someone exceptionally well.