A/B testing can show which headline gets more clicks but can't tell you why. Therefore, ensure your words mean what your prospects have in mind when they read them.How to validate comprehension:<ul><li>Type out each headline.</li><li>Find someone to test it on. Show it to them for five seconds only, then ask them a few questions: (Remind them that there are no right or wrong answers.)</li><li>"Do you recall what that said?"</li><li>"What do you think that is?" (Check how they interpret the words.)</li><li>Ask them to explain it in their own words.</li><li>Use the feedback, iterate, and test again.</li></ul>

Validate comprehension

After a few interviews, you should start to see patterns. You should now have a list of people's goals "I want to...", "I wish it were easier to..." and struggles "I hate it when..." "I'm tired of...", "Why can't I just...".Write the most promising up as headlines that complete the sentence, "Now you can..." For example, "Build a custom ad server in just weeks." or "Create Photobooks in 5 minutes."Tips to keep in mind:<ul><li>Stick to "I", not "you" struggles.</li><li>Avoid vague platitudes, such as "all in one", "faster", "revolutionary", or "convenient", as these lead to cynicism.</li><li>Stay specific.</li></ul>

Drafting some headlines

A simple purchase decision is framed within a larger context in customers' lives. As marketers, that context is critical as the words in their heads will show their situation more than your product.Capturing the specific words people use to describe their struggles or desired outcome can help product and marketing teams be more effective. Steps to find Language/market fit:<ol><li>Uncover their goals, struggles and language</li><li>Draft some test messages based on interview transcripts</li><li>Validate comprehension qualitatively</li><li>Test the language quantitatively</li></ol>

How to find language/market fit

Test your new headline against your current one. It is quicker to test messages in ad impressions, such as Facebook or Instagram. Make several copies of a simple ad design with different headlines, and test which one performs best with your audience.

Run a quantitative test

Your "job". Figure out how your product will fit into people lives.<ol><li>Find somebody who has recently bought your product, or interview someone who purchased a competitor's product or asked for alternatives.</li><li>Ask them to walk you through the purchase process step-by-step, from when they first realised they were struggling with that goal.</li><li>Ask questions to understand what they were struggling to do, where they looked for help, which alternatives they tried.</li><li>When they use vague terms like "better" or "flexible", ask them to unpack it for you.</li><li>Capture their exact words.</li></ol>

Uncover their goals, struggles and language

If you're struggling to find product/market fit,<ul><li>First, <a href="https://deepstash.com/article/119692/finding-language-market-fit-introduction">figure out the language/market fit</a> to make everything else easier.</li><li><a href="https://deepstash.com/article/119693/finding-language-market-fit-starting-with-step-zero">Finding language/market fit should be "step zero"</a> for startups as it can save you a lot of time and wasted cycles.</li><li>Consider the four-step process to find the language that unlocks the language/market fit.</li></ul>

Struggling to find product/market fit

If you’re struggling to find a product/market fit, first figure out what “looks like food” to your prospects. Find the language/market fit first and everything else will be much easier.

After more than a decade of running B2B growth teams at PayPal and investing at 500 Startups, Matt Lerner now spends his days helping early-stage startups with growth. He's seen firsthand how changes in a handful of words can yield jaw-dropping differences in conversion — and accelerate a startup's course to product/market fit. Here, he makes the case for starting with language/market fit first, and offers up his 4-step process for getting there.