Organic Growth Path Matrix Template
Use this template to compare four organic growth paths and identify which path has the strongest evidence.
Template
## Overview
- **Product / Offering:** [Name]
- **Current Core Customer:** [Primary customer segment]
- **Current Growth Challenge:** [Where growth is stalling]
- **What We Have Tried:** [Segments, channels, experiments, launches, campaigns, etc.]
## Matrix Axes
- **Customer / Market Context:** [Well Known / Less Known]
- **Degree of Product Change:** [Low / High]
## L2: New Customer Segments
- **Question:** Who else has the problem we already solve?
- **Matrix Position:** Well-known customer/market context + low product change
- **Evidence:** [1–2 sentences describing nearby buyers or segments that may need the current product]
- **Signals:** [Adjacent buyers, similar workflows, referrals, segment pull]
- **Risk:** [Where this segment may differ from the current core customer]
## L3: New Geographies
- **Question:** Where is demand showing up that we do not yet serve well?
- **Matrix Position:** Less-known customer/market context + low product change
- **Evidence:** [1–2 sentences describing geographic or regional demand]
- **Signals:** [Inbound traffic, signups, inquiries, regional usage, local partner interest]
- **Risk:** [Local trust, regulation, language, onboarding, or market-context friction]
## L4: New Distribution Channels
- **Question:** Where else could customers discover or access our value?
- **Matrix Position:** Well-known customer/market context + high access/distribution change
- **Evidence:** [1–2 sentences describing channels, partners, embeds, marketplaces, or product-led surfaces]
- **Signals:** [Shared outputs, referrals, integrations, partner paths, discovery moments]
- **Risk:** [Confusing a one-time campaign with a compounding channel]
## L5: New Products or Services
- **Question:** What adjacent jobs are customers already trying to solve around us?
- **Matrix Position:** Less-known customer/market context + high product change
- **Evidence:** [1–2 sentences describing adjacent jobs, repeated requests, workarounds, or workflow gaps]
- **Signals:** [Feature pull, manual processes, adjacent tools, customer requests, expansion opportunities]
- **Risk:** [Building new before the core is strong]
## Evidence Comparison
- **Strongest Growth Path:** [L2 / L3 / L4 / L5]
- **Why This Evidence Is Strongest:** [2–3 sentences]
- **Weakest Assumption:** [What must be true for this path to work?]
- **What Would Change Our Mind:** [Evidence that would move us to another quadrant]
## Recommendation
- **Recommended Path:** [L2 / L3 / L4 / L5] — [Path name]
- **Rationale:** [Why this path fits the current growth challenge]
- **Diagnostic Question:** [The key question to keep asking]
- **First Experiment:** [Smallest useful test to run in the next 5–7 days]
- **Decision This Experiment Supports:** [What the experiment will help the product team decide]
- **Watch Out For:** [Most likely trap]