Traction

Traction: A Startup Guide to Getting Customers

by Gabriel Weinberg

"Traction is growth: the pursuit of traction is what defines a startup... Startups can get traction through 19 different channels... Poor distribution — not product — is the number one cause of failure"

This book argues that each successful startup goes through three phases:

1. Phase I - making something people want
2. Phase II - marketing something people want
3. Phase III - scaling your business

In order to go from Phase I to Phase II you must acquire customers. Gabriel Weinberg enumerates 19 different ways in which a startup can get its first couple of customers. Weinberg also mentions that startups tend to pivot (change their product strategy) before changing the traction channel to see if another way of getting customers would yield better results. His advices companies to change traction channels when the growth curve flattens, since a traction channel that initially worked may not be the best channel forever. 

The book introduces the Bulls-eye Framework to help readers find the best traction channels for their startups. This framework tells you to brainstorm all traction channels and pass them through the following funnel: brainstorm, rank, prioritize, test, and focus.

Weinberg then offers examples of how 19 successful startups have used each of the 19 traction channels as their primary way of acquiring customers. The 19 traction channels are:

1. Viral Marketing
2. Public Relations
3. Unconventional Public Relations
4. Search Engine Marketing
5. Social & Display Ads
6. Offline Ads
7. Search Engine Optimization
8. Content Marketing
9. Email Marketing
10. Engineering as Marketing
11. Targeting Blogs
12. Business Development
13. Sales
14. Affiliate Programs
15. Existing Platforms
16. Trade Shows
17. Offline Events
18. Speaking Engagements
19. Community Building

Here are some of the key lessons I learned from reading this book:

• If you are not getting traction which your channel, change channels before pivoting.
• Different channels may be ideal at different stages of your startup. 
• 50% rule: spend 50% of your time on product development and 50% on traction. 
• The Product Trap: the fallacy that the best use of your time is always improving your product. 
• Constantly running small traction tests will allow you to stay ahead of competitors pursuing the same channels.
• The path to reaching your traction goal with the fewest number of steps is your critical path.
• You should always have a traction goal you are working towards.
• You can get a competitive advantage by acquiring customers in ways your competition isn’t.

Here is a chapter-by-chapter summary of the lessons I learned from the book - link