On being indispensable (instead of sticky)

I’ve always had a problem with the word “sticky” as it relates to product or go-to-market strategy. Sticky, from a customer point of view, is a negative. It’s something that you can’t get off.

I prefer the word indispensable. That’s a customer-centric word. It implies that the customer can’t live without what you’re doing for them. It implies they don’t want to be without the benefits you provide, the outcomes you enable.

It implies a level of value that by definition will increase the mutual lifetime value of the relationship.

There are some things that may be both sticky and indispensable. But people don’t talk about those things. They don’t go viral, they don’t spread.

Think about the difference between sticky and indispensable in your business, in your product strategy, in your marketing. How are you creating something that people can’t live without, and want to tell others about as well?