How Can Startups Become Core to Customers?

What makes a product CORE to customer operations?

A CORE product combines three essential elements:

Must-Have Status:

• Solves critical business problems
• Creates immediate pain if removed
• Integrates with essential workflows
• Addresses non-negotiable needs

Accretive Value:

• Delivers measurable ROI
• Increases revenue or reduces costs
• Improves operational efficiency
• Meets compliance requirements

Deep Dependencies:

• Creates high switching costs
• Integrates across multiple departments
• Builds organizational reliance
• Develops ecosystem connections

These elements work together to make a product indispensable to customer operations. Without any one element, products risk becoming expendable during budget cuts or market changes.

How can startups assess their product’s CORE status?

Startups can evaluate their CORE status through the SOL (Sh*t Outta Luck) framework:

Impact Assessment:

• What breaks if your product disappears?
• How many processes depend on you?
• Which teams would be affected?
• What’s the replacement timeline?

Stakeholder Analysis:

• Who champions your product?
• How many departments use it?
• Who fights for your renewal?
• What happens if sponsors leave?

Integration Depth:

• How deeply are you embedded?
• What systems connect to yours?
• How many workflows depend on you?
• What’s the ecosystem impact?

Value Measurement:

• Can you quantify your impact?
• Is your ROI clearly visible?
• How do you prove your worth?
• What metrics demonstrate success?

Regular assessment helps identify areas needing strengthening to achieve CORE status.

What strategies help startups become CORE?

Several key strategies help startups achieve CORE status:

Product Development:

• Build essential features
• Create integration points
• Develop ecosystem connections
• Enable workflow automation

Value Demonstration:

• Track and report ROI
• Create visible dashboards
• Document success metrics
• Share case studies

Relationship Building:

• Develop multiple champions
• Build cross-department relationships
• Create user communities
• Establish executive connections

Integration Expansion:

• Increase connection points
• Deepen system dependencies
• Expand use cases
• Build workflow integrations

Customer Success:

• Provide exceptional support
• Drive feature adoption
• Enable customer growth
• Maintain high satisfaction

These strategies help transform products from nice-to-have to must-have solutions.

How do startups build deep dependencies?

Creating deep dependencies requires systematic approach:

Technical Integration:

• Develop robust APIs
• Enable system connections
• Create workflow automations
• Build ecosystem partnerships

Process Integration:

• Embed in daily workflows
• Connect multiple departments
• Automate key processes
• Create operational dependencies

Data Integration:

• Build valuable databases
• Create unique insights
• Enable data sharing
• Develop reporting systems

User Integration:

• Train multiple teams
• Create power users
• Develop user communities
• Build institutional knowledge

Value Integration:

• Demonstrate ongoing ROI
• Show compound benefits
• Track success metrics
• Measure business impact

These integrations make products increasingly difficult to replace.

How do startups maintain CORE status over time?

Maintaining CORE status requires ongoing effort:

Continuous Innovation:

• Anticipate customer needs
• Stay technologically current
• Add valuable features
• Improve existing capabilities

Relationship Management:

• Strengthen customer bonds
• Develop new champions
• Build executive relationships
• Maintain support networks

Value Enhancement:

• Increase ROI delivery
• Expand use cases
• Improve efficiency
• Add new benefits

Risk Management:

• Monitor usage patterns
• Track satisfaction levels
• Address issues quickly
• Maintain performance standards

Growth Development:

• Expand product adoption
• Increase user engagement
• Develop new applications
• Build additional integrations

Continuous effort ensures maintained and growing indispensability.

How should startups communicate their CORE value?

Effective CORE value communication involves:

Value Articulation:

• Clear ROI statements
• Impact demonstrations
• Success stories
• Measurable outcomes

Problem Focus:

• Pain point emphasis
• Solution clarity
• Cost of inaction
• Benefit highlighting

Integration Benefits:

• Ecosystem advantages
• Workflow improvements
• Efficiency gains
• Time savings

Dependency Value:

• System connections
• Process improvements
• Organizational impact
• Growth enablement

Future Vision:

• Innovation roadmap
• Growth potential
• Partnership benefits
• Long-term value

Clear communication helps maintain and expand CORE status.

The end game

Becoming CORE to customer operations represents the ultimate goal for startup products. By combining must-have status, accretive value, and deep dependencies, startups create solutions that customers can’t live without.

The journey requires consistent effort across product development, customer success, and relationship building. Starting with a single, well-solved problem, startups can systematically expand their influence and integration until removal becomes unthinkable.

Remember, CORE status isn’t just about survival – it’s about creating lasting value that makes your product an essential part of customer operations.