Your best customers might be the ones you’ve been ignoring.
They’re not ready for your flagship offer.
But they still want your help today.
In Your Business Growth Playbook , I share a truth most founders miss: your “ideal customer” isn’t static. Markets evolve. People move. The smart ones meet buyers where they are – then guide them forward.
Many businesses overlook earlier-stage customers who share the same problem, just with smaller scope, budget, or urgency. The companies who serve them – without diluting their core – build loyalty and pipeline at once.
Look around:
- HubSpot Starter opened the door for small teams to run CRM and marketing, then scale into Pro and Enterprise as they grew.
- Shopify Starter let new sellers start for $5, sell through social, then expand into full storefronts.
- Stripe Atlas helped founders incorporate fast, so Stripe became their natural long-term partner.
- AWS Activate offered credits and guidance to startups who later scaled into enterprise cloud spend.
Same pattern. Different industries. Meet the customer earlier, solve one urgent job, and earn the right to grow with them.
In my own work, I’ve seen it too. One client launched a diagnostic and roadmap – a short, high-value engagement for founders not ready for their full consulting package. It opened new doors, generated referrals, and built trust faster than any paid ad.
You can do the same.
How to build your “on-ramp”:
- Define the overlooked avatar. Earlier stage. Same pain. Smaller scope.
- Design the first step. One job, one promise, one timeline.
- Protect the flagship. Keep it focused. No custom work, no scope creep.
- Align success metrics. Measure speed to value and conversions upward.
- Adjust your message. Speak to their now, not your later.
This isn’t discounting your value – it’s sequencing it. You’re not lowering your price; you’re raising your reach. You’re earning trust earlier, so when the customer’s ready, you’re already the obvious choice.
🧠 Summary
Your market is bigger than your flagship. Build an on-ramp that serves today’s overlooked customer and guides them to tomorrow’s full solution.
What’s one small offer or on-ramp you could launch in the next 30 days to earn trust early?