21–30 of 45 posts
Couldn't agree more. Unfortunately, there's a gap between what many lean approaches advocate (Adwords), what startups think they need (features/press) and what actually works. The most effective way to learn is to go out and find the people who should be using the product, and talk to them.
Certainly agree, but depending upon your market it can be very difficult to... "Find companies that fit the bill" ...especially when you're more going for B2C or B2SmallerWebsites. Really for me that's the challenge that brings out the need for advertising and such - to even find these customers.
If you're going B2C or B2SmallerWebsites then you're aiming for much less per sale, and therefore to get legs you'll need to be able to sell to a lot of them. So potential sales targets are all around. You won't be able to find them in sufficient volume to make a difference until after you have advertising turned on. But you still need to figure out your business. And talking to people in person is a great way to do that.
Certainly agree, but depending upon your market it can be very difficult to... "Find companies that fit the bill" ...especially when you're more going for B2C or B2SmallerWebsites. Really for me that's the challenge that brings out the need for advertising and such - to even find these customers.
Strongly disagree for the first few customers. If you're going B2C or B2SmallerWebsites then you're aiming for much less per sale, and therefore to get legs you'll need to be able to sell to a lot of them. So potential sales targets are all around. You won't be able to find them in sufficient volume to make a difference until after you have advertising turned on. But you still need to figure out your business. And ta…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Strongly disagree for the first few customers. If you're going B2C or B2SmallerWebsites then you're aiming for much less per sale, and therefore to get legs you'll need to be able to sell to a lot of them. So potential sales targets are all around. You won't be able to find them in sufficient volume to make a difference until after you have advertising turned on. But you still need to figure out your business. And ta…
When your customer is anybody from a forum on toyotas to donuts, how do you find them. I am currently advertising, not with too much success. I'm just following the points of this article that you don't know whether it's bad ad copy or product.
Also you should read http://www.paulgraham.com/startupideas.html. Pay close attention to the section labeled "Well". Odds are that, no matter how much you like your idea, you've chosen a poor idea to make a startup out of. Try to find a more focused variant to start with.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
When your customer is anybody from a forum on toyotas to donuts, how do you find them. I am currently advertising, not with too much success. I'm just following the points of this article that you don't know whether it's bad ad copy or product.
If your customer base is really that broad, then start talking to random people. It won't be long until you find a potential customer. Make your product work for that customer. Also you should read http://www.paulgraham.com/startupideas.html . Pay close attention to the section labeled "Well". Odds are that, no matter how much you like your idea, you've chosen a poor idea to make a startup out of. Try to find a more…
I spent a year work on a product based on some informal surveys and a lot of assumption. Luckily it doesn't cost me a lot to run it, so I can keep it going and continue plucking away, but while it was a good learning tool, I also learned that trying to find a niche would be much nicer to start with.
Thanks for the link.
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heh... But links to unsubscribe makes no sense when you're not sending a regular newsletter. You're just emailing them once. Plus it removes the sense of any personalization.. "Click here to unsubscribe? But I thought you were sending me a personal email!"
It's not so much that it "makes sense", but that you need it to comply with CAM SPAM. Any unsolicited mail must have an unsubscribe link, even if you just email them once.
I thought it was a typo the first time you typed it, but I thought you should know when I saw it a second time.
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heh... But links to unsubscribe makes no sense when you're not sending a regular newsletter. You're just emailing them once. Plus it removes the sense of any personalization.. "Click here to unsubscribe? But I thought you were sending me a personal email!"
It's not so much that it "makes sense", but that you need it to comply with CAM SPAM. Any unsolicited mail must have an unsubscribe link, even if you just email them once.
The reason for this is really for mass emails. It really should not apply when you send a few hand-written emails to a few people.
Couldn't agree more. Unfortunately, there's a gap between what many lean approaches advocate (Adwords), what startups think they need (features/press) and what actually works. The most effective way to learn is to go out and find the people who should be using the product, and talk to them.
Problem is? if they are taking the time to talk to you, they are giving you free advice. For whatever reason, they like you.
If you are doing a product that does face to face sales? that's fine. People like you, they buy your product.
However, this tells you very little about how good the product is on it's own, as a low-touch commodity product; so it's not all that useful if you are building something to scale (rather than scaling a marketing organization, which is a very different sort of problem.)
Also, most people? they are trapped in their own worldview, so they can't tell you what they need. "If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses" - Really, to actually innovate? You need to both understand customer needs /and/ the technologies you have on hand that could serve those needs in ways they are not currently being served.
My philosophy has always been to build into a market I knew. Sell to yourself. If you want to sell to a new market, learn about /that/ market first. I mean, this approach has it's own problems[1], but eh, it does mean you know when you are providing actual value, rather than having to sort out "this person likes me" vs. "this person likes my product"
There's always something 'wrong' about tech people wanting to meet face to face. What is the point of the telecommunication tech YOU created? Did you not do a good job? There's a better approach than what the blog outlines - imagine that you have infinite wealth and begin to build what you personally want. In most cases you will not be able to create the whole thing, but you can tackle a piece of the problem. Example…
Especially the bit about "Shut up and listen to them". I had the same experience the other day at Start Up Weekend, where the best advice was when you listened to the mentors.
Thanks Dan.