HUM120-L10
Persuading Customers II
the launch: getting initial customers
- collecting customers on the road to MVP
- alpha and beta previews
- the email list
- the launch annoucement
- industry event
- via product hunt type list
- online event
- influencers
- press release/news coverage (easiest)
Growth hacking
- term coined by Sean Ellis in 2010
- strategies and techniques for cost-effective, scalable growth
high CAC playbook
- TV commercials
- billboards
- online ads
- PR agency
- big launch events
- expensive salespersons
the "ultimate" got com party, iBASH'99 launch, cost a lot but worth
low CAC playbook
- experiment
- continuously test to find low-cost customer acquisition channels that work for you
- validate
low-cost online acquisition
- free (but you pay for expertise)
- search engine optimization (SEO)
- App Store Optimization (ASO)
- amazon search optimization
- paid
- low budget SEM (paid search)
- social media/content channels
- newsletter
low-cost offline channels - unsexy but still effective
- events and tradeshows
- don't just attend - speak
- have your own conference!?
- direct mailing
- target your customers (local)
- gift
- make existing customers your advocates
low CAC playbook: flea on the elephant
- Airbnb on Craiglist
- Zynga on Facebook
- partner implicitly (free) or explicitly (paid) with the elephant
- more on this later in "Persuading Partners"
variety: getting customers to become your salespeople
build virality into your product
- direct:
- no need to ask - almost necessary to use a product or service
- example:
- invite your contacts: LinkedIn, Facebook
- multiplayer games: Quizup, Hqtrivia, Fortnite
- event management apps: evite, paperless post
- invite-only: clubhouse, feeling exclusive
virality: making customers your advocates
build virality into your product
- indirect:
- asking to share on social media
- asking to refer friends (especially for free products)
- rewarding indirect virality
- start well before MVP
- build loyalty through ownership
- remember the "it's YOUR startup" principle
putting fake ads/ideas to test if user click or interest in - follow the users
the drivers of community building:
- alignment with vision: love what you do
- recognition: recognizing early adopters/Heavy
some community-building methods:
we all love free: the freemium model
- get users
- make them use your free product
- make them regular free users
- get them to ...
scaling sales organization
- founders as the only salespeople whose initial product market fit
- product market fit: don't declare victory too early
- you are ready to hire salespeople
- if you are closing sales yourselves
- if you don't need to customize your pitch every time
- if you have a (fairly) predictable sales cycle
- if you have identified a lot of customers
sales commission
- sales compensation: salary/retainer + commission
- always reward performance
- by starting with a low retainer and high commission
- the commission is always on revenue
- higher commission for part-time salespersons
- especially if the retainer is low
- higher commission for product...
- tiered commission with rewards for exceeding targets
revenue model 1: water utilization for farmers
we have 2 revenue streams
- High-margin SaaS services
- hardware sales
- expected 80% of your revenue from SaaS
revenue model 4: medical devices startup
retail price for device: $2500
- hardware cost: 750
- distribution: 750
- gross margin: 1000
Guest speaker: Connie Chan
- General partner, andreesen horowitz
- previous at HP, palm, Goldman Sachs
Not have much ideas about future, doing lots of extracuricular. That helps building public speaking skills
offer classmates mock interview
seeing place where you can add values, did not expexted it
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