Reaching the 10% of the market
Look, you don’t need to “reach the 10% of the market/segment”. We can all play the numbers game. Basic math ain’t that hard. To get to that “10%” is not rocket science. You know what’s hard? Taking a stand for something and sticking to it. Knowing that —sometimes— this “something” is not the way to go, let go and take a new approach (and a new something). Finding the ones who actually care about that something. And forget about your solutions —and your brand. If you can help them get what…
[Last Chance] Don’t miss out
Don’t you HATE this kind of emails and messages trying to push you into a buying decision? Even worse —when it keeps repeating over and over? I know i do. Pushing for this fear of missing out (FOMO) and to get them to take action based on an impulse is a common (mal)practice. Why? Because this push is artificial and external —and an overkill. A better approach to help your customers buy is to dig up that urgency they actually feel and direct them to make the decision a no-brainer. You don’t…
Discounts are bad for your customers.
The constant ones. Discounting. It trains them that only price (without context) is the decisive factor. Makes you think of how little you could go for and still make a profit (if any). Risks them to shit customer service. Since your margins are low, going the extra mile —or even care for after sales— for what they need as an extra will only seem like a high expense on your side. It makes you go for more effort (to get more sales), with the same result. Turns into a vicious loop of trying to…
Jumping through hoops
Why not just put your prices down from the start? If your customers are price-sensitive, always haggling, always shopping and driven by the lowest price, showing up with THE lowest price would make them buy directly from you, right? Or is it more like even then, they would ask for more hoops to jump through? What’s your experience? 🙂
Costs don’t matter
Yeah, they do matter, but not necessarily when pricing. If they did (costs), the price of any SaaS would need to be near to zero, since the cost is marginal because it’s scaled up. If they did, the price for a flight ticket would need to be lower the fuller the plane is. Flights get all of their costs covered at a certain quantity of tickets sold (and that’s less than 30% of the seats). Hotel rooms would have to be almost given for free the closer to the end of hotel-day or when they’re…
What your customers are paying for
They’re not paying for your costs (they actually don’t care if you’re profitable or not). They’re not paying for your time. They’re not paying for your effort. They’re not even paying for what you (might) already know. What they’re paying for… is for how they go from state A to state B. Actually, for them getting to state B. They pay for the help received. And you charge for the help you give. How involved you, your brand, or your staff, get into that process is what will help you determine…
Changing the equation
In a product-market fit approach: “This is how everybody else prices” (eg. cost+) “These are the prices”. You play by their rules. And here comes the challenge. Rethinking them from the core: “How can you change this equation?” “How could i charge X?” “What would my customers need that they gain 10X the price?” It brings you to think from “what they owe me” (aka. what it costs me) into “what they’re interested in” (the outcome). When you start with this, things shift. And that’s your first…
The question
What’s that that your customers appreciate about working with you? Is it that you always say yes? Is it that you always say no? We know it’s not the great work you do. Your work (and its quality) has not really a lot to do with WHY they keep working with you. They keep working with you because of something else. They keep saying yes to what you advice because of something else. They keep with you because _________________. Let me know.
A different view of the future
If strategy is about the future, and uncertainty and zero-warranties… why would anyone want to try something new and for the first time? … or wouldn’t they? Going to “guaranteed results/strategies/approaches” will get you to use what has been already there (at most), with a context that doesn’t apply to you, your customers or your business. (That’s why the bro-marketing-get-rich-quick-schemes don’t work). Think of past-driven vs future-driven this way: If you benchmark with what’s already…
Bad food
Bad Food – Anthony Bourdain Switch food with product, marketing, business, brand… What kind of food do you wanna make? PS- inspired by Dave Trott’s post.