This is a usefull post written by Vlad Barshai (@vbarshai) that gives you tips on how and why you should treat your customers or users like your girlfriend. This is an example I always use during the training sessions I take about social media marketing for small businesses. Whether you're a start-up or a small business facing some problems with your customers on social media, you'll find it usefull!
"You always have to remember that until you have users, you're just another cool lemonade stand (website) in the middle of the dessert (web). One of the most important questions to ask yourself is: how do I get her (people) to love me? How do I get her (them) to care about my (its) existence? Let's take a step back and look at our "users" as our girlfriend. Here are some scenarios:
#2 She (they) won't know what to do unless it's right in front of her (them): It's true, every girl (user) likes to have everything taken care of. They want you to take the initiative and iron out a path... ask them on that first date (an initial e-mail submit) and clearly show them why you're worth their time (pitching the value proposition). Then they want You to have everything planned out beautifully (your layout) and ready so that they won't have to think of much (single path and call-to-action). They want to enjoy a great end-to-end experience (every move is simple, clear, precise) from the moment they leave the house (come to your site) to the moment they return home (press the back button or x). The girlfriends (users) really don't care how hard it was for you to do it, they just want it done so that they can brag to their friends (other influencers) about how good you are.
#3 Be nice! Overly nice if you have to: Everyone loves to feel loved. Everyone loves to feel that they matter. She (users) is no different. They want to know that if there are issues, you're a quick reach away from and can solve them immediately. They hate waiting! The way to make her (them) know you're great is to make sure that you're always there when there is a problem. Remember, the bad will stick with her (users) for years ... and the good will only be reminisced when there is nothing better ... but there will usually be something better.
Read the entire article here: http://not99.posterous.com/treat-your-users-like-your-girlfriend
If you are a first time entrepreneur, who can't rely on a huge personal network, that helps you get the word out, press can be an amazing way of doing it. All set? Let's get started: 1) Have your own startup blog, learn to tell stories: the first step to getting coverage for your startup is to build an active blog, that teaches you about writing and telling stories. 2) How to get to know writers via Twitter and Facebook: start connecting with those writers on Social Networks. 3) Do your best to avoid the Alexias and Sarah Lacys: as the third step, avoid to reaching out to the most prestigious writers. Narrow your focus and find the rising stars. as much as you can. 4) The art and timing of sending that pitch off and getting in touch with reporters 5) A story about your startup is written and published. Now what? 6) Four completely different types of stories you can pitch 7) How to make getting covered a habit, not an accident
If you'd like to read the entire article on how to get media coverage for your startup click here: http://onstartups.com/tabid/3339/bid/80121/How-To-Get-Media-Coverage-For-Your-Startup-A-Complete-Guide.aspx
The insight that sparks innovation appears to occur randomly. After all, the iconic shorthand for innovation is a light bulb, implying that ideas come from sudden flashes of inspiration. One of the most important lean startup techniques is called the minimum viable product. Its power is matched only by the amount of confusion that it causes, because it's actually quite hard to do.
The minimum viable product is that version of a new product which allows a team to collect the maximum amount of validated learning about customers with the least effort.
Source: http://www.startuplessonslearned.com/2009/08/minimum-viable-product-guide.htmla
An analysis of 32 startup failure post-mortems to identify the top 20 reasons for startup failure. Learn how you can avoid failure through these lessons. Interessante intervista a Antonio Tomarchio, da non perdere per tutti gli startupper o wannabe!!! Antonio Tomarchio è il vincitore della prestigiosa startup competition di LeWeb (http://leweb.net/) Se vi interessano prezioni consigli pratici su come far partire la vostra startup... correte al minuto 15 circa! :-) “Ideas are worthless.” You’ll hear this everywhere across the tech/startup community and it’s wrong. Don’t say it. If you hear someone else saying it, politely ask them to stop saying it. 
GoDaddy founder and CEO Bob Parsons has 16 rules for success in business and life in general. If he sells GoDaddy to private equity firms for $2 billion, that’ll make him a billionaire or close to it. 
Investors seek familiar investments that are analogous to companies that they admire. They would like to believe that you can be successful because you are like another company that has been successful. 
Growing up I was surrounded by entrepreneurs. All of my uncles on my mom’s side of the family ran successful businesses, and I learned that working for yourself was a great way to improve your lifestyle. Via Cédric Giorgi 
About a month ago I was meeting with a seasoned entrepreneur. After 10 minutes I felt like we were old buddies because we had both been through the trenches of startup tech land and had had similar experiences. He was recounting one of his higher profile startups to me. He founded the company, raised a bunch of money, built the product and established a good reputation and market position. But five years into it he has brought on a senior management team, had stopped growing at the same meteoric rate and started to lose some enthusiasm. He said that when talking with the board and with investors he realized that he was no longer visionary in this particular field and certainly no longer passionate about it. It happens. But since he was still the CEO people still always looked for him to set the direction of the company. He was the founder, after all. He realized he needed to leave. He told me his motto, which is one that I’ve always lived by. He said, “The reason I needed to go was the I believe that you either lead, follow or get the fuck out of the way. I was no longer leading, so I became the problem.” 
In the days after Steve Jobs' death, friends and colleagues have, in customary fashion, been sharing their fondest memories of the Apple co-founder. He's been hailed as "a genius" and "the greatest CEO of his generation" by pundits and tech journalists. But a great man's reputation can withstand a full accounting. And, truth be told, Jobs could be terrible to people, and his impact on the world was not uniformly positive. One thing he wasn't, though, was perfect. Indeed there were things Jobs did while at Apple that were deeply disturbing. Rude, dismissive, hostile, spiteful: Apple employees—the ones not bound by confidentiality agreements—have had a different story to tell over the years about Jobs and the bullying, manipulation and fear that followed him around Apple. |
Good article about vision & long term planning in startups.
From the article: "Meaningful companies are built upon a strong timeless vision. Let’s look at some examples…
“To organize the world‘s information and make it universally accessible and useful.” — Google
The vision for a company must be robust for years at a time. Technologies, social networks, trends, all come and go, and a company must stay relevant regardless. Notice how Google doesn’t mention search, Amazon doesn’t mention books, and Twitter says nothing about apps or tweets. This is long term thinking. You can’t base your company around current technologies, trends, or other companies. It’s about what you are doing for your customers. If you set out to build “The Number One MP3 Player for Bebo Pages”, well, sorry about it. [..]"
Recommended!
Read the entire article here: http://blog.intercom.io/why-startups-need-a-strong-vision/
From the article: "There’s a psychological barrier to paying online, and it needs to stop. We pay for things in real life every day. We don’t hesitate to drop a fifty for a tank of gas, or $4 for a cup of coffee. But when it comes to paying for $5 for an online service that actually delivers significant value – it’s a no-no. I’ve been guilty of this for years myself, and now that I’m sitting on the other side of Paypal, I see the light, and have started to pay for web services that I value.
Why is this happening? Why is there a perception that everything online should be free?
Is it Google’s fault? Yes. Google is offering a ton of services for free because it has become an incubator – it’s incubating and releasing a ton of best-in-class products, knowing that Adwords will pay for everything. As a result, no service that Google offers will ever be able to charge money (except in France: http://www.forbes.com/sites/chrisbarth/2012/02/02/france-to-google-youll-pay-for-making-that-free). Other internet giants are guilty of this as well.
Is it the fault of VCs? Yes. For venture backed companies the key to success is a large user base. Monetization of that user base is a secondary priority. And if all else fails, you can get acquired for $1 billion.
The VC model is based on 1 home run. They don’t care if 99 of their portfolio companies fail, but as long as 1 gets sold for $1 billion, they are happy. A decent double-digit-millions exit is not exciting to them. So when faced with a fork in the road: a) build a sustainable business with a real business model, or b) give the product away for free to grow as fast as possible, thus treating your free users as a marketing cost - the incentive is to go for option b. Go big or go home. Or don’t raise money.
Is it your fault? Yes. Stop being cheap. Just because something is “virtual”, doesn’t mean it’s not valuable. Ask yourself: “Is this more valuable than a vanilla latte?”
Written by Dmitri Leonov (@dmitri)
Read the entire article here: http://www.sanebox.com/blog/death-freemium/
A lot of startups choose to defer the “pricing question” because they don’t think their product is ready. The common mindset when launching a new product is one of lowering sign-up friction through discounting or making the product free. This not only delays validation of one of the riskier parts of your product, but a lack of strong customer “commitment” can also be detrimental to optimal learning.
In this webcast you will learn: -How to set initial pricing for your product
Hosted by Ash Maurya (@ashmaurya). He is the founder of USERcycle. Since bootstrapping his last company seven years ago, he has launched five products and one peer-to-web application framework. Throughout this time he has been in search of better, faster ways for building successful products. Ash has more recently been rigorously applying Customer Development and Lean Startup techniques to his products, which he frequently writes about on his blog http://www.ashmaurya.com.
Lots of entrepreneurs struggle with pricing. How much to charge? It's clear that the right price can make all the difference - too low and you miss out on profit; too high and you miss out on sales. 
If you employ a freemium business model, evaluate often. Free is a strategy. Freemium requires constant adjustment to be financially viable and to maintain the integrity of your service. 
Startup folks, looking for inspiration for 2012? TED talks are an awesome source of inspiration. I listen to them on road trips while the kids are sleeping, and I started keeping a list of the talks that were most inspiring to me as an entrepreneur. 
This post kicks off a series of methods for accelerating startup iterations with the goal of getting you to product/market fit faster. It’s not theory from a whiteboard. It’s based on things that have been tried, tuned, and effective across a number of companies (well, startups) in Silicon Valley in a variety of markets. Each subsequent post will describe specific things a startup can try (with real examples) to help accelerate product/market fit. 
Get your head out of your product, and spend time tweaking your business. Now, before it's too late. Read this blog post by Rafe Needleman on Rafe's Radar. A 2 minute overview of the Business Model Canvas, a tool for visionaries, game changers, and challengers. This method from the bestselling management book Bu... 
Most of us have something to pitch--your startup to VCs, yourself for a new job, or your product to customers. In any situation, one rule applies: The better the pitch, the better the results. 
A good prune is as good for business as it is for your rose bushes. This excellent article suggests some annual pruning in your business will pay dividends in terms of future business growth and profitability. Via Daniel Watson 
High-value financings for venture-backed private internet and digital media companies seem to be happening at a rapid pace. 
There are excellent articles on business promotion, marketing, and sales strategies. However when it comes to strategic planning for running an enterprise especially in the small and medium scale sector. The entrepreneurs are often found groping in the dark. The purpose of this article is to uncomplicate this complicated process and present it in an easy to understand “How to” format. This article is positioned for an entrepreneur with some management education or background running an enterprise or managing a startup. |
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