Most retail experiences suck. They just do. It’s rare that I go into a store and leave feeling amazed. I might be happy with what I bought, but beyond that, the experience is usually “Meh.” And some retail experiences are so bad that you leave the store angry, even if you did buy something that […]
How To Write Great Surveys with Actionable Data Results
Writing a great survey isn’t easy. At first it might seem straightforward, but after banging out a few questions with your favorite survey tool (I use Wufoo most of the time), you start to see the complexity and intricacies involved. More and more startups are creating surveys as a means of collecting data from early […]
Do Your Customers Link Value to Price?
A lot of people equate value with price. The higher the price, the higher the value must be, right? I’ve seen this repeatedly in the B2B world selling software to mid-to-large enterprises. It’s certainly not always the case, but it’s more common than you might realize. And it speaks to the possibility that you can […]
Client Retention is the Key ROI of Great Customer Service
The question is this, “Can a company be too friendly?“ Mark MacLeod puts on his CFO-hat when asking the question, because he’s trying to figure out if there’s an optimal mix between great service and keeping costs down (by not having to hire tons of people to provide the support.) Mike McDerment throws his hat […]
Top Down vs Bottom Up Business Models and User Acquisition
In the world of B2B (business to business) there are plenty of business model options. Most Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) companies use a monthly (or yearly) subscription model. In some cases they add layers of “price discrimination” where costs go up based on certain variables. The goal is to get more money out of customers that use […]
Using Great Customer Service as a Differentiator
In a “me too” world of easy-to-build and low cost startups, it’s becoming harder and harder to differentiate yourself from the competition. Just think about your potential customers and all the “stuff” they’re getting bombarded with on a regular basis. You might have invented a better mousetrap, but getting that message across isn’t easy. And […]
Lessons Learned Running a SaaS Business
I’ve been involved with SaaS businesses (Software as a Service) for just about 9 years. My previous company to Standout Jobs was a SaaS vendor. And in many respects, so is Standout Jobs. Byron Deeter from Bessemer Venture Partners recently published his 10 Laws for Being “SaaS-y”. Ten rules to live by when startup a […]
10 Tips for Picking a Great Freelance Vendor
The pros and cons of freelancing are fairly well known. And freelancers have no shortage of stories about bad clients. But what about bad freelancers? Does such a thing exist? Of course it does. And there’s no worse feeling than paying someone a lot of money to do work for you only to have them […]
Warning: Do You Know Your Best Customers?
If you don’t, you’re losing lots of business Hopefully you know which of your customers spends the most money. And you might have some additional anecdotal evidence about them, but you probably haven’t dug deep enough.
Is Your Ego The Perfect Size To Be a Great Leader?
How big is your ego? Too big? Too small? Just right? We’re probably not the best judges of our own ego and whether it’s the right size to be a great leader. After all, our egos would get in the way and skew our judgment. But we certainly should recognize the importance of ego and […]
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