Tell me more ×
Answers OnStartups is a question and answer site for entrepreneurs looking to start or run a new business. It's 100% free, no registration required.
up vote 0 down vote favorite

G'day!

My company develops and sells off-the-shelf (or rather, download-from-the-web) desktop software to quite a niche market. Our most popular product has user numbers in the hundreds (although how many of them are active users, I don't know).

We're about to launch a new product (with limited functionality), partly as a way to validate the market we think is there. One of the promotions we're considering is to offer a substantial discount for the first few copies sold.

Thing is, when you're expecting relatively low unit sales and it's a brand new product with no existing validation (or social proof) from the market, is this type of campaign a bad idea? We're hoping to kick-start up-take, but would people view a goal of, say, "5 quick sales" as meaning we don't believe in it, even if we know the market to be inherently small...?

If anyone has hard data from studies done on this, that'd be great, but I'm interested in even anecdotal evidence.

share|improve this question
Can we have a some info about your market? – th3an0maly Oct 12 '12 at 21:29
We're selling to research scientists in life sciences (pharmaceutical companies, academia, etc.). – Ammo Scrolls Oct 15 '12 at 9:16

1 Answer

up vote 1 down vote

I'd look for something in return for those first few free sales. Talk to a few clients and offer the product free in return for a public (or at least on demand private) testimonial and reference. That gives you something to build on - product validation for you and customer references for future sales.

I've seen this approach used by several startups trying to get a new product into the market.

share|improve this answer
While we weren't thinking of giving the software away free, that's an interesting approach and would immediately get us testimonials. Really good idea - thanks! – Ammo Scrolls Oct 15 '12 at 9:19
I meant free as in "free". Negotiate what you can but often what's free to you is very valuable to the customer, and vise versa. – Chris Gerken Oct 15 '12 at 14:15

Your Answer

 
discard

By posting your answer, you agree to the privacy policy and terms of service.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.