Hot answers tagged customers
19
The answer depends on what you sold them. A software product? Consulting services? SAS? And how you sold it. If by PO, I assume you have a copy of the PO and its terms?
For our software products we have stiff late payment fees (spelled out in advance). If they exceed 45 days without paying, we terminate their software license. (Which means they are using ...
11
It's an interesting question. In theory businesses are always telling their competitors customers about their product via TV ads and other broad marketing.
Somehow we feel that is okay but contacting the customer directly is "poaching". I am not sure I see a real justification for that. I think as long as you aren't using questionable tactics to gain ...
10
In a given organization, who is the best person to talk to? CEO
(she/he can be unreachable) or secretary (he/she could say to forward
message but forget later)
This depends on your product/service and the customer. Often the person you need to sell to isn't the person who writes the cheque. It's the person who will be getting the value from your ...
9
It's got to be easier. Their customers, who will soon be your customers, need to be convinced that your service is easier to use and work with. Make their life easier when they use your service.
Cheaper might win some customers but it's a risky play - your competitor may well jump in and undercut you and then you've got a price war. I'd steer clear of ...
8
Yes let go the idea. If you are smart you will have more. If you are not, this idea wasn't going to help you :)
In general, idea does not mean the other person will make money. Is there evidence the pure idea turned into revenue?
If he took your idea and actually worked on it, then he deserves to have most or all of the spoils. Ideas on their own are ...
7
First, if you and the deadbeat customer are in the same state, I'd suggest you check your state's laws on small claims court. Some states allow small claims cases for as much as $25,000. Small claims courts are informal, and it's really easy and inexpensive to sue through them. Nolo Press has good information on how to sue in small claims court.
If that ...
7
This is a common problem for freelancers: the tire-kicker who extracts a lot of valuable consulting knowledge in the guise of paid work coming "some day soon."
Do I let go of my idea? I have no papers, so I assume I can't sue. Should I just chuck it up to a lesson to keep my mouth shut in future sale calls?
I think you have to let it go. An ...
7
Why do you think you are "poaching" customers? If your competition lists their customers, they are publically stating who uses their product. They have no problem with this, so why should you? Is this unethical- I say no.
On the other hand, coverting your competition's customers into your own is going to be much harder than you think. Corporations have ...
7
Ultimately, that is the the single most dangerous flaw all entrepreneurs share - they love the process of creating. For most, market research and validation is something like a bad root canal - I've been there before and guilty as well. The easiest way to validate your idea is to perform a first round of hallway testing:
TALK TO PEOPLE that have no clue ...
6
The high-risk option: You think you're the next Steve Jobs, and you know better than everyone else. Build to your vision regardless of what people are asking for (they not visionaries like you), and eventually you'll turn out to be right. There's a 99.999% chance that you're not the next Steve Jobs of course, and then you'll lose. Still, on the 0.001% chance ...
6
First call accounts payable and tell them you have an invoice that is unpaid. Maybe they lost your invoice?
Next, call the CEO of the company (or someone sufficiently high up). Be nice. Ask them politely if you can work out a payment plan.
Sure, this might not work. But maybe they could pay you via credit card? Maybe they are about to go bankrupt? Maybe he ...
6
I heard a horror story the other day, where an individual got raving reviews from every customer he spoke with. After they launched, not a single one cared to use his product. Cost him a small fortune.
What you need to start doing is getting commitments from individuals. Just like area 51 stack exchange is doing. Just get 200 people that are willing to ...
5
There are tons of real research on this. Just do a literature search through psych, business and marketing journals on "charity" or "giving". The amount and vagueness of the question makes answering very difficult, as there's no way to condense the whole body of literature into a single, short OnStartUp answer.
Here are top-level observations I always keep ...
5
The best way of saying thanks, is to say it. Over the years I have had my free share of Mugs, mousepads, usb drives, and even t-shirts. To me its all cheesy. Handwritten note is great, but nothing more valuable than picking up the phone, giving them a call, telling them you value their business and are always eager to hear how you could improve.
...
5
I could be wrong, but there are probably some assumptions you can make about your market:
These are knowledgable people, so if you can pitch a good idea, they could probably tell you whether or not they would pay for it.
The Biotech industry probably doesn't expect things for free like the open source software community. They spend money to make money.
...
5
Know as much as you can, going in. Do your user studies. Understand the problem from their perspective. Know the words they use to describe the problem. Know the typical structure of an organization which will have this problem, for the market segment you’re targeting. Know who will probably own the problem. To the extent possible, research the specific ...
4
You need to listen to your customers. But you shouldn't necessarily do exactly what they ask you to do.
After you listen to them, start asking questions to try to understand the problem that your customers need to solve. Listen to their answers and keep asking as many questions as you need to ensure that you really understand their needs.
In my ...
4
You might want to start networking with those who sell Merchant Accounts. Braintree merchants is in your area and has a great reputation for E-comm. They will be able to share leads with you. Other than that, get a list of local zip codes and start doing some searches in bing for shops with the zip code.
Its all about networking at this point. Spread ...
4
Answering the strategy question:
What value are you providing to the email recipient?
Receiving a "we do x, call us!" email is no better than all the "outsource your IT" emails many of us receive daily. Yeah, you run a business, we get that - but you have no developed relationship / accumulated trust to work from.
And changing a word or two isn't much of ...
4
This sounds like spam to me. If they are tweeting about how happy they are with your competitor's product, they have no reason to switch, especially if it is a paid product. Unless the tweets indicate that they are unhappy with your competitor's product and are looking for an alternative, I don't see this gaining you any customers. In fact, it will likely ...
4
It depends.
Obviously you've identified that some of these feature requests are in-line with the key-aims of your application and implement them where you see fit.
To answer effectively, you really need to tell us more about the business model. As a free B2B product, how do you make money? Is it through advertising? Are you using this 'service' to channel ...
4
Without knowing more about your business model it's hard to say. However the simplest and most effective technique I know to reduce support costs for free tiers is not to have them. Charge instead.
Free tiers always get the highest support costs - since you get the folk who are price sensitive first, and value sensitive second.
3
Right now, you have nothing to sell. (Or you do, but you don't know how it's going to help.)
So start out by seeking out salon managers and stylists, therapists and ask them where the places are that revenues are held back and margins are eaten away. Don't pretend to have any prior insight, but do make sure you recognise, understand and can use the salon ...
3
This one is hard ... we're heavily invested in the vertical you threw out (restaurants, foodservice, etc...), and I can tell you that selling technology in this arena is complicated. It's more complicated than almost any other vertical. Without getting philosophical, it seems to be an issue with POS providers / dealers, and their promise of amazing savings ...
3
Something that I think will definitely help you, and you should read about, is customer development. Originally developed by Steve Blank, customer development stemmed from his book, Four Steps to the Epiphany. Here are some interpretations of this theory:
What is Customer Development? by Lean Startup methodology founder Eric Ries
Customer Development: How ...
3
What about this approach?:
Build a one page website describing your product
Add a Form to it where visitors could subscribe to a mailinglist for information. You might include a message field for gathering your visitors opinion about your intended product.
Follow up on your list everytime you finish a milestone in your product development.
Posting in ...
3
Your best bet is to understand your customers pain. They may tell you one thing yet be worried about something completely different. Ask questions, get to know their business and then listen to what they have to say. Customers are not stupid -- they are just solving the problems in front of them. Your job is to help them.
3
In my 15+ years of experience as a freelance journalist I've adopted the practice of talking as much as possible to as many people as possible about my ideas and I can only think of one occasion where someone outright stole an idea from me. Overall being vocal and non secretive about my ideas have given me a lot of quality input allowing me to sharpen good ...
3
Own it. Start with a sincere apology. That means saying prominently, "We really blew it and we're sorry", not blaming someone else or some kind of impersonal "mistakes were made" kind of thing. It will be better yet if you say "I" by name rather than "we". Sincerity is a great gift and it is so seldom offered in the commercial world.
3
The "I will design your website, cheap!" email is so commonly received by business owners that they probably consider this spam.
Your question is larger than just email -- it's sales in general. Sales is easy: people buy from people whom they like. So the question becomes: how to make friends with people who need websites created.
That's a broad question. ...
Only top voted, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible
