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While all of these are true, I find that they usually derive from a simpler rule: Have a laser focus on the users you're trying to reach, and everything you do

While all of these are true, I find that they usually derive from a simpler rule: Have a laser focus on the users you're trying to reach, and everything you do should make their lives easier in some way. When I find people breaking these sorts of rules, it's usually because they're thinking of themselves or some non-customer stakeholder. edited to add a corollary: until you've done the sort of testing patio11 advocates, you don't know who that customer is.

patio11 17y ago
I think what you are saying is good advice, but don't think it is necessarily co-extensive with what I'm suggesting. For example, say you're targeting teachers. Keeping a laser focus on what teachers want is important. However, I think you need to put extra focus on making their first five minutes absolutely amazing. (And their first 30 seconds. And their first 5 seconds.) My reason for this is simple: almost all apps are going to leak an amazing number of their customers between first and second use. I don't have my report in front of me at the moment, but I think something like 40% of BCC users never complete their first bingo card and never log in again. Essentially none of these people buy the software. On the other hand, roughly 2.4% of trialers convert, or roughly 4% of users who succeed in their first interaction with the app. Increasing my bottom line by 5% requires converting 5% more of that second group -- which, let me tell you, is hard freaking work -- or, in the alternative, improving the first run experience of three out of every 40 users who fail to complete Task #1. It is really hard to optimize your entire application, user experience, value proposition, etc to get +5% conversion. However, polishing your first five minutes until it freaking shines is not nearly as difficult. Do you present people with a blank page currently? Spend an hour and put something on it. I will put money on that helping. Does it take a critical mass of friends/input/lions slain to get fun? Do the work for them. Fake it if necessary. And, yeah, instrument everything. Can I plug Mixpanel here? plug Every time I think "You know I should really build more instrumentation into my app..." I remember "Oh, wait, it takes a twentieth of the time to just throw it on Mixpanel -- no visualization code or complicated controls to refine the data range required, praise be."
- TheSOB88 17y ago
  What does instrument mean?

patio11 17y ago

I think what you are saying is good advice, but don't think it is necessarily co-extensive with what I'm suggesting. For example, say you're targeting teachers. Keeping a laser focus on what teachers want is important. However, I think you need to put extra focus on making their first five minutes absolutely amazing. (And their first 30 seconds. And their first 5 seconds.) My reason for this is simple: almost all apps are going to leak an amazing number of their customers between first and second use. I don't have my report in front of me at the moment, but I think something like 40% of BCC users never complete their first bingo card and never log in again. Essentially none of these people buy the software. On the other hand, roughly 2.4% of trialers convert, or roughly 4% of users who succeed in their first interaction with the app. Increasing my bottom line by 5% requires converting 5% more of that second group -- which, let me tell you, is hard freaking work -- or, in the alternative, improving the first run experience of three out of every 40 users who fail to complete Task #1. It is really hard to optimize your entire application, user experience, value proposition, etc to get +5% conversion. However, polishing your first five minutes until it freaking shines is not nearly as difficult. Do you present people with a blank page currently? Spend an hour and put something on it. I will put money on that helping. Does it take a critical mass of friends/input/lions slain to get fun? Do the work for them. Fake it if necessary. And, yeah, instrument everything. Can I plug Mixpanel here? plug Every time I think "You know I should really build more instrumentation into my app..." I remember "Oh, wait, it takes a twentieth of the time to just throw it on Mixpanel -- no visualization code or complicated controls to refine the data range required, praise be."

TheSOB88 17y ago
What does instrument mean?