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My first customer was not a paying customer. It was probably my 4th or 5th that actually paid. The first people are really beta testers. I knew people liked

by brlewis 19y ago

My first customer was not a paying customer. It was probably my 4th or 5th that actually paid. The first people are really beta testers. I knew people liked it when they asked what it cost. Disclaimer: I'm still a long way from profitable, and I'm not totally committed to the subscription model. In 2007 my subscription revenue was $70.50 and ad revenue was $2.05.

bkovitz 19y ago
Thanks! Interesting data point that you didn't charge your first few customers. What is your site?
- brlewis 19y ago
  It's http://ourdoings.com/ http://ourdoings.com/ It's in my profile. I strongly suggest everybody edit your profiles to include yours.
- skmurphy 19y ago
  With respect, you can't call someone a customer if they are not paying you. There is an enormous difference between a user and a customer (or a prospect and a customer). You should reserve the use of "customer" for folks who are actually paying you. Giving a service away doesn't create customers (it may be a part of your customer creation process but they become customers when they pay you). If a "beta customer" does not pay you they are not a customer (yet). There are distinct methodologies and processes for customer development in the same way that there are for product development: one excellent book on Customer Development is "Four Steps to the Epiphany" by Steve Blank, which is chock full of practical advice on developing early customers.
  - brlewis 19y ago
    I think it depends on the demographic of your prospects. For some demographics "user" and "customer" aren't so far apart.
    - skmurphy 19y ago
      If you are selling advertising then your customers are your advertisers, not the audience that you supply them. Users may be customers in larval form, but it is a significant step for a subscription model business to convert a user to a customer. Many startups fail to pay attention to this soon enough (e.g. before they go broke).

by brlewis 19y ago

bkovitz 19y ago

Thanks! Interesting data point that you didn't charge your first few customers. What is your site?

brlewis 19y ago
It's http://ourdoings.com/ http://ourdoings.com/ It's in my profile. I strongly suggest everybody edit your profiles to include yours.
skmurphy 19y ago
With respect, you can't call someone a customer if they are not paying you. There is an enormous difference between a user and a customer (or a prospect and a customer). You should reserve the use of "customer" for folks who are actually paying you. Giving a service away doesn't create customers (it may be a part of your customer creation process but they become customers when they pay you). If a "beta customer" does not pay you they are not a customer (yet). There are distinct methodologies and processes for customer development in the same way that there are for product development: one excellent book on Customer Development is "Four Steps to the Epiphany" by Steve Blank, which is chock full of practical advice on developing early customers.
- brlewis 19y ago
  I think it depends on the demographic of your prospects. For some demographics "user" and "customer" aren't so far apart.
  - skmurphy 19y ago
    If you are selling advertising then your customers are your advertisers, not the audience that you supply them. Users may be customers in larval form, but it is a significant step for a subscription model business to convert a user to a customer. Many startups fail to pay attention to this soon enough (e.g. before they go broke).