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I'm a bit surprised that the article mentions support, but at no point makes the connection that more customers == more support requests. I think I'd rather ha
by mootothemax 15y ago
I'm a bit surprised that the article mentions support, but at no point makes the connection that more customers == more support requests.
I think I'd rather have 5 customers paying $20 than 10 customers paying $10 - is this a thoroughly bone-headed point of view? Or is supporting more customers essentially a marketing cost?
- jasonfried 15y agoThis all depends on the type of customer. If your customers are high maintenance customers that require a lot of support, then having more customers paying less money may not be worth it. However, more customers often means more diversity so you're more protected against a few taking their business elsewhere. And then more customers might mean you have to hire more people which can affect the culture of your company. Seemingly simple decisions can run pretty deep when you think about the true cost. So it really all depends, but it's definitely not bone-headed. If you're interested, here's an article I wrote for Inc. that discusses some of these ideas: http://www.inc.com/magazine/20101101/go-ahead-raise-your-businesss-prices.html http://www.inc.com/magazine/20101101/go-ahead-raise-your-bus...
- alttag 15y agoA great point. Some companies price in their very excellent support (Nordstrom comes to mind). At the other end of the spectrum, I worked with a guy who ran an wifi internet service on the side. His prices were so cheap that he refused to help clients troubleshoot and offered only two support options: cope or get a refund.
- redguava 15y agoMore customers can also mean faster growth, as you are getting more word of mouth referrals. There can also be an element of customers paying more will expect more from you (ie. support).