MassTLC unConference 2014, “Moving From Free to Paid Apps and Products”

MassTLC unConference 2014, Session 1 10:30-11:30

“Moving From Free to Paid Apps and Products”

Free downloads and “freemium” product models are an established fact of business.  While “free-ness” is helpful for building audience and awareness, there may be a time when a company seeks to convert its customers to a paid product.  The session members sorted the myriad problems in doing so and came up with several points to consider and potential solutions for entrepreneurs who are considering the move from free to paid.

·         Consider whether you actually have one product or two.  Do you want customers to pay for significantly added functionality or do you have an entirely different second product that you‘d like to sell into your base?

·         Use data  you’ve collect from your free product to create  your paid  product

·         Use a free web app as the vehicle to your paid app.  Especially helpful in B2B settings. 

·         Focus on your value proposition and build truly valuable added functionality into your paid offering.  Be rigorous in your self-examination here.

·         Use a variety of levers to unlock paid functionality.  To trigger price increases, a B2B company may use levers like numbers of users with a company, size of projects under management or amount of data stored or transferred.

·         Offer a time-limited sneak peak of paid features for your free product customers and a discount for fast conversion.

·         Make sure you know the difference between your end-user and the entity that is actually paying for the product.  The needs and price sensitivity may be different.

·         Make your existing customers your sales force, as Facebook has done.  Equip them with invitations and incent them to work their networks on your behalf.

·         Test various pricing models on portions of your audience to get real data.

·         Stay close to your customers at all times, not just during product development.  Find multiple avenues to communicate with them consistently in a non-sales manner.  Messaging here can vary but the point is to keep them close so you can show them the value of a paid relationship with your company.

·          Insight Venture Partners’ report on free-to-paid metrics and digital marketing was mentioned an an excellent resource.

Uber tests on-demand flu shots in Boston - Boston Business Journal

Say what you will about Uber's business practices (and I write this as a jilted Halo fan), it is among the most relentlessly creative companies I know. Uber is always stretching its technology platform beyond the initial on-demand ride app.  I get the sense that these ideas and spot promotions are less a brand awareness tactic and more an exercise in challenging their business model to see how far it can stretch and still be successful.  I admire Uber's spirit and wish more companies would take a good like at what they do well today and start asking "what if...." more often.  

Failure is good, but here are 10 mistakes your startup should never make | VentureBeat | Entrepreneur | by Tom Hogan and Carol Broadbent, Crowded Ocean

I'm more than a little tired of the fetishization of "failure" in business. Failure is not good but is is slightly neccesary and largely unavoidable -- sort of like a really bad case of gastro-intestinal distress ...

Still some good "please don'ts"  in this list, especially on the tee-shirt and leadership tips! 

The Two Ways to Determine Innovation's Value | LinkedIn

In my work as a mentor at the Quincy Center for Innovation, I can clearly seeing this dynamic starting to take shape, often without the intent or knowledge of the startups themselves.  This excerpt and analysis is a great perspective on the planned and unplanned consequences and benefits of innovation.  Recommended.

Marketers Need to Think More Like Publishers - Greg Satell - Harvard Business Review

Great insight and perspective in this repost of an HBR.org article by Greg Satell. Content marketing is less about marketing per se, and more about value exchange, structure and delivering on a mission -- traits ingrained in the professional publishing world.  

Growth Hacking for Marketing by David Skok and SiriusDecisions - Curata Blog

I had to share this tremendous and detailed post via Curata recapping the Growth Hacking panel from the MassTLC Sales and Marketing Summit that I attended in Boston last Friday, April 4.  Since I can't do any better than this, reblogging is the way to go.  Thanks to Curata and MassTLC.

Charles Oakley, ex-New York Knick, Really Gets Branding

"That’s what wrong with the league, you’ve got guys worried about social media, my brand. You brand once you get drafted, when you win as a team, you get your brand. When your team wins, then all of those commercials will come. Everything is all about hype.” - Charles Oakley, former NBA power forward, in The Boston Sunday Globe, April 6, 2014.

Branding is one of the most discussed, least understood concepts in marketing.  Branding is ALL about the emotional connection an organization makes with its public and it encompasses the entire relationship, from first contact through advocacy. A winning brand derives from every aspect of the organization-public relationship and depends entirely on the public's emotional reaction and feedback for legitimacy.  Brands are given, they are not applied.  Certainly, organizations should do everything in their power to live into the attributes they seek. But if your "team" talks a championship game and delivers a sub-.500 customer relationship, no amount of crowing and self-congratulation will make your brand championship caliber with current and future fans. No industry relies on emotional connection and response like professional sports and, clearly, the old "enforcer" for the Knicks, Bulls and others understands this well. Those of us who work outside of the stadium should listen. 

Spring: New Ideas, New Start-ups, New Stories

My early spring calendar is dotted with pitch contests in various incubators and colleges and universities in the region.  I love participating in these events as both judge and observer, though I do have mixed feelings about their overall utility to the young businesses involved. I highly doubt many of today’s most successful enterprises got that way by scoring big in a “minute to pitch it” contest.  As well all know, building a business is a long-term proposition.  While a winning “Shark Tank” moment can provide short-term momentum and energy for the founding team, most founders would gladly trade that quick jolt for sustainable growth and defensible leadership.
My participation in these events, however, has never been about sorting winners and losers. I love to see new ideas and new approaches to intractable or previously unknown, problems. I want to see new entrepreneurs (of any age!) tell the story of their start-up and hook me on their belief and vision. My industry specialty is technology and tech-enable companies, so I like to learn about markets new to me like food, healthcare, entertainment and automotive, as I have at past events. 
Often, I will approach certain participants in a contest and offer some advice on crafting and delivering their stories in a more creative, credible and engaging manner. The ones I approach are those that struck some sort of chord with me, those that left me wanting to know more.   Every short term pitch contest – really any brief encounter with a possible customer, partner, investor or employee – represents an opportunity to plant an intellectual seed and to spark a richer conversation.  Spring time is the perfect season for such beginnings and I’m grateful for the chance to be present at their inception.