Opinion and commentary about Mac and iOS applications, publishing and content consumption behavior, web and cloud architectures
July 30, 2009

"

“Free” in the enterprise:

  • Free is not a business model, it’s a marketing and distribution tactic. Don’t forget this, and don’t get distracted into thinking otherwise.
  • Free is not an excuse to make a lesser product, in fact it forces you to make a better product or no one will ever pay.
  • Free will expand your market size and scope instantly; make sure you’re prepared, and make sure you can survive and thrive if only a subset ultimately pay you.
  • Freemium works when you know who will want to pay for the service and what extra bells they will pay for. This can be based on usage thresholds, ROI achieved, more features, better support, etc.
  • Freemium also works because larger businesses have specialized requirements that they’ll pay for: more security, more users, better management, etc.
  • Treat free as an advantage - learn from all those new potential customers of your product, pay attention and allow niches to emerge that you can sell to.
  • Lose customers to yourself, not your competitors
Is Free The Future Of Enterprise Software? Yes And No."

free
freemium
biz
strategy
July 29, 2009

Maker's Schedule, Manager's Schedule

So f***ing true!

biz
July 29, 2009

Creating a Real Brand

Brands are wonderful assets when they capture the essence of a product, service, or event succinctly, meaningfully, and with endurance over time.[…] But when branding becomes a fad, it can reduce communication.

[…]

Branding should start with an authenticity test. (nb avoid putting “lipstick on a pig”)

— The Downsides of Branding by Rosabeth Moss Kanter

Discover your brand by pinpointing your unique service and identity.

— Build Your Brand by M.J. Ryan

How many companies can you name that do not live up to their brand? Or would it be easier to count those that live up to their brand?

biz
July 29, 2009

Quo Vadis Innovation

The basic problem: people who have deep knowledge about a topic sometimes assume other people have that same knowledge.

—How Knowledge Can Hurt Innovation - Scott Anthony - HarvardBusiness.org

I am wondering if information overload isn’t leading to even worse results.

innovation
biz
July 29, 2009

The Best About Us Page in the World

biz
July 29, 2009

"

People don’t buy on reason.
They buy on emotion.
They come to you
with one emotion,
wishing to exchange it for another. If you want to sell,
ask how your prospect is doing
(i.e. feeling)
and REALLY care about her answer.
Listen to the words
and her tone.
Read her face. Then give her what she needs
to deal with that emotion.

Why People Buy » client k

"

biz
strategy