

Hacking Customer’s Technology Adoption Cycles - bjplink
http://www.kalzumeus.com/2011/01/18/hacking-customers-technology-adoption-cycles/

======
patio11
This is basically a longer version of an offhanded comment I made earlier
regarding answering the "How will you get users?" question on the YC
application. I wasn't sure if it made sense or not, so I tried talking through
it. I'd be interested in hearing what you think. (This is by no means a
canonical answer to that question, by the way -- it is just an extended riff
on my particular way of looking at it.)

~~~
edanm
I for one am very happy you decided to write this article. I've been thinking
on this exact question ever since I read your comment, and while I don't have
_answers_ yet, your article has given me a lot more food for thought.

------
callahad
> _[...] there is a stepwise increase in difficulty if prices increase by $1,
> as long as the price was already at whatever the company’s magic number is
> for maximum to be put on a corporate credit card or signed for on a non-
> manager’s authority._

The idea of pricing in such a way as to require the least authority possible
for a purchase is fascinating. I had never considered that monthly billing
completely avoids administrative hurdles for otherwise equivalent costs billed
up front. The real trick is figuring out what that threshold is...

~~~
patio11
Oh, that's easy: in the US, it is overwhelmingly either $500 or $1,000.

------
Aegean
"These statements aren’t just true about the product — sure, they might have a
crufty old VB6 app and you have the new Node.js hotness. They are equally true
about the customer acquisition process. You’re competing with their business,
not with their product, so you could possibly either focus your innovation on
customer acquisition or, more likely, use innovation on both customer
acquisition and product in a mutually supportive manner."

This is very true. You often have a more innovative product but the
established competitor has a business. It makes sense to acknowledge this fact
and work on it.

------
Bud
Plural possessive of "customer" is "customers'" and not "customer's"; might
want to fix the headline.

------
kayhi
I've seen scalable content generation and link building come up a couple of
times.

Approaches?

Content: -Hire content writers

Links: -Great product -Blog posts/link bait -Create a widget -Ask/Email

Other ideas?

------
edw519
_I’m not applying to YC this time around, but I always fill out the
application to force myself to talk through my business strategy._

Me too.

Funny, yesterday I was struggling with the question about customer
acquisition. After reading this post, I will return to it later today with
renewed gusto.

Patrick, the only thing more amazing than the quality of your input here is
the fact that it is still continually improving. Thanks for another kick in
the ass.

