

Startup Solidarity - sethbannon
http://sethbannon.com/startup-solidarity

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patio11
This is, FWIW, an absolutely no-brainer move for almost any SaaS business: if
a user signals severe financial stress and needs a one-time discount, _give it
to them_. You have two options: a) future LTV = 0 (they cancel immediately) b)
future LTV > 0.

This is not a hard call. I have, incredibly, had some people disagree with me
loudly on this.

My usual copy for this is: "Don't worry Bob. I've run a small business for 8
years. We've all been there before. Tell you what, I'm comping you the next
three months. You worry about getting things humming again, I'll deal with the
accountant. [+]"

[+] A little white lie. My accountant naturally does not ordinarily second
guess my marketing decisions, particularly when they're numbered in the low
three figures, but injecting him into the discussion keeps us honest about
this being a matter of business-to-business professional courtesy rather than
personal charity (which doesn't have an expiration date).

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elamadej
In some cases the LTV <0 (when you need to give a refund to a company that
might go out of business). That's a harder call.

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patio11
At low-touch SaaS price points, eating a one-month refund shouldn't take more
than an eyeblink of consideration. (That's certainly how long the credit card
company will give it when they call to chargeback anyhow.)

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andrewgjohnson
I like the post but I think you're incorrect on cause. I don't think it's a
matter of how large or small the provider is; I think it's a matter of
empowering customer support reps (a rose by any other name: the people you
talk to on behalf of providers.)

When the rep has the ability to make decisions and give these small deals I
think they often will and your blog post is the reason why: it's not hard to
see that the discount was relatively minor (I imagine you're not breaking the
bank with your monthly GitHub bill) and by giving it to you their downside is
the small temporary discount while the upside is a nice blog post praising
them and lock-in loyalty for the rest of the life of your company.

Big company example would be Amazon. Every time I have an issue and email them
I am _amazed_ by how reasonable they are in the first email. No "here's a bad
offer and I'll go talk to 'my boss' about a better one only once you yell at
me", no "sorry you should have read the terms of service" but rather "here's
the obviously reasonable solution, have a nice day sir"

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sethbannon
That's a good point. The ability to talk with someone at a company who's
empowered to make such decisions might be what makes the difference here.

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astanway
Another big fan of Chris DeMayo here - extremely helpful NYC startup
accountant, highly recommend him for all.

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Ataub24
great post. I'm going to try to become customers of every single one.

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lubos
How is this a startup solidarity? I'm pretty sure all those companies couldn't
care less whether he is a startup or a plumber. They would react the same just
on the basis that he has asked nicely and they were confident he can get
through it. What other options did they have? Lose him as a customer?

