tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-83663187415268800902024-03-18T20:21:22.244-07:00Building a Company - One Virtual Brick at a TimeBarbara Tallenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06767543470611398012noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8366318741526880090.post-20814747614651910682018-03-03T10:36:00.003-08:002018-03-03T10:36:46.071-08:00Who needs a technical support department anyway?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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When I was CEO of BoldFish we sold our product to enterprises and we had
your average size technical support department. We had a well-run
technical support department and I had them report to the VP of
development. I thought (at the time) this was a good idea because it
provided the software development team with more insights as to how the
product was performing in the customers' environment. But other than
weekly meetings, the development team didn't have a strong understanding
of the customers and how they used the product. What I never considered was <b>taking support calls myself</b>.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbzfZVLourzA6hLeWgnImbcY9_-_z4obFnmZu1cZxrKRDV3q6MIP2gfVPLTfSqpq-I8YhEBFSW2xU7oLomPV510lIwTrJYs7qoGpNTsriosnVHr-uMvn8_3qv3T_YNSiFy8iOirhQM8rzc/s1600/headset.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="297" data-original-width="500" height="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbzfZVLourzA6hLeWgnImbcY9_-_z4obFnmZu1cZxrKRDV3q6MIP2gfVPLTfSqpq-I8YhEBFSW2xU7oLomPV510lIwTrJYs7qoGpNTsriosnVHr-uMvn8_3qv3T_YNSiFy8iOirhQM8rzc/s320/headset.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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I remember when we first started LiveBinders and I was working on the financial projections I was thinking that we were going to need a pretty large technical support department as our numbers grew - but I couldn't have been more wrong..<br />
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LiveBinders (an on-line version of the 3-ring binder for sharing and collaborating) is a bootstrapped startup and with <b>close to a million registered users</b> and a part-time technical support staff. Yes, there is <b>not a single full-time technical support person</b>. In fact, that million number only counts the creators of the binders, for each binder created there can be one to thousands of viewers of the binder and viewers also contact us when they have issues.<br />
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How is this possible? I would have never believed it if someone told me. But at LiveBinders the founders initially did, and still do, provide technical support.<br />
<h3>
Understanding the technical support process </h3>
If a technical support person has to deal with the same problem over and over, they write a standard response template and just deal with it. If it gets really bad, it eventually makes its way up the chain of command and at some point over to the software development department to be prioritized with a thousand other bugs and features. It often doesn't get fixed (along with 20 or so similar issues) and technical support becomes overwhelmed. So, the answer to this for most companies? Hire more support staff. Even better, hire an out-sourced technical support staff, which pushes your development team even further away from the customer.<br />
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If a software developer has to deal with the same problem over and over they will work nights and weekends to get the darn thing fixed and so that they can move on to more interesting things. If a founder has to deal with the same problem over and over, they are going to make sure it gets fixed and fast - everything else can wait. I can attest to this being a technical co-founder. I am not going to
waste any time answering the same question from multiple people when I can just change the software to work the way people expect.<br />
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Think about the difference that direct customer interaction makes. For example, when you are a front-end developer and you have to make your product accessible, is feels like just an irritating checklist of stuff that you must implement. When you are on the phone with a blind person listening to how they "see" your site it is a fascinating opportunity to explore a different viewpoint and make your site work for all populations. <br />
<h3>
Why do we still work in silos? </h3>
I've had the interesting opportunity to work with the a couple of startups recently that are trying to make teams more efficient and high-performing. One of the things that makes a team high-performing is ownership. It is interesting, when I think about high-performing teams I think about Trader Joe's. You are probably thinking, "What does a grocery store have to do with high-tech?" But if you go into any other grocery store, everyone has their specific job - cashier, bagger, stocking shelves, etc. and they seem to be doing their job in their sleep. At Trader Joe's the team rotates, they all do all of the jobs. As a result, they all have a sense of ownership for the success of the store. I'm impressed with the caliber of people working at my local Trader Joe's, these are smart people many whom have had their own businesses. The store attracts and retains a whole different type of employee.<br />
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The auto industry has moved away from the assembly line concept with great success, but we still do that in tech. There may be a concept of "agile" for the initial feature development, but after the development cycle the customer gets something that they may or may not work for them. Once a product goes out to the masses you find out so much more about how people expect to use it.<br />
<h3>
Why integrated technical support works for us</h3>
At LiveBinders we started out with the founders doing technical support as a necessity since we were bootstrapped. But at my next company I will definitely have a form of integrated technical support - even with investment capital. I believe that I learned critical insights by talking to customers who contacted us with questions or problems.<br />
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One reason that this works so well for LiveBinders is because our culture is "we care about your success." This is not a tag-line, it is how we run the business and it is our number one priority, so it is completely natural for us to all interact directly with our customers.<br />
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Would this work for all companies? No, probably not, and certainly
not with all developers. But if it were a requirement it could help you
attracted and retain a different type of developer - one who wants to
create a product that customers love.<br />
<h3>
Can you gradually implement a more integrated technical support? </h3>
You may not be ready to dump your technical support department, but you can start moving toward a more integrated form of technical support. You can ask for volunteers from product marketing, QA, and front-end development to spend a few hours a week answering support. You could use incentives like gift-certificates or dinners. For your front-end developers offer them the equivalent time for what they spend on support to work on whatever they want. I will bet that you will probably find them working on customer problems with that extra time.<br />
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My only caveat is to make sure that the person you are putting in front of your customers is engaged and willing and then give them a level of
training and some oversight to insure their success. <br />
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<br />Barbara Tallenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06767543470611398012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8366318741526880090.post-78802273084188727762018-01-23T12:53:00.003-08:002018-01-23T12:53:38.819-08:00CEO Interviews - Why are there so few good product managers?A while back <a href="https://mikeurbonas.com/" target="_blank">Mike Ubonas</a> and I were discussing the CEO perspective of product marketing and frankly why CEOs always seem to be bashing their product marketing/product management staff. This made me curious, so I went out and interviewed six CEOs on this topic (guaranteeing their anonymity.) Then Mike and I did an interview to discuss my results. I wasn't able to find the recorded interview, but Mike's write-up of it is here: <a href="http://Be a Dogged (Not Dog!) Product Marketer/Product Manager" target="_blank">Be a Dogged (Not Dog!) Product Marketer/Product Manager</a><br />
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I recently reread my notes from these interviews and I came up with another gem that wasn't completely included in the original interview. It has to do with credibility. The PM must <b>communicate a clear vision of a unique solution to a common customer problem</b>. So let's break this down into actionable steps:<br />
<ol>
<li>The PM must be talking to customers - this means not talking at customers but listening to their problems and struggles. No a single customer, but many customers. </li>
<li>The PM must summarize all these conversations and clearly articulate a problem with multiple examples from multiple customers.</li>
<li>The PM should ideally toss the problem around with engineering to come up with a unique and actionable solution. By involving engineering early, there is a much larger chance that engineering will actually be able to implement the solution. </li>
<li>The PM should be able to articulate the problem, the severity of the problem, the solution, and the value of the solution to management.</li>
</ol>
#4 is where you get everyone's buy in, but you can't do it without credibility. Credibility is only established by performing steps 1-3 completely. <br />
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#3 above leads me to another point that is a whole separate blog post. I have been a CEO, a product manager, and a developer and as such I have a very unique perspective on how product marketing and product development can more successfully work together. But I will save that one for next time! Barbara Tallenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06767543470611398012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8366318741526880090.post-54554624317260837712018-01-10T11:51:00.000-08:002018-01-10T11:55:03.219-08:00Making Board Meetings ProductiveI recently ran across an email that I had sent my staff in a previous company on how I like to run board meetings. I was reminded that this format made for very productive board meetings and good engagement with both the staff and the board, so I thought it was worth sharing. Here is that note to my staff:<br />
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<blockquote>
Since we have a couple fairly new people in the estaff group, I'd like to review the way I like to handle board meetings
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<ul>
<li>
Dry run - We have a dry run on Monday or Tuesday before the board meeting, so that we know what everyone is saying and so that we are consistent.
</li>
<li>
Presentations -The completed presentations and handouts are due to me by Wed afternoon so that they can be sent to the board Wed evening. This includes all handouts. Nothing gets handed out at the board meeting that we haven't discussed in advance. Each presentation should consist of accomplishments for the month and plans for next month. Please include the goals from last month to show the progress.
</li>
<li>
No surprises -If we have significant news (good or bad) as far as sales or schedule slips or anything, we notify the board before the board meeting. This gives them time to digest the information and bring to the board meeting their thoughts and suggestions on the matter.
</li>
<li>
Participants - You are encouraged bring in members of your staff to present during times of focus on their area. For example, when we were launching a new product, you may want to bring in the Marcom manager to discuss the launch.
</li>
</ul>
These board meetings are as much for us as they are for the board. They help us focus and organize our thoughts in a way that can be communicated not just to the board, but also within our own departments and to the rest of the company. We are extremely fortunate that we have an excellent board that offers useful insights from the other companies that they are involved with, so please take advantage of this by asking them questions as well.
Thanks!
<br />
Barbara
</blockquote>
Now it did help that I had a fabulous board, but I believe this level of preparation and organization made the meetings both productive and efficient.. Barbara Tallenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06767543470611398012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8366318741526880090.post-85197890377075694982014-04-25T13:49:00.002-07:002014-04-25T13:49:45.918-07:00Due Diligence PackageWhether you are raising a round of funding or looking at a potential acquirer, the due diligence process can be either smooth sailing or extremely painful. It depends upon how prepared you are and just how deep your investors want to go.<br />
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I know I have personally been through an extremely painful due diligence process when I sold a company to a public company. But I know it could have been easier if I were better prepared.<br />
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I recently sat in a session run by Gwen Edwards (an angel investor and representative of Golden Seeds) where she talked about how wonderful it was when someone showed up at their pitch with their due diligence package already prepared. This made me want to collaborate with Gwen on the contents of a good due diligence package. We started a list on a google doc and then I was inspired to create this LiveBinder as a template package from that work:<br />
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<div style="background-image: url(http://www.livebinders.com/images/icons/binder_icon.png); background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; height: 78px; margin-top: 4px; width: 75px;">
<a href="http://www.livebinders.com/play/play?id=1308735"> <img src="http://www.livebinders.com/media/get_thumb/Nzg4MTI1NA==" style="border: 0px; height: 60px; margin: 14px 0px 0px 13px; padding: 0px; width: 60px;" /> </a> </div>
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<a href="http://www.livebinders.com/play/play?id=1308735">Due Diligence Package Template</a><br />
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I hope this effort of ours makes it a little easier for both CEOs and investors to get through this processs!Barbara Tallenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06767543470611398012noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8366318741526880090.post-14263745727200534552013-03-19T13:37:00.000-07:002014-04-25T14:19:37.342-07:00Inspiration from a Pitbull<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7grVVnLiHpUaQrdfAjdH-rCMCfKb0rnSMTwyiA7HjGyyri3RVSJtYGKZZO9ryly-8IU7Eu1Bu52zshmFX3qUbYjkmr5Xn_yW-BTM67LYTShBltH5gQ31gfmHdWFAyVyvItYtoEkaDPfKE/s1600/chewy_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7grVVnLiHpUaQrdfAjdH-rCMCfKb0rnSMTwyiA7HjGyyri3RVSJtYGKZZO9ryly-8IU7Eu1Bu52zshmFX3qUbYjkmr5Xn_yW-BTM67LYTShBltH5gQ31gfmHdWFAyVyvItYtoEkaDPfKE/s200/chewy_1.jpg" height="200" width="166" /></a> When you are working in a start-up the hours are long, you have a tiny budget, and progress is often slower than you want it to be. When I feel down or frustrated, I like to seek inspiration from others. I find great enjoyment in watching others who have overcome tremendous obstacles and it makes me feel that anything is possible.<br />
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My newest source of inspiration comes from my latest house-hold addition, a 10 month old pit bull. I know what immediately comes to your mind - tenacity, strength, and aggressiveness. But none of those are the reasons why Chewy is my inspiration.<br />
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Chewy came from the pound in San Luis Obispo. He was found as a stray. His tail is mangled and broken, so he can't really wag it. He had an abscessed tooth that had to be extracted and has scars on his legs. I don't know what the young dog has been through, but it doesn't look like he had an easy start to his life. Whatever scared his body however, took absolutely no toll on his spirit. Chewy loves everyone. Even our grumpy older dog gives in to Chewy's insistence on playing. Chewy was often used at the humane society to test new dogs to see if they would get along with others. Chewy isn't bothered by even the most aggressive dogs. He happily tries to get them to play and then leaves them alone if they growl or become aggressive. But he never takes it personally. He occasionally gets scolded for chewing on things, but he comes right back with a soft poke of his nose to let me know that he was just having fun.<br />
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Everyday I try to be more like Chewy. I try to find good in everyone, I try to enjoy the simple things that often fill my days, and I try to not let the grumpy dogs bring me down.Barbara Tallenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06767543470611398012noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8366318741526880090.post-33188570990269686132013-01-17T14:39:00.001-08:002013-01-17T14:39:13.636-08:00Customer Care Package<p>I was participating in the #custserv chat the other night. It is so stimulating to share ideas with others who make customer satisfaction their priority! But it started me thinking about how I can help make our customers more successful - right from the start. We have so many tools available to help them get started, but each person learns in their own special way. Do I point them at video tutorials, the help page, or the one page cheat sheet? When do I introduce them to the Tips and Tricks binder that we put together that helps them take our product to the next level?</p>
<p>I turned to the one product that I know can help me organize and share information better than any other - LiveBinders! (Ok, I know, I really should have thought of this before.) I decided to create a "Customer Care Package". It has tabs for everything you need to get started and everything you need to become an expert. The customer can pick whether they want to watch video tutorials or just scan the help page. It is also easy to update as I find more excellent getting started tools that our customers seem to just create on their own. </p>
<p>We decided that will be emailed out as part of the welcome message, instead of the list of links that we currently send out when someone signs up.</p>
<div style="width:75px; height:78px; background-image:url(http://www.livebinders.com/images/binder_icon.gif); border:0px; margin-top:4px; background-repeat: no-repeat"> <a href="http://www.livebinders.com/play/play?id=749216"> <img src="http://www.livebinders.com/media/get_thumb/NDE5MDUyNQ==" style="width:60px; height:60px; border:0px; padding:0px;margin:11px 0px 0px 13px;" /> </a> </div> <div><a href="http://www.livebinders.com/play/play?id=749216">LiveBinders Customer Care Package</a><br /></div>
<p>How do you help your customers get started?</p>Barbara Tallenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06767543470611398012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8366318741526880090.post-56675825199425057902012-08-15T17:11:00.000-07:002014-04-25T14:23:02.115-07:00Visual CommunicationIn my years as a CEO and then in my time coaching entrepreneurs at Astia, I can't tell you how many truly horrible PowerPoint presentations I have seen. I just want to scream, "Hey everyone we are in the 21st century - <b>visual communication is a fundamental skill</b>!"<br />
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The fundamentals of visual communication should be taught in every high school across the country. We communicate today through both language and pictures. If you haven't learned these skills by the time you graduate college, please take a little time to teach yourself. I'm not saying everyone needs to be a graphic designer. (Though I do think more people may should hire them.) But just some fundamental layout skills will go a long way to helping your communication with prospective <b>employers, investors, and the media</b>.<br />
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As I coach entrepreneurs I invariably find myself having to teach them the basics of graphics design, which is not the best use of my time or theirs. But it is important for their success. We finally have some amazing tools that let us communicate more effectively than ever before, but for the <b>visually uneducated</b> it actually hinders their communication. A poorly designed slide or graphic confuses the audience and distracts from the message.<br />
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Am I going to see your presentation? You can help me keep my blood pressure low and keep your audience attention high by reviewing these resources before you create your presentation:<br />
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Great LiveBinder collection of websites on the subject: <br />
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<div style="width:75px; height:78px; background-image:url(http://www.livebinders.com/images/icons/binder_icon.png); border:0px; margin-top:6px; background-repeat: no-repeat"> <a href="http://www.livebinders.com/play/play?id=58545"> </a> </div> <div><a href="http://www.livebinders.com/play/play?id=58545">Principles of Graphic Design</a><br /></div>
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Some great books on the subject: <br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1566091594/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1566091594&linkCode=as2&tag=infrasystems-20">The Non-Designer's Design Book: Design and Typographic Principles for the Visual Novice</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=infrasystems-20&l=as2&o=1&a=1566091594" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />
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<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0240812816/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0240812816&linkCode=as2&tag=infrasystems-20">White Space is Not Your Enemy: A Beginner's Guide to Communicating Visually through Graphic, Web and Multimedia Design</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=infrasystems-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0240812816" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />
Barbara Tallenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06767543470611398012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8366318741526880090.post-6014525636028233942012-06-05T17:10:00.000-07:002012-06-05T17:10:26.411-07:00Twitter as a Market Research Tool<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFZsDmsd5eXb2HlnBJqggNz5r-PU07vPyRoqTxYiYGps5VTySD1M81M92Vzrq8YdQ2V__lHTUTeq6XaWiHInILo_a3oOPVrC7_D7cItis5eBqisIQyJgG8yvEFnfI5JB7RQoDWIANeNwij/s1600/twitter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="127" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFZsDmsd5eXb2HlnBJqggNz5r-PU07vPyRoqTxYiYGps5VTySD1M81M92Vzrq8YdQ2V__lHTUTeq6XaWiHInILo_a3oOPVrC7_D7cItis5eBqisIQyJgG8yvEFnfI5JB7RQoDWIANeNwij/s200/twitter.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
So much has been written about Twitter as a marketing tool that I don't want to spend a lot of time on that in this post. But I'll be the first to admit that I love twitter for interacting with our customers every day. We learn so much by watching what they are sharing about our product and where they would like to see improvements. We also get to learn great things about why it doesn't work for some people and why others are such incredible fans.<br />
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What I haven't seen written up however, is what a fabulous market research tool Twitter can be. When we first decided to jump into the educational market, I knew very little about that space. So I decided to start following interesting educators on Twitter. At first none of them followed me back, but I didn't care about that because my motive was to learn more about them. I was blown away by the type of information that sped my way 140 characters at a time. Incredibly valuable tidbits such as:<br />
<ul>
<li>Which upcoming conferences were interesting </li>
<li>What was interesting at any given conferences </li>
<li>What was going on for teachers at any point in the school year </li>
<li>What were their biggest frustrations </li>
<li>How technology was having an impact on their professional lives - both positive and negative </li>
</ul>
This is the type of information that market research folks would take months to accumulate and here it was flying at me for free! <br />
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After a month or so I could tell you so much about the educational twitter community. I even had tweets memorized and would quote them to anyone who would listen. I knew which educational blogs were most respected. I knew who the leaders were in the community. I found out who would share new cool technology first (the true early adopters), but also who would really dig in and learn something and share more detailed and nuanced information about new tools. I wanted to reach both, but I knew that second group would be the most valuable.<br />
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Once I started tweeting, I was able to create tweets that would be truly useful to my handful of followers. But that handful starting re-tweeting and my following grew quite quickly. Then twitter morphed for me from a pure market research tool to a customer communication tool. Even today, a couple of years later, my favorite thing to do is to share fun things with our twitter community. I've only met in person a small handful of them and yet I feel like they are our friends and I can have (short!) conversations with them and really learn from their advice.<br />
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Not all target markets are as active on twitter as the educators, but I would still highly recommend it to anyone trying to learn a new market, it is fast, easy, and free!Barbara Tallenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06767543470611398012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8366318741526880090.post-13101781021460596612012-02-21T20:51:00.001-08:002013-05-16T07:23:26.669-07:00The Changing Face of PRI have been marketing companies since before the internet (can you even imagine what that was like?) But one of the most interesting evolutions has been the changing face of PR. I remember, in the old days, when you would do a product launch. Here is how it would go:<br />
<ol>
<li>Brief the analysts </li>
<li>Brief the monthly press </li>
<li>Brief the weekly press </li>
<li>Brief the daily press </li>
<li>Announce to your customers </li>
</ol>
With that last little bit, your customers would be thrilled and start planning their upgrades. <br />
Wow, was that old-school or what?<br />
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My current company has never done a single press release. But since we now have more users than any of my previous companies, I started to think about how to announce our latest release in order to generate the most buzz. <br />
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My dear friend, Kaye McKinzie, who is always on top of all things PR, introduced me to <a href="http://pitchengine.com/" target="_blank">PitchEngine</a>. PitchEngine is so cool - you build your pitch with pictures and videos, set your announcement date, and hope you draw the crowds. I love this concept! <br />
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But back to reality for a minute. With hundreds of thousands of users and people that you don't even know teaching classes on your product every week, you just can't spring a release on them. I'm sorry, but analysts are no longer #1. In fact, I even wonder how important the press is at this point? We feel a need to let our customers know about the changes first. What if someone is teaching a class and the interface changes the next day? How will they feel about our company? What will they tweet about that experience? We spend so much time in our community and understanding their needs and desires. When we create something for them, shouldn't they be the first to know?<br />
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So shouldn't industry analysts and press just be following our customers? If they get the news from them, instead of us, isn't it in a more relevant context? Our customers write amazing blog posts, create YouTube video commercials about us, and build on-line presentations that will knock your socks off. They don't have the reach of the mainstream press but they have considerably more trust from their audience.<br />
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If I pay a PR agency tens of thousands of dollars a month, what will they bring us? I have worked with some fabulous PR agencies and I know the spikes in traffic that they can create, but is that how you build a sustainable business today? If I announce to our customer community first, instead of the movers and shakers, will the press eventually find us? Do I care if they do or don't when our fabulous community is growing exponentially just by word of mouth on Twitter and Facebook?<br />
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Share your thoughts with me. Let me know what you are doing for PR 2.0.Barbara Tallenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06767543470611398012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8366318741526880090.post-9785299378340603302011-12-07T20:27:00.000-08:002017-12-23T13:23:46.887-08:00The Leanest Startup<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW_wwBOtC8m7fjcSDv7dY2WCqx4vdTKFzrmGuQpaqeHei3nyEnaCbn9fRIOlKf2LZiTY5UCxYirhyMm0MBa0Fy3bExz9Nmh3tngw7rR-ktA1DJUs0Q3a0XVPwtHKY0wd3qw8mAwqpHGd4h/s1600/lean_start_up.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear:right; float:right; margin-left:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="225" width="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW_wwBOtC8m7fjcSDv7dY2WCqx4vdTKFzrmGuQpaqeHei3nyEnaCbn9fRIOlKf2LZiTY5UCxYirhyMm0MBa0Fy3bExz9Nmh3tngw7rR-ktA1DJUs0Q3a0XVPwtHKY0wd3qw8mAwqpHGd4h/s320/lean_start_up.jpg"></a></div>
I have been reading <a href="http://www.startuplessonslearned.com/" target="_blank">Eric Ries'</a> book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Lean-Startup-Entrepreneurs-Continuous-Innovation/dp/0307887898/infrasystems-20" target="_blank">The Lean Startup</a>. At first glance on the bookshelves, I didn't think the book was relevant to me because, after all, LiveBinders is the leanest start-up on the face of the planet. I didn't think Mr. Ries could teach me anything about running with the absolute minimum capital. But it turns out the title of the book is quite misleading. The book isn't about running a capital-constrained start-up (though the preservation of capital is a happy result of his methodology.) <br />
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His book is all about finding out if your product will fly in the market before you spend enormous resources to bring the product to market. This is rather a simple concept that I wrote about well over ten years ago in my article: <a href="http://www.infrasystems.com/whentorelease.html" target="_blank">When to Release a Software Product</a>.<br />
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But Eric takes this concept to the next level by creating a process that effectively tests ideas and assumptions long before the product is out in the market. He also provides metrics that founders and investors can use to measure their real progress in the market.<br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Lean-Startup-Entrepreneurs-Continuous-Innovation/dp/0307887898/infrasystems-20">The book</a> has made an impression on me. I'm a metrics driven person who loves statistics. But he adeptly made me dig deeper by labeling my fabulous growth stats (users, page views, visitors, etc.) as "vanity metrics". <br />
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He spends a lot of time showing you how to engage your customers early with the product. At LiveBinders we have always loved engaging our customers in discussions on product ideas. But this book has made me look at closer at the statistics and helped me create a deeper understanding of what we are doing right and what we are doing wrong.<br />
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Eric, if you are listening, thank you! You have me digging deep into our real metrics to understand exactly how we are doing in the market. <br />
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If you haven't picked up this book yet, it is time. If can't convince you to pick up this book, maybe you can get religion through this video:<br />
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<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2mLrNHSn-yc" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>Barbara Tallenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06767543470611398012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8366318741526880090.post-4550873178564210122011-12-01T12:09:00.000-08:002011-12-01T12:09:40.216-08:00A Free Way to Promote Yourself or Your Company at ConferencesWe have been watching some really smart consultants use LiveBinders as a way to promote themselves and their businesses. But this one really got my attention! It is always so hard to get attention at a conference. Advertising costs a fortune and is only moderately effective. But this is a simple, free way to get yourself noticed before, during, and after the conference. I created a quick video to explain:<br />
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<iframe width="480" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/QZwa5fg7AqQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>Barbara Tallenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06767543470611398012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8366318741526880090.post-68498962951919983722011-11-28T20:24:00.000-08:002011-12-01T18:57:32.817-08:00Start-ups are Slow!My husband and I walked down to the local Starbucks this morning. This is a typical morning in Silicon Valley. I'm waiting outside the Starbucks with the dog (I don't think they allow either one of us in.) A neighbor stops to talk, "Hey, I know you." Me, "Oh yes, the kids were in softball together." He says, "How is your start-up working out?" I say, "Great! We are growing like crazy each month. How is your start-up working out?" (Ok, so this is Silicon Valley - doesn't everyone have a start-up?) He says, "Yes, we are still moving along, though I would like it to grow faster." Me, "Yep, isn't that always the case with start-ups?"<br />
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It is true, we love the stories about over-night successes, but did those ever really happen? How many of those do you know? Here is the dirty little secret - start-ups are a slough. I didn't say that they were not fun. In some ways, each day is like opening up a birthday present. I love those emails and tweets from people who say, "I love your product!" Every day they infuse me with energy and enthusiasm. But then there are those emails that stop my heart, "I just lost a full day's worth of work." I panic. I feel like a complete amateur. I think about how that customer must feel about us, and our product, and the first thing I do is apologize profusely. At LiveBinders we take every comment and every problem to heart. We really sweat the small stuff and do whatever we can to make things right for that customer. <br />
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Most days at a start-up are exhausting and exhilarating. You are riding a roller coaster every day. Are you ready to do this for 2 years? How about 10 years? I think all entrepreneurs, when we start these companies, think "This is the grandest idea around. We will be one of those overnight successes." But when you are not, can you keep going? Even the grandest idea often needs refining, and readjusting based on feedback and that takes time. Your bank account gets thin and your kids' college fund goes lacking. When you add up the sacrifice it is huge part of your life.<br />
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I find I must turn to a quote from Bob Parsons, the founder of Go Daddy, on this subject (like him or not, he has some solid advice) - "When you are ready to quit, you are closer than you think." This thought has brought me through some dark days.<br />
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So to all of you out there working away at your start-ups, I will leave you with this thought: You ARE closer than you think.Barbara Tallenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06767543470611398012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8366318741526880090.post-91882397634785270282011-11-18T20:13:00.000-08:002011-11-28T20:58:55.383-08:00Product Positioning - A Lesson from a 9-year-oldI’ve spent well over 20 years in marketing. I’ve positioned so many products in the market that I’ve lost count. I’ve gathered the best resources on the web and written many of my own, but I have to admit that my best lesson in positioning came from my 9-year-old son. Here is a recent conversation:<br />
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Sandor: "Mom, I need a 50 cent chore."<br />
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Me: (I’m thinking great! I have this plant that was in my pond in its plastic pot, but it grew well beyond its pot so that it was twice the size of the pot.) "Okay, Sandor, see that plant that I pulled out of the pond? All those roots need to be cut off so that we can get that plastic pot out of there and put the rest in the compost." (I’m thinking this will keep him busy for at least an hour.)<br />
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Sandor: (Thinks for 20 seconds) "Okay!"<br />
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Me: (Very suspicious about him signing up for this much work for a mere $0.50) "Are you sure?"<br />
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Sandor: "Yep!" (I leave the room)<br />
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Sandor: "Alex! I get to perform surgery on a plant, this is so cool – would you like to try it first?"<br />
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Alex is Sandor's older sister.<br />
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Needless to say Alex did most of the work and Sandor got the 50 cents.<br />
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Okay, so in 20 seconds, he analyzed his target market (Alex) and found a message (surgery) that would appeal to her, then he added sense of urgency (try it first), threw in emotion (so cool) and was able to monetize (50 cents) the transaction.<br />
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I sure wish I could position a product that quickly. But, if you are like me and can’t do this as quickly as Sandor, you may want to use some of the resources that I have discovered on the web to help you position a product. Click on the binder below to view the sites:<br />
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<div style="width:75px; height:78px; background-image:url(http://www.livebinders.com/images/binder_icon.gif); border:0px; margin-top:4px; background-repeat: no-repeat"><a href="http://livebinders.com/play/play_or_edit?id=454"> <img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/109/316811582_d37f3c592c_s.jpg" style="width:60px; height:60px; border:0px; padding:0px;margin:11px 0px 0px 13px;" /> </a> </div><div><a href="http://livebinders.com/play/play_or_edit?id=454">Product Positioning</a><br />
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