User reaction. When we introduced our premium service (this we did with the consent of our power users) after almost one year of giving free service, many that joined new, wrote hate mails saying how everything in the internet should be free. That's when we decided this has to be subtle. The basic service is free. And, when a user clicks to share a track privately or choose higher bitrate streaming, we prompt him/her to upgrade cos those are some of the premium features in Muziboo.
After experiencing the service, users become comfortable and also know exactly why we are better than the lot of other free services.
In B2C subtlety in this matter helps. But you can't do that in B2B. Potential customers evaluate your service based on the pricing.
'Plans & Pricing' is a very B2B expectation where customers come with the idea of paying for a service. In a B2C service users only come with the expectation of trying out a service and if they comfortable pay for premium services. So, we show this page only after a user creates an account.
Users can actually be put off seeing a 'Plans n pricing' page especially for a service like Muziboo.
Typically in a B2C business, users don't care much to know how long you have existed or how long you will exist. If you shut shop, they switch to using another free service.
But that's not the case in B2B. I do agree that B2B is more lucrative. But, how do you convey to your potential customers that your service is here to stay. Businesses are not comfortable moving from one service to another. And, with so many start ups dying fast or pivoting fast, what's the best way for a service to build trust with its potential customers?
@pbreit Most companies (not going to name names) know involving people or an entire team is what is needed to deliver great support but put in efforts to cap usage in that direction to make more money(which is okay). The lie here is how they claim they are by what they are doing helping their customers offer awesome support. Our contention is there are more sensible ways to monetize and we have no qualms calling a lie a lie.
It's tough to use real data because it is subjective. All I am saying is one should at-least give oneself a chance to find out what that threshold is. The books that I recommended in that post helps in that. Also, the Pivotal tracker suggestion works for me. Probably it will work for others too. But, do people that mindlessly work even know it is necessary?
In case the founder managed to hire you, I would say the founder is much smarter because he could hire the smartest which makes the founder the smartest in the room.
@jevinskie I can so relate to you! It was such a pleasure talking to him. The fantastic part was knowing that his team actually had fun all the while. It was like they never had a drab moment:)
Yeah, what works for one doesn't work for another. I hate people dwelling on my mistakes. It is not like I can't see those, and need to be told every time I make one. I would want my partner to believe that I am as aware and I am working towards being better. Nobody wants to remain clumsy!
"Anyway, it irks me when people have difficulty doing things that seem trivial to me. It irks me precisely because I don't think I'm better than them, and thus am confounded as to why they seem to have more difficulty." - You sound like my husband.
I keep dropping things and I keep forgetting stuff. But, he getting irked only makes things worse for me; I get super-conscious and nervous and end up blundering more. I manage everything smooth when I can tell myself that how he feels doesn't matter.
I also have a problem with the way mathematics is taught currently where the student is more adept at the mechanics than the philosophy of mathematics. If anybody is attempting to change that, my best wishes. I don't necessarily have a problem with the current system of notations. It is just the method of teaching that lacks.
Just started with 'What is Mathematics' by Courant and I am totally hooked on. He talks about everything from why we chose to adopt the decimal system to why pi was needed to solve certain problems.
As Hammock says, the author has to be clear about defining the problem itself. Is it mathematics as it is represented today which is lacking or the method of teaching which is lacking
Non-savvy users usually look for a FAQ or a 'Contact us' page in case they have questions about the service. You can have a Get Satisfaction widget too for the savvy ones to offer feedback.
There are some real interesting stats :)