1. Seek out a case study, where we observe someone else executing a project in impressive fashion.
2. Inspired, we identify parallels between their journey and ours.
3. We snap into action, starting a similar project of our own. We bridge the gap between that initial case study and our final product by leveraging our knowledge, skills, experience, and creativity.

In other words, the only way we truly advance in our craft is by using a combination of consumption and action. The consumption part is only the first half of the lesson. We don’t truly learn until we take action, apply the ideas we picked up from observing others, and adapt them in our own way. Only when we see the results of our own actions, in our own context, have we truly learned a learned a lesson that will stick.

This concept has been at top of my mind for some time now (this is not my first attempt at writing about it).

Finally, Seth Godin expressed this concept in a much more succinct and insightful way than I ever could:

You are surrounded by examples and lessons and case studies that clearly aren’t exactly about your project. There’s never been a book written precisely about the situation you are facing right now, either. Perhaps one day they will publish, “Marketing Low-Cost Coaching Services to Small Businesses Specializing in Graphic Design in the Upper Peninsula for Dummies” but don’t hold your breath.

The post From Case Studies to Action appeared first on CasJam.

So after putting all the pieces together and figuring it all out, I have documented in detail the process of setting up a new podcast.  Of course, I used SweetProcess to create the procedure and I made it public for anyone to see and use:

Process For Setting Up a New Podcast

I had a few goals when setting up this podcast:

• It has to have both an audio and video version of the podcast
• WordPress will be used to publish new episodes
• It’s got to be listed in the iTunes podcast directory (otherwise, why bother?)
• It also needs to go out on YouTube, for maximum exposure / search optimization
• It’d be nice to track some statistics (listens, downloads, subscribes, etc.)

So in the procedure, I cover all of the steps necessary to set up everything listed above.  There are probably some optimizations and things that true experts would do differently.  If you know of any, please share here in the comments.  But this is what I have found works for getting a new podcast launched.

In case you were wondering, the podcast I set up was for the new SweetProcess podcast, hosted by my co-founder Owen.  I then followed the same procedure to set up another podcast for Restaurant Engine (a mini-podcast if you will).

And I might have something new brewing in the realm of podcasting coming down the pike… Haven’t discussed it much publicly but subscribers (below) will hear more about it soon.

The post How to Setup a New Podcast (Step-by-Step Instructions) appeared first on CasJam.

And man, do I feel better – both physically and mentally. That certainly has a positive impact on my work and my business.

…

As I’ve been exploring new directions in my businesses, I’ve been thinking a lot about how I choose to spend my time at work.

What types of projects should I take on? Which business ventures are worth pursuing? Which meetings and calls should I take? What should I do today?

Everything falls into one of two categories:

• Production Tasks: Things that produce a known result right now.
• Opportunity Tasks: Things that have unpredictable results, but put me in a position for opportunity.

Production Tasks are easy. Build a new feature; Write an email; Make a sales call; Field support requests. These types of things are necessary to keep my businesses running day-to-day.

Opportunity Tasks are harder because they are seemingly less important right now. They can also take me out of my comfort zone. No wonder most people put them off or ignore them altogether.

Opportunity Tasks would include things like writing a personal blog post, hosting a podcast, submitting a guest article on another blog, attending or speaking at a conference or meetup, writing a book… Anything that puts yourself out there.

Every Opportunity Task runs the risk of turning out to be a flop.  A waste of valuable time.  But the potential benefits of Opportunity Tasks outweigh all of the risks.

If I’m investing time in putting myself out there, I’m opening the door to opportunities — especially those that can’t be predicted.  Building an audience, bringing a community together, teaching, and seeking feedback — publicly… As I listen to the stories of countless entrepreneurs, the most successful ones tend to start out by doing things that positioned themselves for opportunities later.

I loved this exchange in Louis C.K.’s recent NYTimes interview:

Does it matter that what you’ve achieved, with your online special and your tour can’t be replicated by other performers who don’t have the visibility or fan base that you do?

Why do you think those people don’t have the same resources that I have, the same visibility or relationship? What’s different between me and them?

You have the platform. You have the level of recognition.

So why do I have the platform and the recognition?

At this point you’ve put in the time.

There you go. There’s no way around that. There’s people that say: “It’s not fair. You have all that stuff.” I wasn’t born with it. It was a horrible process to get to this. It took me my whole life. If you’re new at this — and by “new at it,” I mean 15 years in, or even 20 — you’re just starting to get traction. Young musicians believe they should be able to throw a band together and be famous, and anything that’s in their way is unfair and evil. What are you, in your 20s, you picked up a guitar? Give it a minute.

The Alternative?

Keep putting off the blog/podcast/book for another day.  Spend all my time hammering through whatever’s on my plate right now.  Hustle and claw for every drop of traffic and every customer.  This approach works, but it’s always an up-hill climb.

A healthier approach

Invest more time in Opportunity Tasks and prioritize them equally or higher than Production Tasks.  Keep building and positioning my business for whatever is coming down the pike next month, next year, or later.  When something does come around, building the platform, the audience, the community, the contacts, is what will propel it forward and with much easier success than grinding it out quietly, alone.

Gotta get those vegetables.

The post Engineering Opportunities appeared first on CasJam.

I enjoy consuming information about startups, bootstrapping, marketing, and product design just as much as the next guy.  It’s inspiring.  It’s energizing.  It grabs my attention and my interest.  But there is a point at which these info products can turn against us.

If we’re not careful, these informational “guides” can give us a false sense of progress.

Spending an afternoon taking notes about an online course might make us feel like we’re being productive, but in reality nothing is getting done.  Reading a business book might feel like we’re educating and empowering ourselves, but in reality, we haven’t learned anything of real value to our business.

Less reading.  More doing.

The only way to make progress and the only way to learn is to take action.  Real action.  Every.  Single.  Day.  If you’re not doing something — sketching, coding, sending an email, talking to customers, making a sale — then you’re not moving forward and you’re not learning.

I used to think that all I needed was a roadmap.  I figured it’s just a matter of picking the right courses, ebooks, webinars and books to read, and following the steps outlined in the materials.  Then I’d be shuttled strait to my end goal of building a successful bootstrapped startup.

But I learned nothing could be further from the truth.  Once I got to work, got my hands dirty, and started taking action, I realized that learning about it is a completely different thing than actually doing it.

When watching a Mixergy interview or course, I see how things worked out for that person.  But that doesn’t mean it will work out the same way for me.  In all likelihood, it won’t.

My product is completely different than theirs.  I’m pitching a different value proposition to a different market at a different time.  I have access to different tools.  My team and I have a different composition of skills.  We come from different backgrounds.  There will always be unforeseen hurdles — lots of them — which can never be outlined in any course or book.

The only way to uncover them and learn how to navigate them is to get in there and take action.  Every.  Single.  Day.

Maybe I’ll end up with the result promised in the title of the course or book.  But the way I’ll get there will be my own.  No way around that.

I couldn’t agree more with this quote from Dan Andrews in last week’s Lifestyle Business Podcast:

“It’s tempting to follow these ‘magic bullet guru solutions’ like ‘I made 5 million dollars by doing X’, then you go do X and get screwed.  What worked for him won’t necessarily work for you.  For the big decisions in your business, you have to trust your gut.“

The value of information products

I’m using the term information product loosely here.  I’m not just talking about all of those courses sold using an endlessly long sales page with a low low price of $197.  I’m including regular blogs, interviews, books, ebooks, webinars… all of it.

The key is to understand what all of this information is good for but also what it isn’t.

Information products provide a starting point.  They can provide a spark of inspiration, which you can use for motivation to get to work.

Information products provide examples of how something might be done.  But no matter how detailed it may come across, there are always gaps that must be filled in by you.  And you don’t realize how big those gaps really are until you’re in it.

They say the real purpose of completing our primary and secondary education is to “learn how to learn”.  I don’t remember a thing about 10th grade trigonometry, but thanks to that education I’m able to use my brain in certain ways today.

If the value of schooling was to learn how to learn, then the value of our information products today is to learn what to learn.  They give us a good starting point, and maybe some touch points between point A and point B, but the real stuff, the good stuff, the stuff that makes or breaks our startups, is learned in the trenches, by making mistakes, getting creative, and taking action.  Doing it.

The post Too Much Information appeared first on CasJam.

But I think I found the solution.  It’s about turning metrics into stories.

So I started a new blog.  I call it my business journal.  And no, you’re not allowed to read it

My business journal is where I write monthly posts, only to be read by myself.  I probably won’t even really read them.  Just the process of writing them is what helps me thoroughly process my thoughts and figure out the bigger picture.

These posts are essentially monthly reports for Restaurant Engine and Hotel Propeller.  They start by running through the handful of key metrics that I track:

• Number of customers, new trials, and cancellations
• Sources of customer signups
• Traffic and traffic sources
• Email opt-ins and best performing email campaigns
• Performance of this month’s blog posts

I closely compare this month to the previous month and see what changed.  I write down — as if I’m telling a story — what happened in the past month that caused those changes.

I also describe a few experiments I plan to run for the upcoming month.  I decide on those experiments based on learnings I picked up from the story of the past month.  And I list the metrics I will track to determine the success/failure of the experiments.

For me, when I write things down in story form, the data finally makes sense.  It becomes actionable, because I know where I want the story to go next month.

Big thanks to Dan Norris for doing is monthly stats reports on his (amazing) Inform.ly blog.  He takes a deep-dive into his stats, tells the stories that go with them, and shares it all publicly.  It’s truly impressive.  These were a big inspiration for me to start my monthly reports …I’m just not inspired enough to share the goods in public, sorry

The post Turning Metrics Analysis into Story Telling appeared first on CasJam.

Does this provide value?

The only way a SaaS (software as a service) business can sustain itself, is if it delivers value.  So what makes something valuable?

It has to satisfy a real need (a.k.a. “pain point”).  But does this alone make it valuable?  No.

It has to have an acceptable price tag in the eyes of the customer.  Does this alone make it valuable?  No.

BOTH must be true in order to deliver value.

It can perfectly satisfy a real need, but if the need isn’t pressing enough to justify the price tag, there is no value.  No business.

The price can be super low, or even free, but if a need doesn’t exist, or if there is a need but this doesn’t satisfy it, then there is no value.  No business.

The goal of any SaaS business is to deliver value to as many people as possible.

Putting Myself In The Value Mindset

The best way I know how to truly understand what makes a SaaS product valuable is to look at those that I happily pay for every month (or year).  You’ll find my list of SaaS subscriptions below.

But what I really want to know is what your list looks like:  Which SaaS apps are you paying for and why?  Tell me in the comments below, or better yet — expand on this topic on your blog and tweet me the link

Here’s my list:

SaaS Products That Deliver Value (for me):

FreshBooks – $12/month – Been a customer for over 5 years.  Even though I stopped doing client work and stopped using their invoicing features, I still find value in their expense tracking and reporting features.

WPEngine – $99/month – Web hosting provider for Restaurant Engine and Hotel Propeller.  I need my sites running fast and reliably.  Value delivered.

Gravity Forms – $199/year – Arguably the most valuable product available for WordPress besides WordPress itself.  Gravity does so much more than just contact forms.

Mixergy Premium – $25/month – I’m not a big spender on educational stuff online, but this is the big exception.  I get 2 things of value from Mixergy:  1) Tactics and tips for running specific parts of my business and 2) Inspiration and motivation learning from those are doing it (not just teaching it).

Buffer – $10/month (x2) – For spreading tweets throughout the day.  I do all of my feed reading in the morning, then buffer the articles I read into my tweet stream the rest of the day.  I also use it for content marketing on both Restaurant Engine & Hotel Propeller (which is why I pay for 2 buffer accounts).

Followup.cc – $10/month – I just hit the limit on the free plan and upgraded immediately (no brainer).  This basically serves as my CRM, reminding me when to follow up with people.  Not only for sales leads but for all sorts of important self-reminders.  I use it a ton.

Inform.ly – $9/month (beta) – I’ve been a paying beta tester (and really like!) this app for the past few months.  They deliver 2 very valuable things for me:  1)  Daily email reports showing the key metrics in my business,  2) Their new content marketing analytics dashboard is brilliant.  It’s still coming together, but I can already see how it will give me a new clarity on exactly how each piece of content performs for my biz.

Browserstack – $19/month – For a time, I was activating and periodically deactivating this one when not using it enough.  But now I keep it activated.  I know there are free-er ways to test websites across browsers/platforms, but this app just makes it dead easy and covers every single variation.  There is value in not having to jump through all the hoops.

MailChimp – $45/month – My longtime email marketing provider.  Works great as a bootstrapper with relatively low subscriber counts.  Weekly newsletters and some basic autoresponders.  Nothing fancy.  Integrates nicely with Gravity Forms (and almost every other service imaginable).  Simple email marketing is a necessity.  Value delivered.

Olark – $17/month – Website chat tool.  I love this service.  Connects seamlessly to my GTalk, so if I’m signed in (which I usually am when I’m at my computer), then visitors can talk to me.  It’s like having my own physical store-front, where visitors can walk in and talk to the owner.  I love that.  And it works.  It has certainly converted casual browsers into customers.

Flow – $10/month – This wasn’t a necessity until I brought on my VA.  This tool is great for delegating to-do’s and keeping track of what’s on his plate.  For a while, I got by using just email to delegate, but $10/month is low enough to justify a little added organization.  If the price was higher, I might stick with email only.  Good example of knowing how pressing the need is and pricing accordingly.

Dropbox – $10/month – Enough said.

I’m sure I’m forgetting a few… But this was a good exercise   It made me think about each service and why I choose to give them my money each month.  Helps me stay in tune with that Value Mindset.

What about you?  Which SaaS apps are providing value for you?

The post The Value Mindset… Which SaaS Apps Do You Pay For? appeared first on CasJam.

I’ll get into that in a moment…

But first, I’m happy to announce that I have finally (re)launched the new Affiliate Program on Restaurant Engine (as well as Hotel Propeller).  These offer 20% recurring commissions on subscription payments for the lifetime of each customer you refer.

I know many of our customers come via recommendations from web developers, who speak to restaurant owners but can’t work with them because budgets are too low.  Now the deal is sweetened for those of you who recommend Restaurant Engine next time someone asks about getting a new website for their restaurant (or hotel or B&B).

Get your referral tracking URL by registering as affiliate:
Restaurant Engine / Hotel Propeller

Now… Some thoughts about affiliate systems for SAAS (software as a service) businesses.

In a nutshell, there are no good options out there.  At least none that I was able to find after months of combing the web for one.

I looked at several affiliate networks, all of which had the following drawbacks:

• Designed for one-off commissions, not recurring.  SAAS businesses like mine usually require recurring commissions but this often requires custom development (or not possible).
• Doesn’t easily integrate with Stripe (my payment processor, and one of the more popular processors for saas businesses, along with Recurly).  Requires custom development (or not possible).
• Too pricy.  A price tag of $99 and above per month, on top of commission fees, is just not feasable for a bootstrapped business who is just launching a new affiliate program for the first time.
• Capping number of affiliates.  This is the real deal breaker.  Many of these networks cap the number of affiliates who can sign up in each price tier.  So if I want to make sure I stay within the monthly price tier that I can afford (especially early on), I must only allow X number of affiliates into my program.  That means I must continuously monitor my list and make sure that only the most active/promoting affiliates are in the program, and those who go inactive are kicked out.  It’s just not practical.

I was hoping to find a simple affiliate system that can be easily plugged into a saas business that uses Stripe.  Here were my requirements:

• Must handle recurring commissions, tied to customer’s subscriptions.
• Must easily integrate with Stripe.
• Allow anyone to register as an affiliate and start promoting, no limits on number of affiliates.
• Allow me to export a PayPal masspay.txt, which I (or my VA) will use to pay out commissions every month via PayPal.
• Installation should be as simple as dropping a bit of code into my site, and clicking the “Stripe Connect” button to connect to the Stripe API.
• Pricing model that makes sense for a bootstrapped startup.  Ideally, it should charge me for every successful referral (so that I’m only paying when the program makes me money).

Unfortunately, such a service doesn’t exist.  I got so frustrated in my search that I even began to think about pursuing this myself, but decided not to (no way I can commit to another startup right now).

I have spoken to a few people who are just beginning to look into this space.  There is definitely a gap in the current field of affiliate systems, so they’d be smart to dig in and start talking to lots of SAAS business owners.

So I ended up going with a self-hosted WordPress plugin, Affiliate Royal, and hired the developer to do a custom integration with my Stripe system, which turned out great.

I was hoping to avoid going this route because whenever possible, I’d like to avoid relying on custom-built code that I must maintain.  I was hoping to find a saas affiliate app that I can simply plug in, and trust that the makers keep it running smoothly.  But it wasn’t to be.

If anyone out there is developing a saas affiliate app, and want to talk to someone who has this pain point, I’m your guy

The post Affiliate Programs For a SAAS Business appeared first on CasJam.

During most of 2012, I was so consumed in my tasks that I didn’t even realize how overwhelmed I really was.  I’d look back at the past few months and realize I hadn’t made nearly as much progress as I hoped I would.

I was incredibly busy and always working.  But things didn’t feel like they were moving forward.  It felt like I was running in place, against a strong current.  One step forward, two steps back.  That’s what most of last year felt like (looking back it wasn’t as bad as this sounds, but that’s how it felt).

This year I’m doing a lot to change this.  It’s still a challenge.  I’m still overwhelmed and discouraged when things don’t make progress fast enough or achieve as much success as I envisioned.

But I’m starting to really get my head around a new mantra:

Make a Plan.  Execute.  Repeat.

The most effective entrepreneurs aren’t necessarily the ones who came up with the most brilliant idea.  They’re not the ones who are the most technically talented.  They’re not the ones with the most funding.

They’re the ones who come up with the right strategy, and turn that into a detailed plan of action, and most importantly, they execute that plan.

It sounds simple and obvious and easy.  Yes it’s simple and fairly obvious.  But it aint easy.  Not when you’re bootstrapping and handling most of the work yourself.

I think what makes it so difficult is the insanely slow pace at which things move when you’re bootstrapping and grinding it out as a solo founder.  When things move so slowly, it’s hard to see real progress, and when you don’t see results fast enough, you get discouraged.  When you get discouraged, you start to lose interest and find distractions that take you off-task.  As a solo founder, there’s nobody to whip you back in line, except yourself.

Here are three things I’m doing differently this year, that are helping me be better at planning and executing:

1.  Making a Plan & Sticking To It

I have devised a system of 3 different to-do lists that I use to map out my plans, prioritize, and execute.  Here they are:

Monthly Goals - I use Trello for this.  Every 1st of the month, I sit down and strategize at a high level and come up with 2 or 3 (no more than 3!) big things that I want to get done in the next 30 days.  For example, last month one of my goals was to overhaul my email autoresponder sequence.  The goals I set each month will dictate what I choose to spend my time on each day.  Without this guiding light, I haphazardly jump from task to task with no clear direction.

Someday List – For this, I use Apple’s Reminders app.  I actually have a few different lists here, but the general idea is to have a running list of all those things that you want to get to at some point.  You know how it goes – you listen to a Mixergy interview, or read an awesome article, or speak to someone, and you come up with these things you want to implement right now!  Well, don’t.  Throw em onto that “Someday” list.  Maybe next month you’ll deem them important enough to make them part of your Monthly goals.

Today List – For this I use Clear.  I fill this list up with 3-5 things (not more than 5!) that are up next.  I’m working on these things today, tomorrow, maybe the next day.  But they’ll definitely be done before the weekend.  No excuses.  I use my monthly goals to inform what I place on this list.  I try not to let seemingly “urgent” emails and things get in the way, but you know, shit happens.  But keeping Clear open and visible on my screen at all times (I never close the app) guilts me into getting back to my tasks at hand as much as possible.

2.  Time Management & Waking Up Earlier

Waking up at 6am instead of 8:30ish was one of the best changes I’ve made.  Getting out of bed that first week was tough, but it got way easier week two and on.  Now, 3 months into it, I don’t even set my alarm anymore.  My body naturally wakes up at 6am seven days a week.  And I love it.

For me, I’m 100x more productive during my 2-hour pre-breakfast work session.  My mind is the clearest it is all day (no coffee required!  that comes later…).  Plus, there are no distractions (until the dog needs to do his morning business).

I saw an immediate boost in the number of tasks that got done the first week I started this morning routine.  I’m so productive during those 2 additional early morning hours, that it’s almost like doubling the number of hours I work each day (it’s like steroids for bootstrapped entrepreneurs!).  Thanks to Joel Gascoigne’s awesome blog post that inspired me to get into an early-morning routine.

And now for some real geekiness…

There’s more to it than just getting up early.  It’s also about learning how my body and brain function throughout the day, and optimizing my work habits accordingly.

I know that I’m most productive and most energized in the morning hours, so I try and get as much done as possible before lunchtime.  That includes design projects, marketing work, crunching through the email inbox, writing articles, etc.

I also know that I start to crash in the afternoons.  Even with my 2nd coffee, I find it difficult to focus and get a lot done during the afternoon hours.  So instead of forcing myself to work on projects, with half-assed results, I make better use of my afternoon hours.

In the afternoons, I go on my hour-long hike with my dog.  This is my time to to listen my favorite podcasts and mixergy courses, while getting some fresh air.  I spend the rest of the afternoons doing light email and skype calls.  I also spend time at the end of the day lining up tomorrow’s workload for my VA.  Which brings me to thing 3:

3.  Delegation

It has taken a while, but I’m finally getting more comfortable with delegating tasks to my virtual assistant.  The key is to systemize all of the things that I do, and really focus on those things that I must stop doing myself — those repetitive tasks and operations.

Now that SweetProcess is fully launched and working, this tool has proven invaluable for getting these operations out of my head, into a procedure, and ready to hand off to my VA and contractors.

I’m constantly improving and refining these processes, and updating my team on these tweaks.  Sometimes they suggest improvements, which is always good, since they’re the ones executing the tasks.

I’m always looking for ways to challenge my VA.  I look for slightly bigger, more complex projects to throw at him.  This keeps him engaged, learning, and expanding his skills, which we both appreciate.  But at the same time, it lays the foundation for new tasks and processes that can be systemized and improved over time.

Your thoughts?  What has worked for you?  What’s keeping you on-task and on-track to meeting your goals this year?  Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter.

The post Make a Plan. Execute. Repeat. appeared first on CasJam.

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Rather than deciding on a broad demographic or group of people, the conventional wisdom teaches us to describe one single (made up) person who most closely embodies your primary customer.  We’re told to describe this person in as much detail as possible:  Their age, where they live, what are their interests, wants, desires.  We should even find a random photo of a person and give them a name.

I’ve heard this same advice again and again in my years of listening to Mixergy courses, reading marketing books and blogs.  I always came away with the same question:

“OK, I get it.  We need to know who our target customers are.  But how will this excercise really change the way I go about my work?”

It always felt like a waste of time.  Just a tactic that the teacher uses to explain the importance of targeting a niche.  I figured that if your product is good enough, the need validated, and your copywriting, design, dev chops are all dialed in, then this fuzzy little exercise isn’t really necessary.

I was wrong.  But now I totally get it.

Big thanks to my partner Owen for making this exercise a priority early on in our development of SweetProcess (<– BTW, look out for a shiny new website redesign launching next week).

My realization about defining customer personas was this:

When you first do it, it will seem pointless and mundane.  But after it’s done, as you continue to work on the app over the weeks and months that follow, you’ll realize how much those customer personas influence every decision you make.

From the design of the features built into the product, to the copywriting on your website, to the structure of your pricing model.  Every decision and line of reasoning is seen through the lens of these customer personas.

We decided on 3 customer personas

Some businesses choose just one, but we chose to go with three because through our initial round of customer development calls, we found a few different, but common use-cases for SweetProcess.  Here’s how we defined them:

Sally

Sally is a solo freelancer or entrepreneur who is at the breaking point.  She’s been handling all aspects of her business herself and has hit a ceiling.  She can’t possibly grow her business any further because there simply aren’t enough hours in the day.  She needs to begin outsourcing some of the more repetitive tasks that eat up most of her time so she can focus on other, more productive things, like growing her customer-base or developing her product.

As I was designing our homepage and writing the copy (I’m a strong proponent of doing the copywriting while you design, not saving it for later), I wrote a version of the homepage that speaks directly to Sally’s pain point.

Jane

Jane is a business owner or manager at a company with several employees.  Jane’s business has already begun to scale up, with solidified systems and processes already in place that make the business run.  But Jane needs a better way to manage and improve her company’s standard operating procedures.

Maybe she has been documenting processes with Google Docs, or PDFs, or Videos and these solutions have become unmanageable and hard to update.  She has also felt the pain during employee turnovers.  Due to poorly documented (or out-of-date) procedures, new employees take longer to train and result in setbacks for the business.

Here is an alternate version of the homepage copy I created, which speaks directly to Jane:

If we hadn’t clearly defined our customer personas a few weeks earlier, I would have had a much tougher time coming up with the right copy for the headlines and the rest of the site.

Again – creating those personas didn’t have an immediate impact on the day we initially created them.  But they very much influenced my thinking as the creative process got underway.  Every idea, iteration, and decision was made by seeing it through the perspective of our customer personas.

May

May is the third customer persona we came up with.  May is an operations consultant for businesses who seek help with scaling and systemizing their business.  May helps her clients design their systems and processes, and set up the operations and staff needed to execute them.

May is seeking a documentation tool that she can recommend to her clients and help them use as they implement her recommendations.  She sees this as a value-add to her consulting services.

Customer Personas and Pricing

Having clearly defined our customer personas, we were able to use these as the foundation of our pricing model.  After several iterations (and probably several more to come down the line), we settled on our pricing model for launch:

We carefully considered how each of our pricing tiers/packages would fit the needs of our customer personas.  We took into consideration all of the feedback, objections, and requests we heard during our conversations with customers.  We also wanted to build in tremendous value at each level, from the perspective of our customer personas.

The “Startup” plan is designed to be attractive to Sally, a solo entrepreneur who is ready to scale up and begin the growth process.  30 procedures is more than enough for this person (I consider myself to be in the Sally persona and I currently only use ~10 procedures in my business).

The “Business” and “Agency” plans are designed to be attractive options for Jane, who’s business will have more procedures, more managers, and need more organizational tools.

May might recommend any of these plans to her clients, which is why we plan to make our Affiliate program attractive to a person like May.

You may have noticed the callout to our “Migration Service”, shown below our price plans.  We repeatedly heard the same objection from Jane-types that the prospect of moving from whatever tool they’re currently using sounded like a ton of work, so much that it might be a deal breaker.  So we’ll be offering a “Done For You” migration service.  The copy and model for this has been crafted to speak to those exact objections that Jane would have.

Always learning…

As you can see, I’m now fully converted to the approach of defining those customer personas.  That’s what’s great about working with new people and new projects.  It’s a never-ending learning process.

The post The Importance of Defining Customer Personas (I Finally Get it Now) appeared first on CasJam.