When consulting with start-ups, the 1 trend I notice is that most entrepreneurs tend to underprice their products and services.
While it may seem like great value to offer a service at $50 a month, especially when your expenses are low, it doesn’t make sense in the long run. That’s because your growth will be constrained by providing products at a low price-point.
To bridge the gap from bootstrapping startup to a business with sustainable growth, here are 3 strategies to incorporate into your business model:
- Offer a premium/upsized model
Talk to your customers and find out if there’s a “bells-and-whistles” version of your product that they’d like to get their hands on.
Additional features and functions, optional templates, greater scalability, the ability to support multiple sessions, lower latency, a more resource-friendly version are all items that premium customers might consider.
Why sell a “plain vanilla” (excuse the pun) fudge sundae, when customers might want a triple-chocolate, molten cocoa heart-stopper sundae with cookie dough, cotton candy and strawberry mix-ins?
- Offer an end-to-end, turnkey solution
Find out if your customer wants help with installation, customization, long-term customer support. See what else they might want as part of a complete solution.
Often, budding entrepreneurs are too happy to sell 1 unit of their product, and scoot back to their research lab.
Why not take the opportunity to provide a complete service and use the opportunity to gather more product feedback.
- Subscription and continuity income
Your utility company, your cell phone operator, internet service provider, cable TV operator all do this. They continue to provide service each month and collect a steady stream of income.
Why not do the same too?
It not only generates cashflow, it also opens up opportunities to further develop your customer service resources.
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While there’s no surefire way to grow your product income, these methods will go a long way to finding out what your customer wants, and enhance customer stickiness.
In the long run, it just might bring your product income to the next level.