I would add anther bullet to Doug Leone's advice ( - Sequoia's Startup Advice: Save Cash, Slash Costs, Stay Alive ): Certify that your value proposition is a helluva lot more than an elevator pitch that impresses VCs at Sequoia or anywhere else. It would be great not only for your brand, but your short-term and long-term health. In a tough economy, and this one will be as tough as any in our lifetime, you must continually ask yourself if your vaue proposition -- your justification for the price you charge for your product or service -- is as relevant and and compelling as it can be.
How can you make it better?
Are you using technology -- Web 2.0, mobile, virtualization -- to your best advantage for marketing and sales?
Do you know which of your product's benefits is the one your customers value the most? How? What metrics are you using to measure it?
Do you charge enough for it?
How do you measure the value you create?
Just like that, we have entered an era when customers will demand greater value than they ever have. If you don't deliver it, better start looking around for something else to doing because you'll soon be doing whatever that is.
Establish a relevant value proposition NOW.
Comment Preview