Here’s what we have for you this week.
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Growth
💻 Tools: Engineered Marketing and Website performance.
🧠 Persuasion: The past defines the future.
📰 Article: Startup ideas that don’t suck.
🤖 Automation: Never forget qualitative data.
Product
💻 Tools: Let’s finally try that tool you've been looking for.
🧠 Persuasion: Why you should put a foot in the door.
📰 Article: Oh, come on! Don’t do vanity metrics.
💰 My 2 cents: Don’t give up on roadmaps.
Growth.
Tools 👇
Outgrow → Awesome tool to create quizzes, calculators, and forms. (free trial)
Engineered marketing MVPs at their best.
Super intuitive, good customer support in case you need help building. Lead Generation made right.
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GTmetrix → Your website’s performance in one click. (free)
Not only that you’ll know about what’s wrong, you’ll know what to fix.
One of the lowest-hanging fruit you can find.
Persuasion Technique 👇
What we’ll tell you now will influence your later decision.
Priming: Subtle visual or verbal suggestions help users recall specific information, influencing how they respond. 🧠
Let us show you a picture of an airport or a specific location while you’re ordering plane tickets online.
Our conversion will go up.
Article 👇
Your ideas probably suck.
How to Get Startup Ideas that don’t.
Introduction: In the world of startups, the genesis of a successful venture often lies in the seed of a great idea. Paul Graham, a luminary in the startup ecosystem, delves into the intricacies of what makes a startup idea not just good, but potentially great. This essay is, in my opinion, eye-opening for aspiring entrepreneurs, demystifying the process of idea generation.
The Misconception of the 'Eureka' Moment: Contrary to popular belief, Paul emphasizes that great startup ideas don't usually strike in a sudden moment of clarity. Instead, they often stem from a process of active exploration and observation. He advocates for a mindset shift from trying to think of startup ideas to looking for problems (preferably the ones you have yourself).
The Power of Organic Ideas: Graham's philosophy centers around 'organic ideas,' which are born from the founders' own experiences. He argues that the most successful startups often address problems the founders have personally encountered, thereby ensuring a deep understanding of the issue at hand.
Practical Strategies for Idea Generation: To cultivate these organic ideas, Graham suggests keeping an 'idea journal' and staying attentive to everyday frustrations. He encourages aspiring founders to notice what they wish existed, rather than trying to invent something from scratch. This approach leads to solutions that are not only innovative but also deeply resonant with potential users.
The Pitfalls and Challenges: Graham cautions against ideas that look good on paper but lack a real-world market. He stresses the importance of building something users actually want, which often means starting small and focusing on a narrow market initially. The challenge is not just to envision a great product but to understand the market dynamics and user needs intimately.
Conclusion: It’s a compelling guide for anyone standing at the crossroads of entrepreneurship. His insights into the nature of startup ideas challenge conventional thoughts and offer a more nuanced, experience-driven approach to uncovering the next big thing (after all, he founded YC).
Here is the article, read it!
Automation 👇
It’s easy to forget about qualitative data.
But that’s surely a big mistake… B2B or B2C.
So whether you’re working with Typeform or Hotjar, … Connect these tools to your Slack (or any messaging).
This will help remind you of things you probably should look at more often.
We’ve missed too many insights not to share this incredibly easy one.
Product.
Tool 👇
Joinsecret → One of the best resources for tool deals (free and premium access).
That’s an excellent opportunity to use more advanced tools without draining your budget.
Our favorite deals so far :
Phantombuster: 25% off on any plans for 12 months
Make: 3 months free on Pro Plan
Outgrow: 3 months free on the Essentials plan
Segment: $50,000 in credits for one year
Mixpanel: $50,000 in credits for one year
Of course, it’s a classic “foot-in-the-door” Technique 😉.
Persuasion Technique 👇
Who has never begun with a new tool by subscribing to a free plan like “Send 2,000 emails each month for free” 😉?
This Mailchimp offer reduced the cost of customer acquisition by 8%!
Why’s that? Once these users exceed the 2,000 subscriber limit, they have two options: switch to another provider or upgrade their MailChimp subscription.
And that’s the foot-in-the-door Technique - “Asking someone for small requests first, to make them comply with larger requests eventually.” 🧠
👀 We’ve already used Mailchimp as an example of the Anchoring bias in our #1 edition.
Article 👇
Some metrics are crucial for PMs to effectively measure and track the progress of their products, ensuring user satisfaction, stakeholder alignment, and overall product success.
Here is an article that outlines the essential metrics for PMs in the SaaS industry.
What's covered in the article?
It’s not a complete guide but an organized overview.
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs): This refers to High-level metrics. Every product/company has its own set of KPIs which varies based on the nature of the product.
Engagement Metrics: Measures user interaction with the product
Examples: Daily/Weekly/Monthly Active Users (DAU/WAU/MAU), Session LengthRetention Metrics: User engagement over time.
Examples: Retention Rate, Churn Rate, Cohort Analysis.Conversion Metrics: Important user actions.
Examples: Click-through rate (CTR), Sign-up Rate, Conversion Rate.Customer Satisfaction Metrics: Customer sentiments.
Examples: Net Promoter Score (NPS), Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT).Acquisition Metrics: Evaluate user acquisition strategies.
Examples: Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC), Return On Advertising Spend (ROAS).Funnel Metrics: User drop-offs at each stage of the product flow
Examples: User funnel Conversion Rate, Funnel Drop-off Rates.Revenue Metrics: Related to product income.
Examples: Customer Lifetime Value (CLV), Average Transaction Value (ATV).Abandonment Rate: Users abandoning processes at various stages.
Example: Cart Abandonment Rate.Error and Bugs Metrics: Monitor product stability and performance.
Examples: Bug Fix Rate, Mean Time to Detect (MTTD)
At least 5 Metrics you have to follow in our opinion
Customer Lifetime Value (CLV): the total revenue a business can expect from a single customer account throughout its relationship with the company.
Why? It guides decisions on how much to invest in acquiring and retaining customers and helps identify the most profitable customer segments.Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC): the total cost of acquiring a new customer, including marketing and sales expenses.
Why? It helps to understand the efficiency of the acquisition strategies. It ensures that you know the ratio between expenses to acquire a customer and the customer's worth in terms of revenue.Churn Rate: the rate of customers canceling their subscriptions.
It's a direct indicator of customer satisfaction and product-market fit.Why? A high churn rate can be a warning sign of underlying problems with the product or service.
Net Promoter Score (NPS): measures customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Why? It's a crucial metric to have a strong retention rate and predict business growth through referrals.Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR): provides a clear and consistent measure of monthly revenue generated.
Why? For understanding the company's financial health, forecasting future revenue, and making informed decisions about investments and growth strategies.
My 2 cents 👇
As a product manager, one of the most challenging things for me is to navigate through the needs of all the stakeholders, the exec ideas, and the experimentations led by the data analysis, maintaining at the same time a coherent roadmap and the focus of your team.
A clear and straightforward prioritization process is essential in product management, especially in dynamic environments like tech and SaaS.
These frameworks are particularly beneficial because they :
Provide a structured approach to decision-making, reducing bias and ensuring that decisions are data-driven.
Help to allocate resources more effectively, ensuring that the most valuable and impactful projects are prioritized.
Ensures that the projects are aligned with the business objectives and strategies.
Reduce confusion and improve focus and morale.
Make it easier to communicate the reason behind prioritization decisions to all stakeholders.
Provide a systematic approach to re-evaluate and adjust priorities.
Help the risk management process.
For this to be functional, you will need at first a vision and a strategic plan with clear OKRs.
There are a lot of prioritization frameworks used in the SaaS industries.
To list the most famous ones: RICE Scoring Model, MoSCoW Method, Kano Model, Cost of Delay…
One of my favorites is RICE.
First, because it can be used in Growth and Product management.
And because it’s pretty easy to implement and powerful… if you get everybody on board ;)
We’ll see you next week.