Sumit Hegde

Launching a side project soon! Need a little help setting up @MemberStackApp on a @webflow site, anyone available to help? Cc: @DuncanHamra @thepixelgeek

4/ Why is this important? When creating messaging for a new product, you need to understand the customer's context and frame of reference. Multi-channel communication?? Replaces endless emails

Was going through my newsletter subscribers list. So cool to see folks from @Apple @Spotify @webflow @getdrip @G2dotcom @Leadpages @crunchbase @getresponse Should probably add them logos to the landing page :)

8/ So what should you focus on instead? 1. Identifying who your best customers are and understanding them deeply. 2. Creating messaging that speaks to these customers, that reflects their struggles and motivations.

6/ Now, applied right, analytics, A/B testing and #cro can give great results. But these are the finishing touches to your cake—the cherries. NOT the cake batter, NOT the sponge. And without the foundation, it's just not working.

5/ What about analytics? Unfortunately, in the early stages, it won't tell you anything impactful either. The fact that 2400 people bounced off your site doesn't give you any info to make a meaningful change.

4/ And it takes a lot of time: Managing the A/B tests, designing the versions you're assessing, setting it up in your testing tool, analyzing results. You could spend that time understanding how to make bigger revolutions happen!

3/ CRO is slow and won't move the needle in a big way. When resources are limited and there's a lot at stake- you need to do things that'll actually make a difference, not minor optimizations.

2/ You could have a 40% conversion rate, but if more than half of those users churned, what does it even matter? Early on, it is more important to find users who will be your 'best customers': who'll actively use your product, give feedback and share it.

1/ Firstly, conversion rate is an unhelpful metric to focus on. It hogs all the spotlight and distracts you from the real stuff you should be doing to get more customers i.e. understanding your market and getting your positioning and messaging right.

Conversion rate optimization doesn't work for early stage #startups. Yet, it's something I see a lot of early founders focus on. Here's what's wrong with it and what you should do instead: (thread)