Startup to Last

Delivering awesome customer service for a low ARPU product


Listen Later

Takeaways from our conversation:

  • In the early days, a founder can easily offer great customer service just because they're an expert on the topic and are empowered to solve every problem. Rick doesn't need to worry about this at first.
  • For a low ARPU (average revenue per user) product, it's best to think of support reps as "coaches" so they can be more proactive and replace other functions such as sales and customer success. It's not viable to have separate teams for each function at a low price point, nor is it desirable.
  • Rick's first move should be to do all the coaching himself until he has it systematized. Some of it can be automated with things like tutorial videos, but some of it will need to be manual.
  • Once he knows exactly how to manually provide the best coaching and he has enough customers that he can't handle any more, it will be time to start building a team.
  • Offering great customer service for a low ARPU product will hurt margins. This might mean that certain investors aren't interested in the business, but it's still possible to be profitable enough to bootstrap.
...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Startup to LastBy Rick Lindquist and Tyler King

  • 5
  • 5
  • 5
  • 5
  • 5

5

22 ratings


More shows like Startup to Last

View all
The Official SaaStr Podcast: SaaS | Founders | Investors by SaaStr

The Official SaaStr Podcast: SaaS | Founders | Investors

175 Listeners

Startups For the Rest of Us by Rob Walling

Startups For the Rest of Us

703 Listeners

The a16z Show by Andreessen Horowitz

The a16z Show

1,089 Listeners

Rogue Startups by RogueStartups

Rogue Startups

23 Listeners

Y Combinator Startup Podcast by Y Combinator

Y Combinator Startup Podcast

226 Listeners

REWORK by 37signals

REWORK

210 Listeners

My First Million by Hubspot Media

My First Million

2,654 Listeners

Slow & Steady by Benedikt Deicke, Benedicte Raae, and Brian Rhea

Slow & Steady

4 Listeners

All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg by All-In Podcast, LLC

All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg

9,922 Listeners

The Startup Ideas Podcast by Greg Isenberg

The Startup Ideas Podcast

205 Listeners

Mostly Technical by Ian Landsman and Aaron Francis

Mostly Technical

26 Listeners

Onto Something by Peter Suhm & Mikkel Malmberg

Onto Something

0 Listeners

The Panel by Justin Jackson & Brian Casel

The Panel

4 Listeners

Cheeky Pint by Stripe

Cheeky Pint

45 Listeners

Offsite by Jordan Gal

Offsite

0 Listeners