Startups are largely about solving problems, but don’t mind being compensated for the time and hard work they put into perfecting whatever it is they do. Some start charging users right away; others choose to offer free trials and or “freemium” models to their users.
No matter what startups do, one thing is certain, it’s hard for startups to succeed if they don’t have a clear plan to make money. So the big question is: how do startups know what to charge their users?
The answer to this question is based off of a variety of determining factors. Some things startups look at are:
1. What are their competitors charging?
2. What is the cost of operation?
3. Whether or not they serve businesses or consumers.
These are just a few examples to help startups determine their pricing. But the one thing that lacks is how to collect this information directly from potential consumers. Some startups go through the struggles of organizing focus groups and passing out surveys. This can have value but it can be difficult to get feedback from a large enough sample size. 50 people in a 50 person focus group might all say they will pay but then when you launch you hear nothing but crickets chirping.
I decided to develop a startup to help other startups get feedback on pricing and at the same time create buzz about their upcoming product or service. As a startup helping other startups there was no better choice but to register a .co domain name. Thus, I registered http://GetPriced.co.
Get Priced allows startups to figure out how much they should charge for the product or service they intend to offer. So while startups are busy making their product awesome, they can create a campaign and add the “WILL YOU PAY?” button on their coming soon page or product page.
The button will allow visitors to answer “yes” or “no” as to if they will pay. If they select “yes,” they can tweet this price (which generates buzz about your upcoming product). If they select “no,” they can submit their reason why (a great way to collect feedback to help improve your product).
From the campaign page, we track all of the results from the embedded button. All startups have to do is copy and paste the JavaScript code into their website. Then, sit back and observe the following analytics: how many tweets, average price, the percentage of people who will pay, and the reasons from those who clicked “no.”
Currently there is no simple way to collect this information without organizing a focus group, sending out a bunch of surveys, and crunching a bunch of numbers. Get Priced hopes to be a quick and affordable solution to this problem.
While in beta, we are using our own product to gauge interest and see if startups will pay and how much. For now it is 100% free, while we work on fine-tuning our button. We will review the results from our campaign and determine a price for our own startup in the near future.
My name is Ross Nochumowitz. I am a graduate of Goucher College where I majored in communications and media studies. I operate a local bail bonds agency in Baltimore, MD and work on startups in my free time. I am the founder of both BetaPunch.com and GetPriced.co. My focus, concerning startups, is to help them get as much feedback in as many different areas as possible to help them succeed.
