Who is the customer? (RE: rev apps on iPhone?)

[Lynn Fredricks]

> > One of the most important things is to really, really do a 
> good job in 
> > identifying who your customer really is. In profiling your 
> customer, 
> > you understand things like:
> >
> > 1) How many potential customers there really are for your product
> > 2) Who your competitors really are
> > 3) Who to derive maximum value from your pricing
> 
> Regarding "Core Functions" that's a somewhat difficult thing, 
> as every user has his/her own. I used to be all about 
> animation and screen refresh speeds, but suddenly I'm tasked 
> to make a database app which probably needs a table with 
> multi line cells...

Exactly. That's why the general dev tools market is so challenging, because
you still need to indentify your primary customer.

> As for your market focusing, I'd like to add another 
> dimension, namely what markets are nearby, are 
> underdeveloped, and can easily be expanded into? because 
> that's a question many non-startups face, and RunRev is 
> probably in a position where it needs to think about this 
> (Judging from the flash-like plugin and php-like cgi 
> enhancement announced recently).

Secondary markets are very important. With them though, you need to first
really target your primary customer first by:

1. Adding new features to satisfy their needs
2. Remove barriers to entry (technology or just arguments against moving
from something else to Rev)
3. Market these changes so that those who said "no" before are now aware
that they need to reassess

If you product has been around for a while, #2 without #3 is kind of
pointless, because #2 by itself does not passively generate new revenue.

If you don't have a grip on your primary customer though, you end up with
lots of marginally satisfied customer groups and no way to effectively
expand (and pay for effective expansion into those secondary markets).

Best regards,

Lynn Fredricks
Mirye Software Publishing
http://www.mirye.com

Mirye Community NING
http://miryesoftware.ning.com