4. PHP framework for larger sites
• CMS framework that we licensed along with
our development services to implement
• license cost $4,800
• average cost of a site build around $10,000
6. Perch business model
• Downloadable self-hosted software
• Customers buy a license per site
• Recurring revenue because customers are
typically agencies and build lots of sites
• License includes support and free first party
add-ons
• At launch $55 per site, now $79 per site
7. Perch came from …
• a need to have a tool that would make small
jobs profitable
• a drop-in CMS for tiny sites
• started life as an internal tool but we quickly
started thinking of it as a standalone product
11. Perch version 1
• built over 4 weekends
• launch infrastructure took another 4 weekends
• entirely a side project
• costs limited to lawyers fees, domain, a bit of
stock illustration and UI design (we’re
developers)
23. Lesson 3.
The happy majority are
often silent.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/binaryape/3431773089
24. There are many terrible ways to
configure PHP web hosting. We
know about all of them.
25. The more people can do with your
product, the more they want to do.
26. June 2014 to April 2015
• 39% of people who bought a license during this
time also raised a thread in the forum
• of that number 35% have contacted us only
once
• not all of this is “support” some is people
posting sites they have built/tutorials etc.
• we have heard from 7.5% of our entire
customer base since June
32. When it feels as if “everyone” is
asking for something. Is it really
everyone, or a few noisy people?
33. Make sure that a noisy minority
don’t cause you to make changes
that will upset the happy majority.
34. Lesson 4.
Your customers can show
you how to sell your
product.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/shootingjaydred/6539831765
35. We love …
• Storing structured data
• Templates defining a schema
• Speed and efficiency of the template engine
36. Our customers love …
• not having to know PHP
• that the CMS doesn’t mess with their markup
• that the end client doesn’t need handholding to
edit the site
• that they can use any Bootstrap template or
jQuery plugin
43. As the product owner you need to
get from the specific to the general
use case.
44. • “I want a select list of already uploaded
images”
• “I want to browse the images already
uploaded”
• “I want to find out if an image is used
anywhere on the site and delete unused ones”
45. Collect use cases from support,
from feature requests, from the
way you see people use the
product.
46. Lesson 6.
Features never move the
needle on sales.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/brookenovak/1012870079
47. New features keep your existing
customers happy and sticking with
you as their needs are met.
53. Pave the cowpaths
• See what users are already doing
• Don’t penalize them for making that choice
• Find ways to help them do the thing they want
to do in a better way
54. Lesson 8.
Great support can be your
best feature and your most
effective marketing.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/lydiashiningbrightly/4436324664
55. Seth Godin
Most of your competition spend their
days looking forward to those rare
moments when everything goes right.
Imagine how much leverage you have
if you spend your time maximizing
those common moments
when it doesn’t.
56. Help people to do things they
couldn’t do before they started
using your product.
57. Support is a feature you don’t
spend time up front developing. You
just have to commit to being great.
62. The ideal Perch customer
• is a freelancer or agency building lots of sites
for clients
• understands that time is money
• prefers running a solid business over constantly
learning new things
• often does fixed price website builds
63. The “influencers”
• are well-known in the web industry
• can charge a premium for their work
• can treat each project as a “special snowflake”
• have time in higher budgets to try new things
• have a need to learn new things in order to be
able to talk about them in their influencer role