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Startup Secret No. 3: Support is product

A great product isn't an end in itself.

Rafe Needleman Former Editor at Large
Rafe Needleman reviews mobile apps and products for fun, and picks startups apart when he gets bored. He has evaluated thousands of new companies, most of which have since gone out of business.
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Rafe Needleman

"Make sure the support fits the product."

--Josh Weinberg, The Digital Life Consulting Group.

In response to my ceaseless whining about getting a cheap Dell desktop that I have at home repaired, Josh sent me this gem.

I was complaining that Dell was insisting on sending a tech to my house to do the fix, that their scheduling system was inflexible and hard to work with, and that their policies did not mesh with the life of a person who works in an office but whose computer is at home.

Josh adds, "Even if they offered great support, it's not great if it does not fit. This system would work for offices but clearly not residences."

So, today's puzzlers are: Who are your users? Where are they? How do they use your product? And how can you make the experience of using your support as close as possible to using the product itself?


Startup Secrets is based on personal interviews with people building companies and from their blog posts and news stories. Subscribe to Startup Secrets on Twitter or come back to Rafe's Radar every day for a new one. See all the Startup Secrets.