MEPX
Chapter 8 of 10All chapters
  1. 1The business model
  2. 2Customers
  3. 3The money side
  4. 4Competition and advantage
  5. 5Operations
  6. 6Legal structure
  7. 7People
  8. 8Getting customers
  9. 9Risk and resilience
  10. 10Growing

Chapter 8 of 10

Getting customers

Marketing and sales, briefly.

The difference

Marketing creates awareness and interest at scale. Sales converts specific interested people into buyers. Both are needed and they need different skills.

  • Word of mouth is the cheapest channel and cannot be bought directly.
  • Track where customers actually come from, not where you spent.

Talking to customers

Ask about their problem and what they do now, not whether they like your idea. People are polite about ideas and honest about their current workarounds.