Don’t give your customers your MVP for free or at a discount
You might end up damaging the perceived value of your product, or the market price for it, or both.
It’s very common for the startup founders I meet to want to offer the earliest versions of their product or service to early customers for free, or at a significant discount. I encourage them (and you) to not do that.
Discounts work best when the customer already has an expectation of what the price should be and is already convinced that they need your product (or a competitor’s similar product) to solve the problem they have.
Discounts depend upon an established price
If I offered you a half-price coffee, that’s a discount that has a high likelihood of converting you as a customer. Assuming the quality of the coffee is acceptable, you know what coffee costs, and if you need a coffee, a 50% discount is attractive.
If you’re not yet used to paying $X for a coffee , a 50% discount may not feel like a discount. It may feel more like the true cost of a coffee. The longer you’re getting the discount the more you’ll resent the full price when the discount ends. You’ll be more likely to try the coffee at a different store. You’ll be much more likely to…
