market-research, ideaI apologize if this is the wrong area. If so, please advise me on what StackExchange area this fits!
I am in the process of designing a new product, however I’ve been trying to ask questions towards why my product will fail and how can i make changes to my business/idea to make it successful.
My original idea basically consisted of a custom built piece of hardware, which users are required to purchase, and the hardware pairs up with our web app which costs $X/month/year
The question I have is: What products are successful in todays market that requires the user to purchase AND requires a monthly/yearly sub fee to operate?
The only product I came up with was On Live, which failed pretty fast.
I had a few ideas on how to get around it:
1: “rent” the hardware out to customers, giving “free” access to the webapp
2: Sell the hardware at a higher cost, with free access to the web app(not preferable)
3: Sell the product at a lower cost, give free access with ads, and a paid sub for no ads
4: Open-source my hardware design plans, giving anyone access to the hardware components to make themselves, while making the web app a monthly/year sub fee and also offering “pre-made” components
What products are successful in todays market that requires the user to purchase AND requires a monthly/yearly sub fee to operate?
There are many examples. For instance razors (cheap razor, expensive blades), printers (cheap device, expensive cartridges), cellphones (subsidized phone, expensive plan), etc. Or for that matter and to some extent, motor vehicles if you factor in that you’ll need gasoline or insurance.
As an aside, you seem to be approaching this wrong. Don’t try to plan ahead and try to figure out what will work best. No plan survives first contact with customers (Steve Blank). Go find clients, ask them (if and) what they’d be willing to pay, and then decide on the most appropriate course of action.
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