V1 Sports · golf swing video analysis app
Act out a conversation with an angry customer before making a big change
Guided the paywall switch; guest says the bet played out as expected
Workedteam-process
What they did
Before a disruptive decision, play out the conversation with a real person (e.g. the one-star reviewer who had it free for 9 years) as if it happened face to face, like a bartender or dry cleaner. Ask: would we be comfortable having this conversation, and with others overhearing it? Go ahead only with conversations the team is comfortable with.
What happened
Used to decide the freemium-to-trial switch; about 10 subscribed per 4 complainers, as predicted.
Related topics
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More from this episode
- V1 Sports: Drop the free tier for a free trial, and make long-time free users pay tooRevenue up 80-90% in 12 months despite a wave of one-star reviews
- V1 Sports: Keep it free for students to share videos with their own golf coachCoaches bring in about a third of new sign-ups every day
- V1 Sports: Tell existing users about the change with one short, honest reasonUsers only heard the first point; they complained anyway
- V1 Sports: Ask every new user "Why are you here?" during sign-up10-15% want a coach; those users subscribe far more often
- V1 Sports: Connect golfers looking for a coach with the instructors already on the platformEarly; guest says it is far from optimized
- V1 Sports: Let support staff make deals with upset customers, but never free forever
- V1 Sports: Keep the first price low ($70/year) and earn more as users grow
- Flo: Sell higher tiers and extra features to people who already payCohort revenue retention ~60% in year one, then rising every year