Four Notebook Deliveries Turn One Payment Into a Year of Obligations
Field Notes gives subscribers four new notebook editions a year. Its rhythm offers repeat customer conversations while creating future production obligations.
Topic
Customer Acquisition
Knife Companies Said No to Leatherman. An Outdoor Catalog Saw the Product.
Tim Leatherman struggled to place his pliers-based pocket tool inside existing categories. An outdoor catalog offered a different route to an actual order.
Jones Soda Put Its Customers on the Label
Jones Soda has used consumer photographs on labels since 1996. A practical workflow shows the work needed to make customer participation reach a visible finish.
Replacements.com Made Identification Part of Buying and Selling China
Replacements helps people identify china patterns before buying or selling. A useful identification service can qualify both sides of a physical inventory business.
The Hidden Inventory Bet Behind Retailer-Exclusive Beach Bags
Bogg gives retail partners distinctive designs. A worked batch example shows when an exclusive strengthens distribution and when it strands inventory.
$50 of Props Did Not Make Blendtec's Viral Videos Cheap
Blendtec’s famous starting budget paid for props. A complete campaign budget also accounts for people, existing assets and distinct revenue streams.
How an Heirloom Bean Club Turns Cooking Questions Into Useful Customer Support
Steve Sando created a member group to answer recurring bean-cooking questions. Its useful lesson is to help buyers succeed before expecting them to recommend a product.
How a Snack-Bar Founder Turned One Store Into Proof of Demand
Lara Merriken did more than get LARABAR onto one shelf. She used sampling, movement data, and reorders to earn the next doors.
How an E-Ink Frame Team Audited Its Crowdfunding Channels
Memoir's team reported the leads, followers and newsletter placements behind its Kickstarter. A contribution ledger shows which channels deserve more money.
How a Canned-Water Founder Tested Demand Before Manufacturing Anything
Liquid Death used a low-cost brand video and media test to attract distributors before it had cans, separating interest from factory commitment.
How a Nonalcoholic Drinks Brand Used Restaurants to Teach a New Habit
Ghia used restaurants and bartenders to show customers when and how to enjoy a nonalcoholic aperitif before trying to scale retail demand.
How an Allergy-Friendly Cookie Founder Won Her First 50 Stores
Partake founder Denise Woodard chose 50 promising stores, cold-called them and sampled in person before pursuing national grocery distribution.
How a Wallet Brand Turned 3,000 YouTube Sponsorships Into an Acquisition Portfolio
Ridge sells slim wallets and everyday-carry products. It priced creators from observed views, bought repeated exposure and renewed placements that worked.
How a Toilet-Paper Startup Used a 50-Hour Stunt to Fund Its First Factory Run
Who Gives A Crap needed $50,000 and its first thousand households. A founder stayed on a toilet until preorders funded production.