Note for ebook customers: The design and layout of this book play a
key role in conveying the author's message. When creating the ebooks,
we've tried to keep the look and feel of the print edition, but this
means that not all e-reading devices will support the files. The EPUB
format is optimized for iPad. The Mobi files are optimized for Kindle
Fire tablets and phones and for Kindle reading apps.
Imagine you're in a game with one objective: a bestselling product or
service. The rules? No marketing budget, no PR stunts, and it must be
sustainably successful. No short-term fads.
This is not a game of chance. It is a game of skill and strategy.
And it begins with a single question: given competing products of equal
pricing, promotion, and perceived quality, why does one outsell the
others?
The answer doesn't live in the sustainably successful products or
services. The answer lives in those who use them.
Our goal is to craft a strategy for creating successful users. And that
strategy is full of surprising, counter-intuitive, and astonishingly
simple techniques that don't depend on a massive marketing or
development budget. Techniques typically overlooked by even the most
well-funded, well-staffed product teams.
Every role is a key player in this game. Product development,
engineering, marketing, user experience, support--everyone on the
team. Even if that team is a start-up of one. Armed with a surprisingly
overlooked science and a unique POV, we can can reduce the role of luck.
We can build sustainably successful products and services that rely not
on unethical persuasive marketing tricks but on helping our users have
deeper, richer experiences. Not just in the moments while they're
using our product but, more importantly, in the moments when they
aren't.
