Aiming the marketing message at pros also benefits sales to hobbyists: while professionals won't touch a tool seen as aimed at hobbyists, every hobbyist wants to feel they're using a tool capable of professional results.
Exactly. I've always felt that the hobbyist-level and professional-level markets can potentiate each other:
- Educators don't hesitate to teach programming with the hobbyist/edu version, since they don't need to worry that they're teaching students a language that they won't be able to use later on
- Hobbyists know they can move to a professional tool if and when they get more serious
- Professionals drive new features, which also benefits hobbyist users
- Hobbyists moving up the learning curve form the pool from which new pros come
But for this to work well, it's important to "start at the top". Position yourself as a professional tool, then bring out a version for hobbyists, and the latter product gets the perceptual benefit of association with a pro-level product. Do it the other way around - first position yourself as a hobbyist tool, then bring out a pro version - and you'll have trouble getting respect.
[channeling Aretha Franklin] ;-) -- jeanne a. e. devoto ~ [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.jaedworks.com _______________________________________________ use-revolution mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://lists.runrev.com/mailman/listinfo/use-revolution
