#84 Should You Build A Program, Course, Mastermind, or Membership?
I spent most of my time this week finalizing a product strategy for one of our clients at Affinity.
This latest strategy includes...
Low-ticket content subscription
High-ticket programs
On-demand courses
Other digital products
(+ we removed some existing products)
Keep in mind this is an ascension strategy for an established brand which includes multiple products...
but it got me thinking.
There is a very clear set of questions I ask myself to help my clients decide whether to create a course, program, mastermind or membership... and I thought it would be fun to share that with you.
Let's get into it –
You know you want to build something but how do you select what type of product experience to create?
First let's touch on the options I see the most often:
Digital Download ($) – Templates, guides, or something unique that your customer can use immediately. Example: Digital Astrology Calendar
Course ($$) – Self-paced learning experience that typically includes video lessons, workbooks, and sometimes includes a community forum for support. Example: Ship30for30
Program ($$$) – Time-bound experience to learn, grow, and accomplish a goal. Typically includes curriculum and live events. Can also be referred to as cohort-based-course. Example: Fractional CMO School
Membership ($$ - $$$$) – Subscription product that typically includes content, as well as community and connection. Example: The Lab
Mastermind ($$$$$) – Small community experience to connect and grow on a deeper level. Typically includes trainings as well as connection calls. Because these are small curated groups they often have a higher price point. Example: Aligned Agency Mastermind
I've personally used / been a part of all of these examples 🤓
Before we dive into the full process of how to decide what to build... I want to callout that I usually recommend anyone test their course as a program experience first before developing an on-demand course.
This helps you work out the kinks, and make sure the education component works and your students see results. The example included for course – Ship30for30 used to be a live program that had 10,000 students go through it.
More work? yes. The bright side: you can charge more for a program than an on-demand course.
Which product experience is right for you?
There are 4 core questions you need to ask yourself in order to get your answer.
What do your customers need to be successful?
What kind of experience do you want to create?
How long will it take your customers to accomplish their goal?
How will this product connect to other products in your customer journey?
Let's break these down –
(1) What do your customers need to be successful?
The most important thing in creating ANY product experience is to consider your customers experience and what they need to be successful.
Is watching videos enough for them to be successful? Or is the topic very complex and they'll need more coaching and support to get there?
Here's the thing most people get wrong – oftentimes you, the creators, the builders, you are go-getters. You will sit down with a set of videos and get-shit-done. You're an achiever.
But here's the thing... many people aren't wired the same way and you'll be serving people of all different personality types.
Here's my recommendation – ask a few other people how they reached the same goal as you. Build the experience your customers need based on more datapoints than your story alone.
Make a list of everything they need – the lessons, tools, conversations, connections, etc. This is a great place to start from.
(2) What kind of experience do you want to create?
This question is secondary to the above. First we need to consider what experience we need to create but then, consider how you want to show up for your community.
Do you love facilitating conversations? teaching live? answering messages via voice notes?
You get to curate the experience, so make sure it's an experience you want to be a part of. You need to LOVE IT to show up the way your customers need you to.
If you find that your answers to question (1) and question (2) contradict, then consider who you can bring in to help with the parts that you don't want to do. This is when a partnership can make sense.
The experience can help you decide scale. For example, if you want to create a small-group intimate experience built on connection, then a mastermind might be a good fit for you.
(3) How long will it take your customer to accomplish their goal?
This is one of the most helpful questions in discerning if you should develop a program or a membership.
If the thing you're helping your customers with is going to take them 6 weeks or a few months to accomplish, then a program is definitely the right move.
Memberships are meant to serve customers for a longer period of time.
I usually say that if it takes 1+ years to accomplish the goal, then a membership model may be a good fit.
What if it's less of a transformation you're serving but more of an ongoing journey? There isn't necessarily an end in sight. This can be a great fit for a community of practice membership. Connection is your #1 selling point. Chenell's membership Growth In Reverse Pro is a good example of this – it brings together newsletter creators to grow together.
(4) How will this product connect to other products in your customer journey?
Don't build your product if...
It overlaps with other products in your customer journey. Unless those products aren't selling and you want to replace them... having multiple products at the same point in your customer journey is just going to confuse your audience as to what they should buy and reduce in less purchases.
It doesn't fit in your current customer journey. Consider the stages of your customer journey and if this product falls completely outside of that then it's most likely just a distraction. Go back to the drawing board and build something that links to your other products.
When you consider your customer journey you can develop an ascension strategy that carries your customers from product to product allowing you to serve your customers longer... AND significantly increase your revenue.
If you need help developing your customer journey map and ascension strategy that's our specialty at Affinity Collective. You can reply for more information!
Bonus Question – Should you even build it?
Even after you answer all of these questions you need to filter it through the two most important questions before building:
(Most important) Is there a HIGH customer value? – your customers would absolutely want to use this product or service. In fact, they NEED it.
Is there a HIGH business value? – this product would fundamentally change the way your customers approach this subject and would significantly alter their strategies. You can make a great profit for time invested.
Did this essay help you decide what you want to build? I'd love to hear about it – reach out and share your decision with me!
If you decided on a membership consider purchasing my membership masterclass – you can upgrade to include a workshop with me at checkout.
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