homegrownSpike

Traffic is the place where most companies focus their energy and resources; however, Retention is the lifeblood of an online business. Whether through reordering or re-billing, without customers sticking around, you are just going to be spinning your wheels trying to maintain enough traffic to sustain operations. Many large companies have come and gone by being too focused on traffic and not enough on engaging and retaining customers. Learning to keep your traffic coming back day after day is a difficult process with a steep learning curve. Do not get discouraged because there is no quick way to see results and it is an endless process of refinement.

Communication: Giving your customer base a way of easily communicating with you is essential. On Homegrown Video we use a live chat. Only a small percentage will make use of this feature, but the ones that do are often a bellwether of what's going on in your site then any other stat. Any increase of customer support requests usually coincides with an issue that is causing customer dissatisfaction. Therefore, that one highly vocal customer that chirps in live chat about an issue typically is speaking for that silent majority that doesn?t wish to have to confront anyone or might not have figured how to.

At Homegrown we have an ongoing dialog with the members. It has two benefits. Most importantly, we get real time feedback, whether it is about the type of updates we are doing or the speed of the site, members speak up. Next, we use is it as a way to poll opinions and garnish feedback. Oftentimes, responses range from helpful advice to trolling rants, but any response is a good response as far as we are concerned since all the members can see firsthand that we are actively involved and sincere. Remember, no matter how negative the feedback, the customer is always right! Never take it personally. Usually a polite and professional response will turn an unhappy customer into a lifelong fan, feeling a sense of contribution and worthiness of opinion.

Consistency: Once you have an idea what it is that has your member base retaining and happy you need to keep delivering and honing in on what members like most. For Homegrown, our members expect daily updates. However, too many similar scenes in row and we will catch backlash. The fans that love solos don?t want a week of milf couples so we have to juggle so everyone gets what he or she likes on a regular basis. The upcoming scene that satisfies a certain niche is great for retention.

However, we also let members vote for updates as a way to get a certain level of consensus for upcoming scenes.Each update is created mindful of the members and what drove them to log into the site in the first place. This does make the consistency of the updates a balancing act, because we don?t want one group of fans tastes come to dominate other groups, but the added level of interaction and feeling of ?getting what they want? works. In terms of consistency, we are consistently democratic in our interaction with the audience. We look for the widest level of consensus. Engaging the fans in this way keeps them on Homegrown. Affiliates tell us we have the best retention they have ever seen.

Creativity: Never be afraid to try something new. It may not work out but this industry is constantly evolving. Although you won't get it right all the time the effort is part of what keeps members engaged. Some of the ways to do that are to try new types of content and or run contests. Everyone wants to feel special and likes to win something. If you create an environment where that can happen you are in turn creating a place where people will come to visit daily.

I was also given a good piece of advice when i started in the business. Build a pay site members section so confusing and large that it will take people a long time to figure it all out. Its counter intuitive since we like to look at sites as being clean organized easy to surf places, but in order to get customers to stick around they will need something more than your latest update to do it. A member?s area that has a bit of a labyrinth quality keeps new members curious and allows every customer to develop their own usage habits accordingly.

In conclusion never be afraid to take a few chances. Do not buy into the popular misconception that porn fans do not want any sort of interaction and just want to be left alone to jerk off in some shady room. Even the customers that will never speak up or reach out will appreciate the efforts and interactions of those that do. Many of the things that have helped Homegrown over the years had more to do with trying to figure out a new way to interact or improve the customer experience.


Spike Goldberg, CEO
Homegrown Video CEO and self-professed ?porn nerd? Spike Goldberg was interested in creating an amateur porn series to sell online; Goldberg?s brother introduced him to Farrell Timlake, who hired Goldberg as he demonstrated keen awareness of the fledgling online market. Goldberg was made a partner in Homegrown?s parent entity, New Destiny Internet Group, where Goldberg lent his knowledge of technology and analytics to the company. By 1998 Goldberg revamped Homegrown?s web department, and by 2000, Homegrown became the Internet?s go-to source for quality amateur videos. Being part of the technology and business side of porn put Goldberg in the spotlight in 2004, when he led the industry trade group to fight technology patent lawsuits filed by Acacia Research.
In March 2013, with over a decade of hands-on experience, trusted business relationships, and a strong ethic guiding him, Goldberg was promoted to CEO of Homegrown Video.