Freemium services and products are awesome. Research has shown that providing high quality products and services for free can actually convert users into paying customers, although the conversion rate varies from industry to industry. Image and video sharing sites/services, for instance, have a lower percentage of paid customer conversion than movie/video services. So, what can you do if your free services are failing to produce paying customers? Here are a few ideas to help you get the money ball rolling.
Offer discounts for full access to loyal users.
Why are your users hesitating when it comes to paying for your product? Is it because your regular price is too high? Give your long-time, loyal customers some incentive to purchase by offering exclusive discounts. Instead of sending an email blast asking them to sign up for the service at full price, offer them a coupon code to knock a few dollars off. Letting them know you value their loyalty, while giving them the chance to save a few bucks, can do a lot to help build a relationship with your users.
Offer different levels of service for a variety of price points.
One year after it started its Forever Free plan, MailChimp increased its userbase from 85,000 users to 450,000. Although the Forever Free plan attracted a lot of “free” users, in that same year the number of paying customers jumped by more than 150%. Part of this is due to MailChimp’s great service, but it’s also in part due to the variety of pricing options it offers. By offering a variety of pricing options, you can appeal to large and small customers alike, and give users the ability to just pay for what they need.
Offer a full list of incentives.
What exactly will your customers be paying for if they upgrade? Let them know! HostGator lists the features and services that paying customers will enjoy once they sign up for a web hosting plan. By letting users know that they will have access to 24/7/365 technical support, and other valuable features, they’ll be more apt to pay for it.
Wondering what industries have the best rate of converting customers with freemium content? Get the details here.
