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Be Free! - ?Cautionary Tale

8ONE8 sees value in this approach, but caution our clients on the actual steps to execute it. What’s the cliche? if you give away the milk for free, no-one will ever buy the cow? Other problems with the free model is that it is very difficult to know WHAT to give away for free.

Here is what we suggest, a few good practices to align your thinking.

1. Focus on VALUE: Provide value first…people will pay for this. Know and solve the customer pain points.
2. Think REAL Free: It’s not about lower price, it’s about the emotional decision even if the price is $0.01.
3. Give away 30 days for free, if they see value, they will purchase. Don’t be ‘passive’ in the 30 days, be active. Call, email, message in software.

A few things NOT to be:
1. LAME: Don’t hold back the best features, this is really lame, creates negative feelings and hurts sales. Do a trial period instead.
2. CHEAP: If someone wants more time to evaluate, extend their trial…easy. Yes, some people will take advantage of you, so what, don’t hurt real customers.
3. PASSIVE: During the trial period, you should have very active discussions with your users; forums, twitter, surveys, emails, phone calls, etc.


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