Re: [now OT] Licensing/Implementing in Cocoa/Obj-C - Interest in product?
Re: [now OT] Licensing/Implementing in Cocoa/Obj-C - Interest in product?
- Subject: Re: [now OT] Licensing/Implementing in Cocoa/Obj-C - Interest in product?
- From: Jeremy Dronfield <email@hidden>
- Date: Fri, 16 Apr 2004 12:23:41 +0100
On 16 Apr 2004, at 11:10 am, Christian Brunschen wrote:
On Fri, 16 Apr 2004, Christoffer Lerno wrote:
Maybe it's just me, but I avoid apps I can't really try out. That's
why
I like the "max x usages" method, which only stops you from using it
once you are sure to have used it enough to know if you should pay for
it or not.
FWIW, if anything is guaranteed to dissuade me from trying software,
it's the old "use it 20 times then watch it die" trick. In my opinion,
this is a Commercial strategy, not a Shareware strategy, as bad as
time-limiting and feature-crippling. I want to know (at least in
theory) that I can use the app for as long as I like. For example, I
might think a product looks interesting and potentially useful, so I
want to try it and then keep it in cold storage until I have a real use
for it. Then I'll want to try it again and, if I really like it, pay
for it. Naturally, the force of this requirement is in direct
proportion to the price of registration. If it's cheap, I may buy it
after only a few tries. If it costs, say, $200, I'll want to test it to
destruction. You also have to consider the factor of loyalty: the user
might already be committed (and registered) to a competing product.
This will increase the try-before-I-buy factor to
try-before-I-buy-and-disrupt-my-workflow. (Two disincentives for the
price of one.)
And then make registering unlock the product fully, as well
as offering something above the product itself (support is an obvious
one!)
I would strongly advise against withholding support from unregistered
users, unless your operation is so big you can't afford to expend time
on non-payers. After the quality of your software, the quality of your
support is probably the most important factor in getting - and keeping
- customers. Omni's approach with OmniWeb is to warn that
non-registered users are not *guaranteed* support, but then to make
every effort to provide it.
Anyway, that's my two-penn'orth.
Regards,
-Jeremy
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