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"competitive upgrade" - is it ethical?

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f0dder:
I've seen these kinds of competitive offers from time to time and have never been tempted by them because I was already happy with the program I owned.-cyberdiva (January 11, 2011, 09:27 AM)
--- End quote ---
I frown a bit when I see them - the developer part of me is slightly disgusted, and even the consumer part doesn't entirely like it.

Doesn't mean I wouldn't jump ship if the other product was substantially better than what I'm currently using, though :)

jgpaiva:
After reading this, a question popped in my mind: how can the other vendor confirm that the user has a valid version of your software? If you're using a key-based authentication, nothing stops a user from just providing a random key.
I guess this would be a problem if you were to employ the same discounted price.

vlastimil:
I doubt I'll lose a user due to this offer. I live in a happy delusion that my tool is better than his.  :-*

What annoys me is the word "upgrade". That indicates superiority. And it isn't supported by any facts, not even by a biased comparison chart. It is one thing to believe that your software is better and another thing to offer an "upgrade" in the public.

It seems that the advice so far is "ignore it". I may do that...

jgpaiva, they require a copy of an invoice, but you have a point, it is very easy to fake it. This would actually be a very smart (and questionable) marketing tactic. I mean making it easy to fake it for the customer. Ugh, I hope it is not that.

jgpaiva:
Personally, I think it's a good thing when a competitor recognizes your existence and needs to take measures to sell more than you, it means you're making something right ;)

40hz:
I doubt I'll lose a user due to this offer. I live in a happy delusion that my tool is better than his.  :-*

What annoys me is the word "upgrade". That indicates superiority. And it isn't supported by any facts, not even by a biased comparison chart. It is one thing to believe that your software is better and another thing to offer an "upgrade" in the public.

It seems that the advice so far is "ignore it". I may do that...


-vlastimil (January 11, 2011, 10:58 AM)
--- End quote ---

I think you are best off ignoring it. Unless it begins to adversely effect your sales. At which time you should be more concerned about your product's quality rather than its price.

Most real studies have shown that something like 85% of all customers who switched to a competitor did so because the were unhappy with the service they were currently receiving; or because the product wasn't performing to their expectations.

Of the remaining 15%, less than half stated price was the sole determing factor for selecting another product.

In my industry, we have a saying. "Clients don't drop you because of the price. They drop you because of the price plus one other thing."

That 'thing' could be service, friendliness, competence, responsiveness, completeness of offering, or any combination of related factors. The point is that it's not just what you charge. (And anytime you do run into the rare customer who is purely motivated by pricing, I'd offer the following advice: RUN! You DO NOT want these people as your customers. They will drive you insane.)

So the real trick is to not provide that 'other thing' that makes people start shopping in the first place.

Note: I also wouldn't get too upset about unfounded claims or announcements of superiority on the part of your competitors. It's just ad-speak. The public is so inundated with that nonsense that they're completely oblivious to it by now. Most peoples' brains don't even 'process' advertising any more. They just filter it out.

Unless they're unhappy - and decide to start shopping because of it.  8)

Luck! :Thmbsup:

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