The ‘UpgradeBubbles’ were a controversial topic internally to Mogware so their implementation was carefully thought out. The ‘UpgradeBubbles’ are only present in the free version. We needed a way to try and convert our free users into upgrading; -Mogware Support
Understood.
But "carefully thought out" how?
Did the decision to use phrases like "convert our free users," and terms like "UpgradeBubbles," help sell what management wanted to do to the dissenters in your company?
Calling a nag pop-up an
UpgradeBubble doesn't change the fact that it is still just another nag device. I'd personally have a lot more respect for what FH is trying to accomplish if it could stop using euphemisms and just call things what they are.
It also would be nice if we could drop the sales lingo and switch to standard English.
You don't "convert" people. You convince them to buy. So next time, instead of saying "convert our free users into upgrading" why not just say "convince the people who downloaded the free version to buy the paid version."
The ‘UpgradeBubbles’ slowly ramp in over the course of 2 weeks and only promote our products as we try to encourage them to upgrade. If the user chooses not to upgrade, the bubble will then slowly transition over to an alternative ad campaign.
And since FH is using a nag feature to do this, why not be honest and say:
"This product is designed to bug the people who downloaded the free version of FileHamster with increasing frequency until they (hopefully) buy the paid version. Furthermore, if the original nag technique doesn't work, this software will automatically switch over to using some other negative incentive to further encourage them to buy it."
Maybe not as pretty sounding. But a lot more up front.
At the end of the day, we can’t only have free users and still sustain the tool. At least this way, the users who don’t want to pay for the tool can still use the tool.
Part of the problem is that FH is trying to straddle the fence.
I think you guys really need to decide what you want to do, and stop playing 'head games' with yourselves and your potential customers. Because "at the end of the day" a so-called 'free' product is either free - or it's not. So if, for whatever reason, your company really can't afford to offer a (genuinely) free version of FileHamster - then just don't offer one. That's a perfectly understandable and acceptable situation.
I think it would be better if FileHamster either went the 'time limited evaluation' route; or offered a 'feature limited' freeware edition. That's what almost everyone else does, so I'm guessing either approach plays equally well in the marketplace.
Look at it this way: When somebody upgrades from a feature limited version of a product to the full version, they're gaining something positive (i.e. more and better features) for their money. When somebody buys a product after an evaluation period they're gaining something positive (i.e. the ability to continue using the product) for their money.
But when you use some form of nagging technology, what additional value does your customer get for their money? The simple answer is:
Nothing other than relief from an arbitrarily imposed annoyance. Doesn't sound like too good a way to "win friends and influence people."
If you had to pick one of these three droids, which would you choose?
- Droid#1- "I'll work for you for free - for 30 days only - doing anything you command. At the end of that time, you can either buy me, or we call it quits. No hard feelings either way."
- Droid#2- "I'll work for you for free - and for an indefinite period of time - as long as you will at least consider buying me. But I will only work on a limited group of tasks. However, if you do eventually buy me, I'll do anything you command. No hard feelings either way."
- Droid#3- "I'll work for you for free - and for an indefinite period of time - doing anything you command. But I will also ask you to buy me several times a day (and with increasing frequency) for the first two weeks. If that doesn't work, I'll just try something else to convince you. And I'll keep this up until you either do buy me - or get fed up and kick me out.
Now think about the message FH's
UpgradeBubbles and "slowly transition over to an alternative ad campaign" approaches are sending to its potential customers.
I'm not surprised
UpgradeBubbles were a "controversial topic internally."
Just my 2¢
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**NOTE: Any use of the words 'you' and 'your' should be taken in the
collective sense. Please don't interpret my comments as being personally directed at anyone working for FileHamster.
