Please note, this article was initially posted on Netmobo’s blog, click here to read it.
Product pricing decisions can be very difficult, especially for mobile app developers. While paying for more options seems to be the norm, yesterday’s headline regarding presentation, document and video sharing site, SlideShare’s new freemium offering had me thinking about innovative pricing strategies. In particular, as opposed to paying for more features, SlideShare customers can pay a premium for control, or the elimination of features:
The silver plan, which is $19 per month, includes…the ability to turn off ads. And the platinum level, which is aimed towards enterprises…gives users the control to turn of [sic] comments and more. Brands such as Dell, Microsoft and Pfizer are already using SlideShare’s pro offerings.
Paying a premium to eliminate ads is nothing new, but paying to eliminate a feature, in this case comments, was a novel idea for me. This strategy makes great sense for SlideShare. While enterprises want to easily share content on the Internet, they still want control over their brand. For example, Dell may want to garner customer feedback by sharing a product presentation through SlideShare, but Dell also wants to prevent any potential smear campaigns from competitors or other adversaries.
This pricing strategy can work for mobile app developers, but it requires a delicate balance between offering an unwanted feature, while not alienating potential customers. If implemented appropriately however, there is added value to eliminating features or providing more control. Due to growing concerns over privacy policy and the sheer volume of consumer data that is shared on the Internet, allowing customers to pay for fewer features or more control will help alleviate these concerns.
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