Bits from Bill
Final Results of the Great 99 cent Experiment
So were you wondering if my crazy 99 cent WinPatrol PLUS Experiment was a success? I promised to provide the numbers so I’ll let you decide for yourself. I do recommend you read beyond the initial numbers
The goals of the experiment were some what vague so the results cover a wide range of marketing principles. Ultimately, I wanted to find out if traditional software vendors would need to make changes to compete with the concept of 99 cent downloads available to pocket computers like the iPhone and Droid.
Financial
From a financial standpoint the results of this experiment were great. Even at 99 cents the volume of sales over a 50 hour period made the extra work worthwhile.
Sales generated just under $15,000 in raw income while adding about 15,000 new WinPatrol PLUS members. The majority of new members had never tried WinPatrol prior to the experiment but a large number were long time users of the Free version who just couldn’t afford the current $29.95 cost to upgrade.
The most painful part of this newly generated income was the large portion taken away by online payment processing. When you sell a product for 99 cents the credit card companies take a huge chunk. On a normal $29.95 WinPatrol PLUS transaction PayPal gets about 5% of the sale. When its on $0.99, PayPal gets a full 25%. I don’t have all the final numbers from Visa and MasterCard but it appears their cut was even more.
Apple actually gets 30% of all sales so this part of the experiment makes for a good comparison. Developers have some advantages in the App Store like the built in ownership protection. I already have people posting their 99 cent PLUS codes on keygen sites for pirated software.
A number of companies have tried to create online stores for the traditional software marketplace but they’ve had limited success. We really need a simple easy method for users to download and purchase software. There are companies out there very close to making this happen but just need critical mass of users to make it acceptable.
Public Relations
If my goal was great Public Relations then the experiment was certainly a success. One of my biggest fears was backlash from current WinPatrol PLUS members who may have recently paid $29.95. The objections to this experiment I can count on one hand. Most current members helped spread the news to family and friends and some even purchased a 99 cent license just to participate and show their support.
As I said, many of our new PLUS members had never heard of WinPatrol so I easily have over 10,000 new WinPatrol users who are now in a position to tell their friends and family about WinPatrol. Once someone installs and understands what WinPatrol can do we usually have a long time loyal friend. Last year I had a total of four customers actually requested a refund. Not many products can claim a satisfaction record like that.
Extra Work
While sales exceeded my expectations so did my work load. For over a week life for both my wife Cindi and I has revolved around this experiment. A lot of the extra work could have been avoided if I created an additional (mirror) download website for the WinPatrol setup program. While I knew I had the bandwidth to handle the influx in purchases I neglected to realize most of our new fans would also need to download the WinPatrol setup program as part of the process. Once someone starts a download that holds up a connection to our server and physical connections do have a limit.
During the peak of our sale the 3rd party store, which doesn’t run on our servers, held up great. When users returned to receive their PLUS code we failed due to lack of connections. The result was way more Emails than I could handle in a timely fashion. This process has taken up my days and nights but I must say people have been extremely polite and understanding.
Family Support
The work load on my wife Cindi was also overwhelming. In many cases, when people didn’t receive their PLUS code, they’d go in to try again. Realizing what we had going on Cindi decided to process and review each order manually. While processing orders Cindi could see if the same person ordered more than once. She would process the first order normally but make sure any subsequent orders were not charged to the customers credit card. It’s possible some of these orders were intentional but our priority was to make sure nobody was over charged so she reviewed each order personally. This may be more than you needed to know but I can’t help but praise my valentine.
E-Mail Overload
While having over 10,000 new WinPatrol PLUS members is great I’m not exactly setup like most businesses. I have always read each support@WinPatrol.com Email and I respond personally. My normal day does not end until all Email has been answered. Luckily, WinPatrol is easy to use and most of my daily Email consists of requests for lost PLUS codes. Most of the Email from the new users were questions I’ve answered before but they did add to already “I didn’t get my PLUS code” messages. At times it was refreshing when I got a spam message which I knew I could just delete.
Meeting Expectations
One thing we did have in common with the 99 cent software sales in the App Store or Droid Market were expectations. When people only pay 99 cents they don’t expect much. I would have had more Email but many people may not think asking for help is included in the price. I’ve been tracking activations and found another surprise. Less than half of the new customers have followed the instructions to activate their PLUS features. I’m sure some are still exploring the Free benefits but some have admitted “I don’t know when I’ll get around to it. I just figured for 99 cents what can I lose?” I’m sure there are some out there who really don’t have a clue what they purchased and haven’t even downloaded the Free WinPatrol.
Conclusion
I’ve crunched the numbers and have evaluated hundreds of comments. There’s no doubt that how we purchase software is changing. Most users have accepted downloading as a software delivery method. We all live in an immediate world which has helped people accept online software delivery.
Based on the experiment I would be best off by selling WinPatrol PLUS for $9.99 but without free updates. It has been recommended I make WinPatrol PLUS a yearly subscription. I don’t expect to make any chances in the near future. What do you think?
posted by Unknown | 8:58 PM
39 Comments:
Hi Bill, I am a long ago subscriber to WinPatrol and rec it to everyone, I hadn't even heard of your offer until just now.
My reaction is: DUH!
Why not a $5 experiment?
.99 is obviously way way too little for your program.
Am I angry? No, but if suddenly my cost went up as a result, then yes.
Subscription model for software to me I absolutely HATE! I understand it for anti-virus/malware apps that have to be updated all the time, and that's about it, a fee for a major update, again that's fair, too many companies are basically charging the 75%+ of the initial fees for an 'upgrade' though.
Now your task catcher app, which doesn't offer much, maybe that could have been the app for .99 experiment?
I would offer three choices. The $9.99 with updates for a full year and your existing @29.95/$49.95 options.
I think a lot of people would prefer to pay a little more upfront and not have to deal with paying a yearly renewal. The ones who don't, would have the $9.95 option as a reasonable alternative.
I think you should put up a "Hall of Shame" for the registered user of each key that shows up on a pirate site. Just the first name and initial would do.
Finding the golden curve is going to be tricky for this. 10 dollars is ok, but how much are you going to charge for the upgrades and how often are they?
Also Winpatrol as kickass as it is, is one of those "non" essential programs that one would love to have, but it is not exactly top priority considering all the other licenses you need to buy to transform a computer to a workstation. The default 30 bucks may seems trivial, but after everything else, it's hard to swallow. $20 for life time upgrade?
Bill, is it fair to charge an annual fee if there no updates during that year? I have to admit though that most companies now charge an annual or bi-annual fee for updates. Only a thought but it is your decision.
regards, Peter Griffioen in the land 'Down Under'.
Well Bill I've always loved WinPatrol ever since the first day I used it and that has been a long while now (12 years?). And over those years I don't know just how many people I've gotten to use WinPatrol but I know it's a lot. So it's a program I use and love and so the skinflint in me likes how your life time license works. But as a business person I must confess I think that you should make more than a one time fee off of all the work you do to improve and develop the new versions of WinPatrol. That leaves me torn between what is great for me and what is only poor to fair for you. What I think is needed is something that would split the difference. Think about doing something like a 3 to 5 year license. Not something that would be too costly to update and wouldn't bug your users every year but would allow you to make a continuing revenue stream. I just want you to know that no matter what you decide I'll still be a user and I'll still be pushing WinPatrol as it's one of the simplest and best of the security sector programs out there.
I wouldn't understand why people would choose the $9.99/year vs. $29.99 lifetime license. There isn't that much savings and then you don't have to renew your membership each year.
I know money is tight these days, but money is always tight. 10 vs 30 bucks isn't that much.
I suppose Bill could have two payment options, the yearly and lifetime, but that just makes more work for Bill. But maybe it's cost-effective.
I wonder how much more money you would make if you had a few yearly "sales" for WinPatrol. The sale price would be, say, $4.99 (as $0.99 just doesn't seem enough to be worth it for you?) or some other relatively small number. The sale lasts 3-4 days. The sales happen randomly twice a year and you advertise only a week before each sale. Similar to what Macy's and other department stores do.
I wonder how much more money you would make? Bill, do you have a good advertising strategy to maximize your opportunity to inform the public?
I've been using free WinPatrol for about six years now and it's one of the must have tool in my arsenal against malware. As a plus user who has paid the ordinary price about a year ago, I wouldn't agree that Bill opted to make WinPatrol Plus a yearly subscription software. Fighting malware should not only be for those who can afford the right tools financially. In fact, other malware fighting companies should follow Bill's example to sell their software with a lifetime license.
I bought 3 copies of Winpatrol. One for myself and two for family members. Before this deal came about, I had heard about Winpatrol, tried it once and uninstalled it, but never really thought about buying it. It was not so much a cost thing (though that plays a part), it was more of a "will I find this useful".
When you put it on for 99c, I thought I would give it a try - less because I wanted the software, but more because I agreed with your stances on the no toolbars when you could have easily succumbed. I have never heard a developer of software so widely praised by everyone within the security community.
I thought that was a worthy thing to be supporting - hence why I bought 3 licenses. I am one of those people who have only activated one license so far. I want to see how it goes and then decide for the my family member's machines.
Regardless of whether its useful or not, software developers like yourself are to be applauded and supported when people can. I must admit to being blown away by your program plus database :)
And who knows maybe, just maybe, I will find the software really useful!
Thanks for the great 99 cent deal! I've been able to speed up my PC with your software. Personally I dislike paypal etc. and would be glad to just mail in say $2 directly to you for such a great deal. If you run it again will get for my wife's PC and perhaps another windows PC. Thanks.
I'm always a day late and dollar short. Not in this case though, I had the dollar. Why do I always miss these great deals?
I've used your free addition for years and always recommend to others. Oh well, there's always next time.
Thanks for this great program.
How about $3 per year for real-time access, and the PLUS database, and $.99 to upgrade to a new version? These prices would be for only one computer. And, if you desired, you could have the $29 license for life.
Thank you for the comments. Keep 'em coming.
To answer some comments.
I have no advertising budget so that hasn't been an issue. I've always depended on word of mouth.
The recommendation to have a monthly fee is based on the updates in the PLUS Info database. That's actually my biggest monthly expense.
I don't really like the idea and even if I did I can promise it wouldn't be automatic.
No changes will be coming in the near future.
Oh dear - if your update charges are monthly and are guaranteed to NOT be automatic I'm afraid I would never get around to remembering to do it! I could probably handle once/year. It does seem like you ought to be getting something back for all the effort you put into it, but my preference would be to sign up for it and forget it (ie automation).
I missed the firesale, but I guess that's okay. I'm considering purchasing the PLUS license not because I specifically need the plus functionality (the free version has done me well enough all these years), but because I figure it's worth the money. I've never really been a fan of subscription fees on software, but maybe a $5-10 software price + $1-3 annual subscription. If you go that route, leave the $30 lifetime fee for people like me that don't like subscriptions and for people who just want to show their support.
It's definitely the slow route, but I strongly encourage you to stay the course of offering a great free product and over time the people who think it's worth money will pay you.
Personally I find subscription software models to be absolutely awful, and I avoid them whenever possible.
However, what I am just wondering is if this new pricing model would affect your existing customers. For example, would the initiation of a monthly (or yearly) fee pertain also to the customers who already have a full PLUS membership?
Sounds to me like $1 was a failure. You have 10,000 users and you made $15000. All you need is one incidious bug (they happen to everybody) to wipe out anything that looks like a profit while you fix it, deal with irate customers (people can turn on you in a second - consumers have short memories and shrter loyalty) and try to pick up the pieces afterwards.
And it sounds like you agree, since you speak of $10 as a new target price point.
I think that $0.99 apps have so badly cheapened the worth of the hard work of developers like you, that is going to take a long time for the industry to recover.
1. Excerpt: " but a large number were long time users of the Free version who just couldn’t afford the current $29.95 cost to upgrade."
Soooooo. a person that can afford a computer and Internet service can't afford $29.95 for a program. BS!
2. If WinPatrol goes annual subscription, count me out. The program is not a big deal on my computer.
Too many companies end up bloating their software just so they can sell "upgrades". I love WinPatrol and appreciate the fact that improvements really are improvements. A subscription model certainly lets us vote for your program every year. I would be willing to go with $5 every three years on top of an initial $20 for the Plus version.
For your next 24 hour experiment, maybe you could try the WindowsSecrets.com idea and let the customer decide how much to pay. They have been doing this for several years with their newsletter so it must be working.
Hello, Bill, I read that your next big endeavor will entail incorporating registry management. that's going to be a bear to manage! So... what about a model similar to security suites, where Winpatrol Free & Plus remain the current software (no registry module). Whoever owns a lifetime WinPatrol license retains it with lifetime upgrades (minus the registry module - it needs another name. Registry Patrol? Another mascot?) As for the new registryPatrol sw, making it something that can be de-activated/ uninstalled without uninstalling Winpatrol itself may be a good thing given how complex registry issues can be. Since it's truly new software, without discussion! you are entitled to be paid for it separately, using whatever payment model makes sense for you! If a subscription model would be best given the constant work registryGuarding will entail for you, do that. $29.99 or 19.99 or 9.99 a year; or purchase a license for the current version (with free updates (1.1 to 1.99) within that version & upgrades to all newer versions (1 to 2 to 3) within a year of license purchase). Consider making it standalone as well as integrating into Winpatrol. Here's another thought: Winpatrol Free users may spend $0.99 as needed to access the Plus database (maybe for 24 hours to resolve some issue?) Once used, many will say, it's worth it & purchase Plus at $29.99 lifetime. If not, at least it will create an affordable & reliable source of info for those who truly can't pay when they get into trouble, & increase your revenue. Certainly, it's more in line to spend 99 cents for 24 hour access to the database than for Winpatrol Plus! Thanks again for the terrific software!
I think the people arguing for a lifetime license are thinking (naturally) of themselves but not of Bill. People cry about the charges for updates to Windows too but, (Vista excepted) they're happy with the work put into the update.
At the very least he should be able to recover his effort and make a little extra when he comes out with 64-bit vs 32-bit version, an update for a new version of Windows, etc.
At best he should also be able to recover for the accesses to his server. Fair is fair.
That said, I agree with Steve that there isn't much difference between $10 yearly and $30 lifetime. I think Bill should get the yearly as low as he can reasonably afford. ($5?) because once people try the plus service for a while they will want to keep it. The goal is to get people to use the service, then the product will sell itself.
Bill, I haven't used my code yet because I was moving and my computers aren't being used as normal.
"Soooooo. a person that can afford a computer and Internet service can't afford $29.95 for a program. BS!"
It's not bs man. Not everyone pays for their own computer or internet for that matter. Also, as with anything else people need/want they have to choose their priorities.
Let me assure folks that I don't expect any changes to the current pricing at this time.
You might occasionally see a special but I don't anticipate any major changes.
For current customers who have a lifetime license I would never go back on an existing promise. Anyone with a lifetime deal will continue to get free updates. I was just pointing out, based on the experiment a change was recommended by business folks helping me analysis the results.
One of the other things I discovered from the experiment is there is still a huge segment of the market who has never heard of WinPatrol. That means the lifetime offer will continue to work as long as you guys continue to tell new people about Scotty.
Bill
I would be so disappointed if you stopped being free after initial subscription. And I'm not exactly sure why. Everyone has the right to do as they please with their s/w.
Most of the software I buy has free updates. I am speaking here of various art ware.
Not adobe ware of course.
Just my 1-cent brief comment: My dear friends, aren't you also (like me) sick and tired of being considered as "stupid" customers, by those stupid marketeers, who are using stupid prices... always ending with two stupid but mandatory '99' decimals ?
I spare all my 1 cents in a box and occasionally I pay cash at the cashier... only with a mountain of one cent coins . They like it !
Sorry, dear Bill.
No more free. Two options, one without plus and one with. 9.99 and 29.99 lifetime.
Dear Bill.
I want to thank you for the $.99 deal. I bought one for my wife and one for myself. I have used the free version for several years. Since it's not something you use everyday nor honestly is it something you couldn't do without I probably wouldn't have been using it at all if I didn't have the free version.
I appreciate the non subscription feature and if I'm using software which suddenly requires it, I will either use it as is, find something similar, or do without.
Most all of the software I use is the free version kind. If it's good enough for your friend Steve Bass it's good enough for me. In fact I found out about your $.99 offer from his Weekly Newsletter.
Your generosity helps those of us with limited resources to have software which expands the capabilities of our computers.
If you decided that you needed to get more income for your efforts I would certainly understand and if I couldn't afford it I would say God Bless you and be grateful for the time I used your product.
Hi Bill,
I used the free version for a year but didn't really know what Plus would give me. On my tight budget $29.99 IS a big deal to me when I can't try it out first.
For 99c I found out that I love it. If I had been able to see the PLUS version and try it out I might have bought it a long time ago. Maybe a 30-day free trial of the Plus version?
On subscription renewals: I don't care for them and a lot of times that's when I drop the software.
Bill,
WinPatrol is such a necessity to me, I would have paid higher than the $29. for the PLUS version. I would like to see the current transaction of pay once, use forever, than a yearly subscription. But, if that is the decision, I will gladly pay for it every year.
Thanks and keep up the good work,
badbigdad
Bill,
Thank you so much for the .99 sale. I have always used your free version of Winpatrol. I could not afford the Plus version, but your sale changed that. My husband got it for me. It means a lot to me. Too many people are money-oriented rather than customer-oriented. You are clearly customer-oriented.
I am worried about you pondering a subscription model. If you did such a thing, I would have to return back to the free version. If the free version ends up only having paid updates, then I would be unable to use the program at all. There are security solutions out there that are free, and have either automatic or manual updates. Like AVG, Spybot S&D, ERUNT (what I use for doing full backups instead of relying on the hit-and-miss Restore Points), Windows Firewall, and Revo Uninstaller.
The budget is so small that I'm reliant on free solutions. This list only covers the security and prevention aspect. Most of the software I use, even for accessibility purposes, is all free. That means I have no refreshable braille display, which is very expensive. You might think I have a Linux system, just based on how much I rely on free software. Though I do like Linux, I have Windows XP that I like just as much. But there's a little something that the security software industry might enjoy the challenge of...
making security software for the blind and visually impaired, such as myself. It'd help if they pretended to be blind or visually impaired themselves, or wore the darkest shades possible or turned the monitor off, to learn how to compute in a different way and how to make it easier. Its a field that seems unexplored. There's accessible games for the blind and visually impaired, and that helps a lot. There's alternative browsers and browsers that do what they can to be accessible so there's no accessibility gap, and they're free. But most blind and visually impaired computer users don't know about these free solutions, and if they're not accessible then they are stuck with paying fortunes for anything they need, just to be enabled.
I just wanted to thank you and give you some insight on the difficulties I have, while laying a small challenge that you might enjoy trying to do. Its not the business that makes one happy, but the smile on the customer's face. Have a great day!
The Great Experiment-V1.0
It would seem that the cost factor is what motivates us all. Therefore, why not come up with a fee that is fair to the vendor as well as the consumer and charge that as an annual fee? I had the ability to use a spam flter and then subscribe for a one time, low cost. Instead, I send the Co. an annual check even though I have far exceeded the total cost of their product, I think that is more than fair and plan to continue to do so. It's almost social justice!
dear Bill, I had a lots of problems with my VISA bank. The bank has an automatic fence against card theft. When the card is use for less than 1 dollar, the card is automatic out of service.
Hello, again, Mr. Pytlovany.
I've really enjoyed using your fine program, for x years now.
[I can't remember when I first started using it, or even how long ago I emailed you last.]
Speaking as a (relatively) low-paided "working stiff" type, I've always appreciated the free version, while hoping that I could afford the 'Lifetime' fee.
W/ the 99-cent experiment, I now have WinPatrol Plus!
Bill, your software is SO good! its worth 30 bucks, so now I've got to find the money, for my wife's old Compaq.
Her box is circa 2004, (XP Home) which was a gift.
After the fire in '05, I found a 'refurb' [$250?] MPC ClientPro Cn, w/ Win2k Pro; Shipping Date: 11/28/2000.
WinPatrol is invaluable for keeping this old box running.
For the 99-cent experiment, I thought I would try my debit card.
It looked good, so I tried the PLUS Code—no go.
I thought, 'Well, maybe his server's getting hammered; I try that again.'
Sure enough, a day & a 1/2 later it was good to go.
If you want to try for a lower-priced version, maybe you could limit the total number of times the PLUS Code would update.
Thanks again for the great software, Mr. Pytlovany, & for the 99-cent experiment.
Jon Steedley
Thanks for WinPatrol and pleae no every year charge.....It is so worth the original charge.
Sue
Hi Bill, if maintaining the Plus database is a "high" cost, then why not consider charging for using it? In my opinion, an average WinPatrol Plus user does not access the plus database very often. I have the Plus version for about a year now and I only did some very few checks with the Plus database. You can offer say 3 free checks for a Plus user each month. Beyond this 3 checks, you can charge say $10 and then let this user have unlimited access for the next 6 months to the Plus database. This seems to be a fair cost for a heavy user of the Plus database.
In any case, please keep up the good work and don't turn WinPatrol into one of the annual-subscription based software. By using the scheme I proposed above or any other clever one, this will give a chance for less wealthy persons to get WinPatrol Plus and also allow the wealthy ones to contribute more if wish to access access the Plus database often. Of course then implementing such a scheme will give you more work to have the Plus database maintaining a "count" of how often a Plus user is accessing the database.
Bill,
Having just read through all the previous comments I have decided to add one of my own.
Were it not for your 99c offer I would not have bought WinPatrol Plus, mainly because my circumstances mean that I rarely if ever buy any software.
Having bought it I have learned that there is much more to it than I originally thought.
Since I got it I have already found it more useful than other programs that I have had for years, two of which I have since removed.
There are two things among the comments that I would like to address, advertising and payment.
Taking advertising first: Until your experiment became much talked about towards the end of last year I had only heard of WinPatrol once that I can recall, it was on a general forum where people were discussing what type of security software they used and one happened to mention WinPatrol, the reason it stuck in my mind was because I had never heard of it.
Looking around since I have found that once you know the name there are quite a lot of references to it. You need to get the name out there more. A lot of sites offer a limited number of free licenses along with reviews of programs, I am sure that the interest they attract if it is a good program goes way beyond the free licenses.
Payment: Like several others who have posted comments I am completely against subscription software to the point where I do not even bother to look at it.
When it comes to initial cost my thought would be to start with a single user/single computer price of say $10 and work up from there.
Two things that I would add to that are the suggestion that has already been made of a free trial period of the Plus options and the possibility for people to make donations on your site.
The reason I suggest the possibility of donations is because I believe that many people who know of WinPatrol would be willing to go beyond the 99c of your recent experiment, even among those like myself who could not afford the present $29.95.
When it comes to charges from Banks/PayPal etc, while I am far from happy about using them myself in a global market they at least offer an easy way of making cross border/cross currency payments.
Whatever you decide to do I am sure your loyal following will continue to grow and I wish you well.
Hi Bill
I've found the information about files,available to PLUS subscribers, to be invaluable. Many times I've wondered, "What does that file do?" and your database has provided me with a clear description, with advice on whether the file is safe. If you can keep track of all this stuff and keep your database up to date and reliable, that is sure worth an annual subscription of $30.
Bill, like several others have already said, I am not a fan of the subscription method either. It seems neither are you since you have stated a couple of times already that you are not contemplating going that route, at least not in the near term. I like the idea of the lifetime license at the 29.95 price and maybe a 2-3 year license for the 10.00 price.
By the way, how long is the .99 license for? Do you need a different license for another computer you own, say a desktop and a laptop computer?
Hello and thanks for such a wonderful Program!!
I think that Chris Miller's suggestion has merit..
"Blogger Chris Miller said...
I would offer three choices. The $9.99 with updates for a full year and your existing @29.95/$49.95 options."
In this economy, paying a yearly fee would, in the long run, cost you money, and customers.
Seems to mean more to me, since mine cost full price! It is not a cheap program.. it is a QUALITY program that is worth the up-front expense!
Thanks again!
'hasBen'
Post a Comment
<< Home