How to increase sales of software? Factor One: the price of the product.
At the end of 2007, the guys and I conducted an experiment, the task of which was to determine the optimal price for our software product. In this article I decided to write about the results in the hope that someone from the readers will be able to supplement the presented material with the results of my own research.
Initial data
In 1998, when two graduate students from MEI decided to sell their first program via the Internet, in Russia all software was bought from pirated trays. For this reason, we made a decision to focus only on English-speaking countries, since the availability of the Internet (connection via fax modem!) Made this task solved ...
We still feel the results of this decision: the attendance of the English version of the Universal Document Converter website is an order of magnitude higher than the attendance of the Russian . That is why the experiment was decided to conduct on the English site. After all, the more tested the audience, the more accurate the experimental results will be.
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Experimental technique
As a test period, we took one week. If interested, in the comments to the article I will explain why.
Before the experiment, the price of one copy of the product was $ 69. We calculated the number of sales of the program a week before the start of the experiment and took the result as 100%. A similar calculation was made for the revenue for the week.
During the first week of the experiment, the price per copy was reduced to $ 28. During the second - up to $ 49. Further, the price was returned to the original $ 69, since the Christmas holidays began. To continue the experiment during the “pre-Christmas madness” did not make sense, because the results would not be reliable.
Experimental results
Dry residue
1. The increase in the number of sales does not always lead to an increase in the company's income!
2. "49 vs 69"
The price reduction from $ 69 to $ 49 had a much less noticeable effect on the number of sales than from $ 49 to $ 28.
Inside the company, we hypothesized that a qualitative change in the number of sales occurs only if the new price translates the product into a different price category. In our case, from the category of "business applications" to the category of "charevary program."
How to put it into practice? Very simple! If your product is bought for 49 dollars, you can safely raise its price to 69. The number of sales will change little, but by increasing the price you end up earning a little more money. Plus, you will reduce the cost of sending boxes with the program by mail and reduce the burden on your support service by reducing the number of registered users ;-).
3. "28 vs 69"
Trading in a program designed for office use at the price of “smart student crafts” is not profitable!
Conclusion
I offer conclusions and tips that make sense only for use in a similar context : English-speaking, Western Internet audience + "mature" software product for office use. If you are engaged in computer games, and / or sell programs in Russia - the situation will most likely be completely different.
If the article arouses the interest of the venerable public, in the second series I will talk about how we are trying to enter the Russian market, and what we get.
Initial data
In 1998, when two graduate students from MEI decided to sell their first program via the Internet, in Russia all software was bought from pirated trays. For this reason, we made a decision to focus only on English-speaking countries, since the availability of the Internet (connection via fax modem!) Made this task solved ...
We still feel the results of this decision: the attendance of the English version of the Universal Document Converter website is an order of magnitude higher than the attendance of the Russian . That is why the experiment was decided to conduct on the English site. After all, the more tested the audience, the more accurate the experimental results will be.
')
Experimental technique
As a test period, we took one week. If interested, in the comments to the article I will explain why.
Before the experiment, the price of one copy of the product was $ 69. We calculated the number of sales of the program a week before the start of the experiment and took the result as 100%. A similar calculation was made for the revenue for the week.
During the first week of the experiment, the price per copy was reduced to $ 28. During the second - up to $ 49. Further, the price was returned to the original $ 69, since the Christmas holidays began. To continue the experiment during the “pre-Christmas madness” did not make sense, because the results would not be reliable.
Experimental results
Dry residue
1. The increase in the number of sales does not always lead to an increase in the company's income!
2. "49 vs 69"
The price reduction from $ 69 to $ 49 had a much less noticeable effect on the number of sales than from $ 49 to $ 28.
Inside the company, we hypothesized that a qualitative change in the number of sales occurs only if the new price translates the product into a different price category. In our case, from the category of "business applications" to the category of "charevary program."
How to put it into practice? Very simple! If your product is bought for 49 dollars, you can safely raise its price to 69. The number of sales will change little, but by increasing the price you end up earning a little more money. Plus, you will reduce the cost of sending boxes with the program by mail and reduce the burden on your support service by reducing the number of registered users ;-).
3. "28 vs 69"
Trading in a program designed for office use at the price of “smart student crafts” is not profitable!
Conclusion
I offer conclusions and tips that make sense only for use in a similar context : English-speaking, Western Internet audience + "mature" software product for office use. If you are engaged in computer games, and / or sell programs in Russia - the situation will most likely be completely different.
If the article arouses the interest of the venerable public, in the second series I will talk about how we are trying to enter the Russian market, and what we get.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/20122/
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