Jul
10Potential customers that can’t use your trial, what to do?
Tags : To Do Posted in: Tech Talk
In the last few months the question of potential customers not being able to access my program trial period has occurred a couple of time.
The first time the customer said they had used the trial last year and wanted to show this years students the program.
Today I’ve had another request, this time from what seems like a genuine customer, who can not access the trial. He says that hes never had my program on his machine and he hasn’t accessed an old database. So in this case it sounds like a problem in my program.
However this is the first report of this problem.
My issue / problem is what to do.
Even if I find . fix the problem, the 30 day data will have to be reset. And this functionality is open to abuse.
I mean I could write a small program to reset the 30 day data, but if this program were to be posted on the Internet my program would be cracked.
So what to do, thoughts?
Ideaspad - An Award winning information manager for home and professional use
by JM
Two scenarios, two solutions. I discussed this topic last night at home for a similar situation with SliQ so it’s a strange coincidence you brought this up.
For case 1, we decided - if they like it that much, why don’t they buy! It’s not as if it costs the earth. The hassle in doing a special for them, apart from the dangers you’ve already mentions, isn’t worth it for the profit from the 1 small possibility of a sale.
For case 2, you have a bug to be tracked down.
What did you decide to do in the end about the request for a new trial period?
I did have another idea which was that periodically, e.g. every year or at least major update, the keys should be changed and the software should effectively become a new product. This would allow people to get a new trial and it might also get a repeat order.
Well I added a few lines of code to my nag screen which allowed the guy to bring up my problem report screen. Which already had debugging comments in to tell me what happened in the 30 day function.
However its a couple of pages long, I have had it printed out on my desk since Thursday, but I haven’t got round to tracing it through.
I’m hoping I’ll find the problem and be able to fix it.
Until I can find out what the problem is I can’t definitely decide what to do next.
The only problem with your approach is that your going to have to give your existing customers new keys for new versions, won’t you?
I guess one of my biggest worries since I started developing shareware is the balance between protecting your software vs selling software.
I’ve always been obsessed by protecting my software and I’m sure I must have lost sales from errors / problems which have occured in and as a cosequence of the 30 day function, which is well complicated.
When I first developed Ideaspad (my first product) I had 2 separate versions a demo version and a full version. I then found the maintenance of maintaining two version very time consuming, at the time I hadn’t licked sharing code very well.
I’ve thought several times about having a freeware version, that way I could probably just disable some functionality and have a dummy license key. That way I’d get my program well tested. Also the freeware version would market the full version.
Having said that, this is pretty much like my shareware setup now, except for pad file from shareware => freeware, and remove the nag screen and disable some functionality.
But actually being freeware might give me tonnes more downloads.
Thoughts?
I wouldn’t have to give existing customers keys if I adopt the above scheme (a couple of comment up). Existing customers would have to buy the new product and get a key. I’m not giving free updates forever, just until I decide to change the major version number, e.g. 1.4 purhcasers can get 1.5 but they won’t get 2.0 for free.
On the freeware point, I must admit I’m only developing for the money so any ideas about giving software away go voer my head!
I’ve seen a lot of software which is classed as freeware (by the author) but is actually a locked down version with buy now for the full version.
When I’m looking for software I only every look for freeware versions then if I’m getting really stuck and really need something and i’m wasting time looking for a freeware versions, I then look for a shareware version.
The only difference in a freeware version to a trial version, functionally speaking is that the trial never ends.
I used a trial text editing program for a year before I bought it, the delayed nag screen, which wasn’t over the top, I finally got sick of it.
But if your freeware version only goes so far, with limited functionality its just as good if not more so than a shareware version. The biggest advantage of course is that the freeware version will get a LOT more downloads.
For me the added bonus of getting my software tested and analysed by lots of users also has great appeal. I’ve emailed freeware authors in the past giving my comments / requests.
I read earlier on in my shareware career that it takes something like 5 versions for a product to sell well. Anything which gets us there quicker has to be good.
Further thoughts?