Pricing Observer // An ongoing collection of various approaches to pricing strategy, pricing structure and pricing process.
Provided by: www.pricingwire.com
The “Ads by Google” ad next to the TechCrunch logo caught my eye with respect to the subject of the post.
As one of the current big players along with Facebook, Twiiter and MySpace . . . I have been meaning to post pricing pages for LinkedIn for some time now.
* Note: for below images, click the larger image for an even larger (better quality) image.
Some elements to point out . . .
- The difference between Comparison Pricing Page and Upgrade Pricing Page
- “Get 2 Months Free” is for those who opt for the Annual Payment (not monthly)
- “Recommended” offering – you can influence users this way
- Other examples of this: “Our Most Popular Plan”, “Best Value”, etc.
Notice that LinkedIn can forecast system demand based on how they segment the offerings they make available to their users. Such as tiered limitations on sending Introduction Requests, InMails and Search Results.
Also, consider a large percentage of active users are likely going to be individuals who are either out of work or seeking greener pastures. Their pricing structure compels users to consider the value of the “potential” for more opportunities to improve their lives and upgrade their lifestyles.
With that said, I believe LinkedIn is missing some valuable opportunities to convert more free users into paid customers. Why do I say that? Upgrading is not promoted to free users as actively as it could be. Certainly not implying that they should spam or go over-board, but they could provide more apparent opportunities to take advantage of LinkedIn’s “additional benefits”.
If you happen to know, please pass along what LinkedIn’s “free user” to “paid customer” ratio is?
* Note: for below images, click the larger image for an even larger (better quality) image.
If you are considering launching soon or have already launched and believe you have room for improvement, consider spending some time observing how 37signals has fined tuned their product and pricing presentation over time. Just some of the key elements for you to observe is the layout, the messaging and the fact they are providing well produced video testimonials of actual users. As noted in the video below, their current sites are a result of multiple A/B test iterations and a willingness to try new approaches.
In addition to the screenshots below . . . I have also provided a worthwhile video of a presentation that the creator of the Ruby on Rails framework and partner at 37signals, David Heinemeier Hansson, provided at Startup School `08. http://www.pricingwire.com/home/2009/3/11/a-secret-to-making-money-online.html
One more great resource to take a look at is Robert Dempsey’s blog post: http://blog.adsdevshop.com/2009/02/27/how-to-price-your-app-learning-from-basecamp/
Click thru the below screenshots and click the larger version for an even larger version.
Consider the below Tweet and keep in mind that there are other barriers to conversion that can pop-up unexpectedly.
Here is a Tweet by WUFOO today.
Here is their Pricing Page, which I consider to be an excellent example for those looking to update or design their own pricing page.
For all those who jumped on LogMeIn’s IPO this week . . . tell them to contact me to improve conversion by improving how they communicate their value and pricing.
Other than the “Open an Account” link at the top of their page, they haven’t done as well as they could to convert a prospect. Adding a button below each offering is recommended.
Below is a shot of the Producteev pricing page back on March 30, 2009
I captured the upgrade process for going from a FREE flickr account to a PRO flickr account.
Literally took me 5 minutes.
Note: Simply hover over an image and click to view a larger version.
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Please note that I was thinking of using flickr to post like I am here on Posterous . . . but Posterous is a better fit for what I want to do with this Pricing Observer site. So I have a PRO flickr account now and don’t know if I’ll continue to use it . . . we’ll see.
