Software as a service?
1. Offer free trial, then ask for credit card at end of trial period?
2. Credit card details up front, & say you will not charge until end of trial period, and they can opt out?

Comments (9)

1. I would be very wary of signing up for a free trial if I was asked to provide my credit card details even if I was assured that it I wouldn't be charged until after the trial. If you want to increase the quality of the leads another option may be to engage in communication with those who have signed up - maybe send them a survey to see how often they've used the trial, what they expect from it, features they like etc. This could also give you an opportunity to improve product features or provide better help etc as well as determine the value of them becoming a potential customer.

   
   

2. I completely agree with Sally. I got hit by drop.io for a month charge when I did not use the software (I am a happy www.filesanywhere.com user).
   
   Conversion happens on free trials if:
   
   1. You solve a business problem
   2. You respond quickly to any issues that a trial user has with your solution
   3. You make the conversion process drop dead easy at the end of 30 days.
   
   Also, if your SAAS offering requires some type of process change for a client, you need to have a strategy as to how to help the client navigate the change.
   
   Great Question as always. let me know if I can be of assistance to you in anyway.

   
   

3. Agree with both posts. Also, there may be legal aspects to taking credit card info up front depending on the country the user is located in. Remembering that the web is global and that SaaS or Cloud Computing is too, this needs to be considered I guess.
   I would not give out a card number as well without a solid knowledge of the company I am providing it to.

4. I would recommend that initially we make it a no obligation no credit card. If the response is overwhelming then we can always introduce qualifications later. Launching a new product we should make it as easy as possible as early as possible

   
   

5. I agree with those above who suggest trial first. I've done this many times myself, but would never provide a credit card number prior to the trial.
6. The less barriers to entry the better, if your technology/product/service is suitable to the users need, and worth paying for they will have no problem whipping the credit card out after they they have a play with it.
   
   It also depends on your companies or products standing in the industry or community... if you have a highly visible trusted company then you may be able to get away with credit card first.
   Getting credit card up front does make things very easy for the user to transition from trial to full version once the honeymoon period is over.
    
7. I suggest offering a trial period without credit card being required. Of course, you could offer an extended trial for providing your credit card. You could also try A/B testing and offer some people the opportunity without the card and some with the card requirements, then check your bounce rates. Of course, this is easier when you have a decent amount of traffic to your site.
    
8. From a messaging standpoint, providing consumers a trial may indicate that you have more confidence in your product/service. If you are willing to give them a free trial, you believe that, once they've been exposed to your product/service, they will feel the need to get the full version.

   
   

   I tend to agree with those that encourage the "try first, pay later" approach. Unfortunately, the increased number of 'scams' and poor service experiences have resulted in a more suspicious consumer. Personally, I know that I shy away from any online products/services that require credit card payment first.
    
9. If it is a more casual application that is used from time to time but not in the mainstream, would suggest a free trial period or perhaps free access for an introductory period but with limited privileges where the user can see most of the features, but not all. In both cases, you would be hoping that the software is compelling enough to convince the user to enter his credit card for the purchase or monthly charge. At the conclusion of the trial period, an automatic message appears asking for payment and if the purchase is not going to be made, a short questionaire asks for reasons why.
   
   Another related question here is how active your company is in either lead generation or sales loss follow-up ? Will the data on a lost sale be followed up ? When the user first signs up for the free access, will the company contact the user to determine if the sale will complete ? Coverage of this nature will depend if this is a $50 purchase or $500 purchase.
   
   Your question is very wide open and could use more context for a better answer.
   What type of software are we discussing here ? SaaS can be ERP class where you are replacing your entire financial system with another that is offered over the internet. This would be a substantial committment on both sides which may require a minimum committment for a period of time - in which case, payment could be by credit card or other method, but after negotiations, implementation details etc have been stated and detailed.