marketing, mobile-apps, market-research, android-developmentI have an app on Google Play Store with both a full (paid) version and a one-week trial (free) version. I also have a website, Facebook account, etc. for the app.
Up until now I’ve been directing all my links to the paid version of the app, but I’m thinking maybe it would be better to direct people to the free trial version? Are there any studies or anything on this kind of thing?
The free version is a one week trial that will stop working after one week and prompt the user to buy the full version. Here are some quick stats for january:
Paid version
Trial version
People who visited the paid version from the link in the free version: 126 (17% of 778)
Of those 126 people, 21 (17%) installed the app
Let’s crunch some numbers! Let’s say my links on FB and my website drive 200 people to my app each month. If they go to the paid version, roughly 9 of them will buy the app. If they go to the free version, roughly 60 will install the app, 10 of whom will visit the paid app, and at last about 2 of those will install the app. Based on those numbers I should keep directing traffic to the paid version.
However, there could be all kinds of unknowns in those numbers. For instance, the people who are willing to click on a link to Google Play might be more willing to convert from the free to the paid version after they’ve tried it, but they might not want to buy the paid version directly. Any thoughts on different strategies?
Well, in my opinion, Apps should not be charged. They should be free. Instead of charging an upfront fee for downloading an App, you should charge in smaller chunks with can provide some extra features.
Example:
So, the bottom line is, People do not think much when they pay in smaller chunks, but they tend to think a lot before paying a hefty amount upfront for an App. So keep an app free for download and basic use.
I don’t know about any studies, so I’ll just explain what I do when look at apps.
If the app is a trial, I usually download it (assuming it’s something I am intrested in). And then if I like it, I’ll buy the full version.
If it’s paid, it depends on the type of app: If it’s a game or something that I’ll know instantly if I want or not I purchase it and refund it if I don’t want it (free refunds within atleast 2hrs on Google Play) If it’s let’s say a Calendar (or something that takes longer time to evaluate), I’ll check for a free version. If there isn’t I might download it or I don’t (usually a well written description and good screenshots helps with making a good decisions here.)
Also, some well-known developers offer you a refund within (a decent time period (usually 7/30-days)), so that you can email them the order number in that time period and get your money back that way.
But please, offer an in app purchase to unlock the full version in the free version so people won’t have to uninstall it and then install a new app.
It will be very difficult to get people to pay upfront. Send them to your free trial so they can see the benefits of your app. Once they start using your free trial you can out their email in a mailing list for detailed benefits of your app and update them about new versions and features until they buy or quit your mailing.
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