I am in the process of developing a SaaS website and am going through the process of determining subscription levels and pricing structures.
On top of the monthly subscription for the on-going element of my service, another aspect of the service lends itself to a 'per-use' fee.
My initial intention was to go for just a monthly fee.
But - then I got an automated e-mail from eBay telling me about a 'free listing weekend' whereby listing fees were reduced to zero, but final selling fees would still be in place.
This got me thinking. Perhaps I should have my monthly fee (which I always aim to charge in full), then introduce a small 'per-use' fee for the aspect of the service which could justify it.
The 'per-use' fee would be something that I could offer discounts on. These discounts could be a useful 'excuse' to communicate with free-trial users to try and convert them to paid users. I could openly advertise discounts which could last for short periods to try and boost sales during quiet periods, etc.
So - the question is - is this a good idea?!
As I see it, the Pros are:
- Increased opportunity to promote 'deals'.
- Another tool to convert trial users.
- Everyone likes to think they're getting a deal.
- Discounts can be offered without harming the underlying business model, which will be based on the monthly subscriptions.
And the Cons:
- More complicated pricing structure to explain to customers up-front.
- Degraded 'User Journey' as there will be more loops through the payment gateway.
Your thoughts / experiences would be appreciated! Thanks in advance...