Eric Thomas ([log in to unmask]) writes:
 > On Wed, 22 Feb 1995 16:43:51 GMT David Chapin <[log in to unmask]> said:
 >
 > > With the closing of GATECH and the flood on the cybernet of old mailing
 > > lists in need of a new  home, I wonder if Eric Thomas and other
 > > commercial mailing list service companies would consider the following
 > > idea:
 > >
 > >   Offer a 6 months free trial period for new non-commercial mailing
 > >   lists.
 >
 > There is just one problem: free trials are always abused.
 
That's a very pessimistic attitude. I view it as a positive, image-building
period.
 
 > Trial licenses were introduced mostly for corporate customers who [...]
 > For the mailing list service, the issue is the same.
 
Eric, you are discussing something totally different here. I was suggesting
a break-in period for the use of mailing lists at your site - a service
issue. You are talking about selling software licenses - a sales issue.
These issues are not the same. They are as different as renting a house vs.
buying one.
 
 > Anyway, the problem with free rides is that they aren't free. At some
 > point someone is going to have to pay for them.
 
True. But by offering a trial period for use of your mailing list
services you are doing two things: 1) building customer loyalty
to your product; and 2) deferring a payment, which at the beginning
the discussion group is generally unable to pay anyway. By giving the
non-commercial group a chance to solicit funding amongst its members
and giving them time to develop a community and you are building
a reliable and loyal customer base. In fact, you may get new startup
groups who may be unwilling to pay the upfront rental fees and may
otherwise dissolve. In the end, the 6 month trial will be paid for many
times over in continual service fees by clients that now have the means
to pay and no reason to leave.
 
And, I can assure you, it is a pain in the %$# to leave. Obviously,
the group will have no intention of using the free trial and then
moving on -- this is very hard to implement unless it is a tiny list
in the first place (in which case I question their ability to pay at
all or even why they need a mailing list -- I would hope you screen
your potential customers.)
 
Think of this issue the same way that the cellular phone companies do
by giving away free cell-phones for a service connection contract. In
the end they make up the cost of the phones in service charges over time
and the customer ends up feeling the service is indispensable and is
reluctant to give up the convenience, thus providing profit for the company.
The only difference is that instead of giving away a free phone, you are
giving a customer group a chance to set up a solicitation program from
its mailing list members.
 
I see little opportunity for abuse here. Both sides gain - the service
company and the mailing list community.
 
Think about it.
 
 
  David Chapin ([log in to unmask])
 
  ... still looking for a home to 6 genealogy mailing lists evicted
  from GATECH...