Customer feedback updated...
Category: Internet
Published: 12/20/2008 01:26 a.m.
I love the internet. It is great. It allows for new things to happen, and gives anyone (like me) a platform to get their voice heard. Even if you don't have your own blog, any web surfer is free to comment on blogs and be heard that way. This gives anyone the ability to give feedback, but this isn't always a good thing.
I have recently been tracking Nick Bradbury's blog on trying to find a better way to generate revenue from FeedDemon. The quick history is that he used to sell his software for about $30 with no ads. Then it became freeware. And now he has added ads into it to make money. Ads are not any kind of new method for making money. But, the commenters on his blog (this post especially) have revolted a bit. Lots of comments threaten to find a different solution, or say they are still interested in paying. Many comments seem very upset about the ads.
I haven't done the research, but I am pretty certain that the LOUDEST customers don't speak for everyone. I myself don't use FeedDemon, but if I did, I don't think I would mind the ads. In this situation, I really feel for Nick. He has created something people love to use, but the loud people are making it very difficult to monetize. The comments on his website look a lot like customer feedback, but it isn't exactly accurate.
A podcast I listened to a while back had an interview with Tim Ferris on his book, the 4-hour work week. In the interview, Ferris talked about the way the went about finding a price for the book. They would survey a group of people and ask them if they would be willing to purchase the book for $20. In this hypothetical situation, 80% of the group said they would be willing to buy. So then, Ferris' team attempted to sell the book, right there in the survey room, for $20. Based on the "customer feedback", 80% of the people should have bought. But the number of people actually willing to shell out a twenty dropped under 20%. The moral is, something is only worth what someone will pay for it. Any other type of valuation is BS.
Going back to FeedDemon and it's slew of commenters, these people don't necessarily represent real customer data. So, he is going to have to make a tough decision on how to distribute his product. With ads and he may lose some customers. Without ads and he may lose revenue from piracy. I am not sure of a third option, but whoever solves this problem will be a very rich person soon.
The second side of this kind of angry customer feedback is some kind of extension of customer entitlement. I have no idea where it started, but I see more and more things on the internet where consumers are threatening to quit using services until their demands are met. A few years ago, it seemed a bit popular to reject facebook because they are collecting our personal information. But, facebook didn't quit doing that, I they seem to be doing alright. I think some kind of combination between web anonymity, the ease of commenting, and some heighten sense of entitlement that has created a "perfect storm" of customer whining.
Nick points out in his post that many people have come to expect free software. I believe this is due to many popular services reverting to an ad-based revenue model so they can be free to customers and still pay the bills. I think the example of FeedDemon is just the first of some backlash over ads. I am not sure how someone would get it off of the ground, but I think making an ad-free search engine could quickly secure some market share and capitalize on the sector of the market of the LOUD people from Nick's blog. People who want to pay to not be sold.
Or perhaps I am so used to ads that I have come to expect them. Am I the one that is out of touch?