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Ask HN: Is the “14-days free trial” mandatory for a b2b SaaS business?
It seems to me that lots of b2b SaaS businesses, specially when they starts, include a 14-days or 1-month free trial for each of their plans.
Even without a big knowledge in marketing, I can obviously see the main goal: customers acquisition, transform potential customers into paid customers.
However I think it comes with some drawbacks:
- extra code & logic to handle the trial
- extra terms of service to avoid any legal problem?
- let your competitors spy your product for free
- dismiss your product? Some companies don't take your product seriously if it's cheap
In addition, lots of SaaS businesses don't force any commitment nowadays, companies can cancel their subscription when they want. So you pay one month to try the product and then you cancel if the product doesn't fit your needs.
That being said, I'm wondering if I should include a free trial for my b2b SaaS business?
Maybe the right answer is to A/B test each model (with/without trials) and choose the model that converts best?
I would love to know what is HN opinion about this topic.
- shopnearby 10y agoIf you're competitors really want to spy on you, they would spend the money for one month of your service so I would not worry about that. Unless your potential customers are pre-sold on your software or they really need your software immediately, it will be difficult to convert them into paying customers. By having the free trial, it makes it easier to try it out without any monetary repercussions. Also, it's difficult to get approval at many companies to try a new software where they have to pay for it. Imagine your solution doesn't fit their needs. All of a sudden, the person that requested your software will look bad in front of colleagues and bosses. This is a very real risk people want to avoid at all cost.
- czbond 10y agoFrom your phrasing, it seems like you've made up your mind that you don't want to offer one - and looking for validation on that thought. That said.... How are you acquiring your customers currently? How much context do they have about the product and how it fits their issues. Do they "stumble on you", search for you, referred by friends, etc? That does matter in their trust of you - and what they're willing to part with. You can always test options like "buy now, we'll charge in 14 days", "money back guarantee, etc".
- dozzie 10y ago> However I think it comes with some drawbacks: > - extra code & logic to handle the trial An SQL query running once a day that reports/disables old trial accounts hardly counts as "extra code & logic". > - extra terms of service to avoid any legal problem? Like what? Why would trial users be any different from paying customers? > - let your competitors spy your product for free If you only have functions easy to replicate, you'll have hard time anyway. Either you're too small for anybody to bother with you in particular or you're big enough for competition to buy the cheapest plan and check your service anyway. > - dismiss your product? Some companies don't take your product seriously if it's cheap Being cheap has nothing to do with having a trial.