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You have to be careful with marketing to get this to work, but I think lots of people would love it. One, it's very attractive to only pay if your laptop is st

You have to be careful with marketing to get this to work, but I think lots of people would love it. One, it's very attractive to only pay if your laptop is stolen, so if you take care of it, you get the peace of mind of the service without paying out any money. On the other hand, people usually aren't in a very good mood when their laptop has just been stolen, and having to pay money on top of that puts them in a worse mood. Then, if they don't get all their data back or can't recover it, because maybe the thief doesn't leave it connected to the internet, then they're going to be in an angry mood. Its like there's a fine line. People love the idea of only paying when its stolen, but hate the idea of paying once it has been stolen.

sigfrid 18y ago
I optimistically assumed people would be so happy they got some data back they'd be willing to pay without thinking twice. What pushed me more towards a yearly fee is purely selfish interest: I pay hosting even if no one's laptop even gets stolen ;-).
- jonknee 18y ago
  Charging only if you can recover data makes you stand behind your product more though. I'd trust a service more if they put their revenue where their mouth is.
- tstegart 18y ago
  You'd think that, but to sell it you'd have to phrase it that way in your marketing so people know what to expect. Thats what marketing is sort of about most of the time, managing people's expectations. There a difference between saying "our product can transfer the files you select when your laptop is stolen" and "For $20 we'll use our software to recover as much as we can." In one, a customer assumes they will get something, while in another, a customer hopes to get something. If you fail, the customer who assumed will be angry at themselves for making a false assumption, but they will take it out on you. The customer who hoped might still be angry, but not as you (unless he sees no one else getting data, then he will be angry at you for creating false hope).

sigfrid 18y ago

I optimistically assumed people would be so happy they got some data back they'd be willing to pay without thinking twice. What pushed me more towards a yearly fee is purely selfish interest: I pay hosting even if no one's laptop even gets stolen ;-).

jonknee 18y ago
Charging only if you can recover data makes you stand behind your product more though. I'd trust a service more if they put their revenue where their mouth is.
tstegart 18y ago
You'd think that, but to sell it you'd have to phrase it that way in your marketing so people know what to expect. Thats what marketing is sort of about most of the time, managing people's expectations. There a difference between saying "our product can transfer the files you select when your laptop is stolen" and "For $20 we'll use our software to recover as much as we can." In one, a customer assumes they will get something, while in another, a customer hopes to get something. If you fail, the customer who assumed will be angry at themselves for making a false assumption, but they will take it out on you. The customer who hoped might still be angry, but not as you (unless he sees no one else getting data, then he will be angry at you for creating false hope).