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I wonder what the averages are for users of business software. Lead to trial. Trial to customer. Paying customer to active user. It would be interested just

by porter 14y ago

I wonder what the averages are for users of business software. Lead to trial. Trial to customer. Paying customer to active user. It would be interested just to get an average of how many dormant paying customers there are for web-based subscription apps. I know I am a dormant customer for at lease 3.

patio11 14y ago
This is a "How long is a piece of string" sort of question. Want just rough SWAG numbers? Lead to trial: 5% (high touch sales, high integration costs for trial) through 20% (self serve trial) Trial to customer: 1~2% (online self serve SaaS), 30~50% (online self-serve SaaS with CC captured upfront), 80%+ (high touch, high integration coats, good sales team aggressively working new accounts) Dormant customers: Very dependent on users and business practices of company. At AR it is about 15% or so. It would be higher but I sweep accounts once a year and self-terminate anyone I can't get in touch with.
- zrail 14y ago
  When you say CC captured up front, do you mean just requiring a credit card to activate your account, or actually automatically charging when the trial is over?
  - dchuk 14y ago
    usually when you take CC up front you also automatically charge at the end of the trial. It's a good way to reduce tire kickers in your app, but can result in lost users at the top of the funnel.
- ryanwaggoner 14y ago
  As long as you're throwing out numbers, what's the overall impact of capturing CC up front on the whole funnel vs. when trial ends? Obviously you'll get more trial -> customer conversions if you capture CC upfront, at the cost of people in the top of the funnel, but in general, which is better when you step back to overall lead -> customer rates? I bought your lifecycle email course, btw, and I'm just getting started working through it. I'm especially interested in this question if you assume that the lifecycle email approach is being maximized during the trial (in either scenario).

by porter 14y ago

patio11 14y ago

This is a "How long is a piece of string" sort of question. Want just rough SWAG numbers? Lead to trial: 5% (high touch sales, high integration costs for trial) through 20% (self serve trial) Trial to customer: 1~2% (online self serve SaaS), 30~50% (online self-serve SaaS with CC captured upfront), 80%+ (high touch, high integration coats, good sales team aggressively working new accounts) Dormant customers: Very dependent on users and business practices of company. At AR it is about 15% or so. It would be higher but I sweep accounts once a year and self-terminate anyone I can't get in touch with.

zrail 14y ago
When you say CC captured up front, do you mean just requiring a credit card to activate your account, or actually automatically charging when the trial is over?
- dchuk 14y ago
  usually when you take CC up front you also automatically charge at the end of the trial. It's a good way to reduce tire kickers in your app, but can result in lost users at the top of the funnel.
ryanwaggoner 14y ago
As long as you're throwing out numbers, what's the overall impact of capturing CC up front on the whole funnel vs. when trial ends? Obviously you'll get more trial -> customer conversions if you capture CC upfront, at the cost of people in the top of the funnel, but in general, which is better when you step back to overall lead -> customer rates? I bought your lifecycle email course, btw, and I'm just getting started working through it. I'm especially interested in this question if you assume that the lifecycle email approach is being maximized during the trial (in either scenario).