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Gold/Mining/Energy : PKS-PeakSoft Multinet Corp. (was PeakSoft Corp.) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Steve who wrote (854)	11/13/1997 3:15:00 PM
From: Doug Foster	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 1470

This is a very interesting discussion. Product trials have traditionally been unable to break the 1 to 2 % sell-through barrier on the net. There are many reasons, but the simplest way to look at it is that users need to make an investment just to try a product, time and effort. A company needs to overcome two hurdles. Firstly, there has to be enough incentive to even try a product whether it comes with another product or is available via download. Secondly, what will create the most likely scenario for a purchase? We learned with PeakJet that trials expire at inopportune times, and that if you can't see the benefits everyday you lose interest in the product. We also learned that when bundled with a lot of other products a free trial often sits in the bottom of the box with other stuff that you will never look at. Research further proves that we "read consumer" tend to buy upgrades to products that we like rather than purchase a trial of something new. We are introducing many of the new programs that Steve alluded to over the coming months. We will be phasing out thirty-day trials in favor of a number of use format with your favorite features still visible but grayed out. Users will get 15 to 25 uses of the product, that way savvy power users will need to purchase it quickly if they really like it. We will also be distributing special versions that leave some features behind, so that the product doesn't completely stop being of value and the features you like (ie: research folios) remain visible but not accessible. The real goal is to give the user a reasonable chance to see what it can do and prompt for purchase. There is also a disincentive to reinstall NetMagnet and PeakJet since you lose your research and cache, which should be a lot more valuable to you than $80.00. All future PeakSoft products have forced registration in order to receive free updates. This means that the company will be able to communicate new product information directly via the updater. A couple of quick comments on Steve's post. We think there is very good opportunity for PeakJet in 1998 and that NetMagnet and a new version will give it a real boost. Recent announcements regarding caching by Intel and others also make it clear that PeakSoft is positioned to take advantage of this, since we have implemented intelligent caching solutions for over a year now. Lastly, Big Brother actually lives on Lake Washington, about 100 miles South! Best regards