What decrease would charging for support give???

[Tech Head]

Does anyone has experience or information on the effects of moving from a free support environment to a pay for support environment.

We currently provide technical support 24X7 for free and are debating on charging. We'd like to get an understanding on the effects it would have on call volume. What percentage decrease do you think we could see.

We would also be offering free e-mail support and would be heavily investing in our knowledge base to make sure we don't leave our customers stranded.

Our products our for the small office/home office environment and avg. price is about $100.

Thanks!

[Frank A. Engle]

A number of my clients have contemplated moving from a free to a full pay or partially paid model.

Many have decided to go to a level 1/2/3 support model where they assist customers for free on issues covered by warrantee and selected other issues and charge on other issues.

They promote the warrantee registration to get customer info automatically via IVR and on-line registration methods and screen the calls accordinglywith CRM software to pay and no-pay support.

Just a few thoughts...good luck!

[Clint]

Tech Head,
I agree with Frank that many are providing some free phone if in warranty or for a select amount of time (3, 6, or 12 months). In tech support I've seen others continue to offer free phone support (with long wait times), but callers willing to pay have the option to jump to the front of the queue. As you mentioned, self-help tools (knowledgebases, user forums, etc.) that you provide on your website can help reduce volume also. Many charging for phone customer support do offer free email and/or chat. How much impact??? Depends on many variables including price point for service, response time for free email, satisfaction with knowledge base.

Clint Sesow
402-486-4608
csesow@calltech.com

[mikael]

Tech,

The process of moving from "free" (bundled) to "fee" support has indeed been done by a lot of companies. In general, it's a good move, even if only to start recognizing reality -- There Ain't No Such Thing As Free Support.

While the shift will tend to decrease your call volume, if handled appropriately, the real reason for making the move ought to be much more strategic.

Many software companies, if not most, begin life in a "take the money and run" mode. Their profit model is to take the bulk of their profit from the initial sale of the product, and hope that everything after that breaks even or makes a little more. The problem with that model is that it is not very stable. After a while, as the company matures, the general trend is to go to an income-stream model where the profit is taken incrementally over time from a variety of transactions.

Front-loaded companies tend to think of their service departments in terms of the effects they have on sales. A good reputation means increased sales, a bad rep means more resistance to sales. However, when you start to shift over to an income stream model, the perception of the service group has to change. Now you'd better be run as a profit center, and you are a critically important factor in managing that ongoing profitable customer relationship.

Forgive the lengthy preamble -- the real reason you need to be pushing for a shift to paid support is that in any company, Power Follows Money. If you want to win, get yourself associated with an income stream.