pricing apis: pricing sucks, here's what we did (gluecon 2010)
DESCRIPTION
Slides from "Pricing APIs: Pricing Sucks, Here's What We Did" as delivered at Gluecon 2010.also: Taking Pleasure in Merton's Law of Unintended Consequences.TRANSCRIPT
Pricing Sucks,Here's What We Did.
(or, Taking Pleasure in Merton's Law of Unintended Consequences)
Troy DavisCloudvox
@troyd // @[email protected]
@cloudvox
Clue over Time - Perceived
@cloudvox
Clue over Time - Perceived & Actual
@cloudvox
Clue over Time - Perceived & Actual
@cloudvox
What we knew
• platform not product • variable cost components
o costs are meaningless • existing competitor
• customers willing to pay
@cloudvox
Selling 2 Services
• Feature-competitive (HTTP) • Industry-leading (Asterisk/AGI, SIP)
@cloudvox
Selling 2 Services
• Feature-competitive (HTTP) <- 3 cents/minute • Industry-leading (Asterisk/AGI, SIP) <- 3-6 cents/min
@cloudvox
Selling 2 Services
• Feature-competitive (HTTP) <- 3 cents/minute • Industry-leading (Asterisk/AGI, SIP) <- 3-6 cents/min
^ hard.
@cloudvox
Variable cost component• $X per minute• $X per customer
Cost, margin spreadsheets
@cloudvox
Variable cost component• $X per minute• $X per customer
Cost, margin spreadsheets <- mostly
accurate. almost useless.
@cloudvox
Pricing Risk Tolerance over Time
@cloudvox
adoption > upfrontrevenue
@cloudvox
Subscription plans
"- add a 2nd cheaper service with fewer apps, maybe with a
REST API, maybe just reduced functionality."
@cloudvox
Constraints - ours & customers'• phone numbers• concurrent calls • total usage?• features only big customers need?• high-touch support?
@cloudvox
@cloudvox
complexity kills.
@cloudvox
Constraints - ours & customers'• phone numbers• concurrent calls• total usage?• features only big customers need?• high-touch support?
bad for creativity,bad for platforms.
X
@cloudvox
Price after you're live.
@cloudvox
Price after you're live.
(okay, price before, but discount 100%, do so to placate the paranoid, invest little effort, and expect to redo it 2 months later)
@cloudvox
v2
1 price0 monthly fees0 choices
v2
v1
@cloudvox
Next Time, I'd
• launch then price
• cost the complexity
• give everything to everyone
• price for desired behavior
Troy Davis
@troyd // @[email protected]
cloudvox.com <- Asterisk hosting & phone call API, now 3 cents per minute flat digits.cloudvox.com <- phone number<->location & carrier API, free