Interesting trend that we have seen lately – B2B SaaS software firms who are dealing with an adoption problem despite their freemium offerings. It seems that they have a huge drop-off from the sign-ups on the freemium version to their paid version. Not surprising that there is a drop-off, but many feel like the drop-off is bigger than expected given the value that they provide.

We have seen this before with a client that we worked with so I feel confident that I can guess at some of the root issues:

• Sales Team – They are selling a somewhat complicated solution without a direct sales force substituting a free experience for sales management. For many less complex, consumerized applications this is an appropriate model as the cost of sales does not support the cost of the application.
• Adoption – For the more complex applications, the challenge for the larger organizations is getting people to buy into the application – intellectually, emotionally, and operationally. Freemium does not mean it does not have a cost to the buyers. Continue reading “Reconciling Freemium Model and Adoption for B2B Technology Companies” »