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Zendesk raises their prices 60%-300%, users predictably revolt

support.zendesk.com

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Re: Zendesk raises their prices 60%-300%, users predictably revolt

#2
Alternatives: http://www.activecampaign.com/help-desk-software/

http://www.kayako.com/

http://webhelpdesk.com/

http://www.atlassian.com/software/jira/default.jsp

http://tenderapp.com/

http://www.cerberusweb.com/

http://www.thevisionworld.com/

http://www.autotask.com/software/service_desk.htm

Re: Zendesk raises their prices 60%-300%, users predictably revolt

#3
To be fair, they are allowing customers to grandfather their pricing for a year: https://support.zendesk.com/entries/173169-new-grandfatherin...

However:

> "As a result, the new pricing reflects the added business value of each individual plan."

I read that entire post and I was unable to find the added business value, these features all seem like they should be part of the product not really premium stuff.

Re: Zendesk raises their prices 60%-300%, users predictably revolt

#4
post #3

To be fair, they are allowing customers to grandfather their pricing for a year: https://support.zendesk.com/entries/173169-new-grandfatherin... However: > "As a result, the new pricing reflects the added business value of each individual plan." I read that entire post and I was unable to find the added business value, these features all seem like they should be part of the product not really premium stuff.

That grandfathering requires paying the year upfront, though.

Re: Zendesk raises their prices 60%-300%, users predictably revolt

#5
If there's one thing I've learned from Apple, it's that innovation within a price point makes happy, comfortable customers.

It's a scary precedent to set by saying that every new feature Zendesk adds, they're going to charge you for. Innovation should be the baseline.

Re: Zendesk raises their prices 60%-300%, users predictably revolt

#6
Do my eyes deceive me or are companies with 20 employees at their help desk complaining that a thousand bucks is a lot of money?

I think we are seeing a later day MMORPG forum. At some point, it is easier to argue for a patch for your class than get 1 pct more stats, so you stop playing the game and start playing the boards. ZenDesk is the vendor most likely to drop prices by 1k for a single fauxraged posting, so start your keyboards.

Re: Zendesk raises their prices 60%-300%, users predictably revolt

#8
post #6

Do my eyes deceive me or are companies with 20 employees at their help desk complaining that a thousand bucks is a lot of money? I think we are seeing a later day MMORPG forum. At some point, it is easier to argue for a patch for your class than get 1 pct more stats, so you stop playing the game and start playing the boards. ZenDesk is the vendor most likely to drop prices by 1k for a single fauxraged posting, so sta…

Do you really expect them not to complain when the month previous their bill was less than half of that?

Re: Zendesk raises their prices 60%-300%, users predictably revolt

#9
This seems to be a good example for the idea of setting your prices at the right level from very early on. Much better to err on the expensive side then drop them later than significant rises like these. Or initially offer a special deal so people know it will eventually cost more.

Similar thing happens when going from freemium/ indirect revenue to charging. There was a big backlash when invision board did that, even though they could say there product was as good as the paid competition (Vbulletin). They had built a lot of their success on the back of a free product.

Re: Zendesk raises their prices 60%-300%, users predictably revolt

#10
post #4
post #3

To be fair, they are allowing customers to grandfather their pricing for a year: https://support.zendesk.com/entries/173169-new-grandfatherin... However: > "As a result, the new pricing reflects the added business value of each individual plan." I read that entire post and I was unable to find the added business value, these features all seem like they should be part of the product not really premium stuff.

That grandfathering requires paying the year upfront, though.

They said later in the comments that it is possible to pay quarterly and still receive the grandfathering...
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