One time payment or recurring billing?
Hey Indie Hackers,
An idea I’m about to get seriously working on is a B2C web app in the college athletic recruiting space. This app will target soccer parents and their teenage athletes and will help them optimize their recruiting process. Something worth noting is that I played soccer in college so I have great domain knowledge of this space having recently gone through it.
Anyways, due to the nature of this space being that new athletes starting the recruiting process each year (sometimes as early as their freshman year or 8th grade) and the process lasts no longer than 3-4 years I am wondering if I should do a monthly subscription, a yearly subscription or just a one time payment? I am starting to lean towards the latter due to the limited customer lifetime. Plus after doing competitor research, the norm is to have a one time payment for the premium features or have a yearly license fee. Thoughts or considerations?
How often would you expect these soccer parents to engage with your product in a given day / week / month?
Here are my thoughts:
If it's meant to be daily usage, then charging a monthly subscription feels in line. That's because in theory, each time they are using it, they get value out of it. And each month, when they see the renewal, it's a reinforcement of the value you've added.
However, if it's meant to be only used a handful of times in a year (even if it's used HEAVILY in that period), then charging a monthly subscription doesn't feel right. Each month, they see the bill, and they'll think, "is this worth it?"
Good luck!
-Jonathan
Hey Jonathan, I completely agree and will probably at try this approach at first. I think my premium features will provide enough value for a one time purchase but this will not be a daily use application most likely so as you said a subscription seems off putting here.