I have a successful alarm clock app which turns an Android device into a professional wake-up light (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.changemystyle.gentlewakeup). The app has some nice extra features like weather forecast, power nap and sleep timer. Currently there is a free ad-based version and a pro version.
This monetization strategy was sufficient for the past. But now I will not increase my sales when I develop new features. Therefore I want to change the strategy so that customers need to pay for each function individually and also need to pay for future functions. On the other side I do not want to loose the ranking of the Pro version and the customer self-marketing actions like sharing the app to friends for a free unlock.
My new idea is:
The pro version now can be:
A: a one-time payment with a very high price (79,99 €) and will include all current features and free future features for lifetime
B: a one-time payment only for all current features but future feature will show a premium note and need a new purchase
With option A I am afraid that the price feels to high for a customer. Also the customer is lost for the future
With option B I am afraid that the customer will be upset when he paid for an app in the play store and he will see a new payment requirement in the future.
I would like to know:
Are there any other pay-by-feature apps? I only know similar concepts where you pay by content unlock or region where the app can be used.
I think you'll definetly will offend some users but you cant please everyone and as Long as your true target customers are happy averyting Else does not matter.
Just one thing which I would highly recommend to Change is the too many options ... It looks complicated, because it is. It will likely hurt your conversion.
Make a call and choose one way of charging,. Dont offer all options to the user, just because you cant decide for yourself :-)
You could Give 3 options, single payment, feature topic bundles (by user segments) and full-package.