#Kagi is implementing a pricing model that I’d like to see more often around.
Subscribers churn is a metric dreaded by all business owners.
If enough paying users leave your product, investors usually start to panic.
That’s the main reason behind the Hotel California subscriptions (you can check out any time you like, but you can never leave). It’s the reason why subscribing to a service can be done in a click, but unsubscribing often requires a voice call with a customer service agent, a letter signed with your blood, a fax, a telegram and the sacrifice of a goat on a full moon night.
Tell business owners that they have to maximize annual recurring revenue and minimize churn, and that their bonuses will depend on that, and they’ll do anything within the borders of legality to achieve it - just like the machine that was tasked to build nails more efficiently, and turned the whole world into a nails factory.
But what if there is another way?
Subscriptions to Kagi will automatically enter a dormant state after 1-2 months without being used.
It means that you won’t pay for services that you don’t use, that your credit will be refunded, and you start paying again when you start using the service again.
Think of it for a moment: someone who doesn’t use your product for a couple of months is probably someone with a high chance of churn. So instead of keeping them in at all costs, you just dont charge them for stuff they don’t use. Then they won’t even mind having a subscription that they don’t use but don’t even pay for. And the business can show strong user retention metrics to their investors.
Millions of folks with business school degrees around the world, thousands of pieces of literature on pricing strategies, and nobody has yet thought that this is the best ethical win-win?
https://kagi.com/changelog#6155