Our new growth initiatives

[bernieh]

Hey everyone!

Officially launching today are our 3 latest new initiatives focusing on generating new business. They are:

[size=14:278ee031c5][b:278ee031c5]Free Trial for new visitors[/b:278ee031c5][/size:278ee031c5]
Visitors new to SOM Online may try the game for free for 7 days - they'll draft a team, join a special Free Trial league, and play 21 games at the usual 3 games/day.

Note that we will be explicitly scheduling the playing of Free Trial games after all Premium leagues are done each night, to avoid impacting your experience as paying customers.

[size=14:278ee031c5][b:278ee031c5]New customer discount[/b:278ee031c5][/size:278ee031c5]
New customers trying SOM Online for the first time will be able to buy their [color=brown:278ee031c5][b:278ee031c5]first TWO teams for $14.95[/b:278ee031c5][/color:278ee031c5]. We want to not only make it easier for them to jump in, but also give them a second shot at the game, in case you veterans kick the snot out of them the first time, or they want to try a different player set.

[size=14:278ee031c5][b:278ee031c5]Referral incentives to help you introduce SOM to your friends[/b:278ee031c5][/size:278ee031c5]
If you refer a friend to SOM Online who becomes a new paying customer, you'll get [color=brown:278ee031c5][b:278ee031c5]$10 in credit towards your next team(s)![/b:278ee031c5][/color:278ee031c5] These credits accumulate, so refer 2 friends, get $20 in credit. All you have to do is tell your friend(s) to enter your personal referral code into the referral code box when they create a new team. To obtain your referral code (it's 9 letters, e.g. "AHUITWFQC") and learn more details about this program, just click on [i:278ee031c5]Your Account -> Tell a Friend (and save!)[/i:278ee031c5] while you're logged into the SOM Online site.

[i:278ee031c5](Note that at this time, this only applies to new customers who buy a team under the main SOM Online site (2007-2010, ATG, 1986, 1999, '90s), i.e. not 2001-2006, '70s, '80s, 1969, or Fantasim.)[/i:278ee031c5]

So we humbly invite you - if you are so inclined - to invite your friends to discover the magic of Strat-O-Matic Online! Tell them they can try the game for a week for FREE. Tell them they can get their first TWO full teams for the low special price of $14.95. And you'll not only have more fresh competition to play with, you'll also save on your future teams!

Meanwhile, back I go into the mines, to continue working on making your game experience better!

[PotKettleBlack]

Bernie... good starts. Incentive based pyramid style marketing... I like.

Any talk of a banner on the main baseball page here? Or an ad over at strat?

[beavis]

This is great, Bernie.

How about a non-nested link on the homepage? The only way I can even get to the game on my phone is through Google.

[andycummings65]

Then do WE get a discount if the new customers kick the snot out of US??
:wink:

[The Biomechanical Man]

Bernie,

Hopefully your incentive-based pyramid will work out better than mine did.

- Bernie Madoff

[drfreeze49]

Great for new customers....but what about your continued loyal supporters..[b:057866f65a].No bones for us[/b:057866f65a] :cry:

[Jerlins]

[quote:7c7e80371c="drfreeze49"]Great for new customers....but what about your continued loyal supporters..[b:7c7e80371c].No bones for us[/b:7c7e80371c] :cry:[/quote:7c7e80371c]

I own a business and NEVER would give discounts, perks, benefits, etc to "new customers" that I wouldn't at least match to my regular ones. While adding new customers might help in keeping the cost of SOM online at an affordable rate, doing so with no regard to those who have remained loyal for years, is poor business practice. If I offered new customers a set of 2011 Topps baseball cards for $40, yet charged my regulars $50, I doubt I'd have too many loyal customers to keep my business afloat over the long term.

I'm not giving my opinion for selfish reasons, as I will purchase as many teams I think I could handle over the course of the year, regardless of the cost. While I applaud the effort of TSN to draw in more customers, doing so without offering the same incentive, if not a better one for present customers is rather insulting.

If the powers that be think 2 teams for $14.95 is the magic number that will bring in future long term customers, great! If I were a new customer, and thought the price was fair, I would purchase the package, regardless of what the regular cost was. Why not allow present customers the same purchase?

Taking for granted existing customers is not a model any business should practice for long term success. Though I might be comparing apples to oranges here, if my distributor offered a 10% discount to new accounts over what I am paying for the same product, it wouldn't be long before I decide to cease my 20 year relationship with that distributor and take my business elsewhere.

My customers, both wholesale and retail, have remained loyal to me because I treat them special and value their business. None of my long-term customers EVER pay shelf price, and if a product increases in price dramatically in the secondary market, they still pay the original SRP as long as I am working on my original purchase. Selling an item for $50. to them, knowing (and they know as well) I can get $75. in the open market, keeps them coming through my doors for many years.

[Jerlins]

As for me, my next purchase will be made either under my wife's credit card, or I'll go out and purchase a Visa gift card and take advantage of the ignorance of this wonderful new incentive for first time buyers.

[OakAth72]

[quote:1340942cfc="drfreeze49"]Great for new customers....but what about your continued loyal supporters..[b:1340942cfc].No bones for us[/b:1340942cfc] :cry:[/quote:1340942cfc]

I concur.....every 5 pack I buy isn't purchased mindlessly like when I used to purchase them a year ago......now it takes an act of Congress to get me to pull the trigger on a fiver and I experience a little buyers remorse after doing so.

On a lighter note.....the first three letters that SOM designated for my personal referral code are "A S S", I guess I now know how they view my loyalty. :wink:

[geekor]

[quote:0ea7019532="Jerlins"]As for me, my next purchase will be made either under my wife's credit card, or I'll go out and purchase a Visa gift card and take advantage of the ignorance of this wonderful new incentive for first time buyers.[/quote:0ea7019532]

That's what I said in the original thread... and you don't need to do that with a lot of credit cards, you can get virtual numbers made