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Selling Support
Corporate customers are not only willing to pay
for support they are accustom to it. Large companies
like IBM, Adobe and Microsoft have had paid support
options for their software in place for years.
If your product targets Enterprise Clients consider
implementing a paid support option to earn additional
revenue.
Various Options:
Developers can structure paid support a number
of different ways. Create a flexible system that
works for your organization.
Options Might Include:
Free Web / Paid Phone
Offer free web based support or fee based phone
support.
Free Basic / Paid Enhancement
Offer free basic support and fee based priority
support to customers.
Free 30 Days / Paid > 30 Days
Support is free for 30 days from the date of
purchase, after which time there is a nominal
fee for support.
Priority Annual Maintenance Fee
Update insurance is purchased at the time of
the initial sale and it allows the customers
to receive upgrades and support free of charge
for a specified period of time.
Feel free to customize support options to create
a support plan that works for your company.
Things to Consider when implementing fee based
support:
- How will you limit the number of contacts at
an organization that can request support?
- Will you handle 3rd party application support?
- How will support for software that is being
used illegally work?
- What hours of support will be available, and
in what time zone?
- Will remote access be available?
- Will paid support subscribers be given special
phone numbers?
- How will support calls be tracked?
- Will the charges be per call? Per Incident?
or for a specified period of time?
- What is the guaranteed response time?
Related Articles:
How to Minimize
Technical Support
How to Setup
Support Forums
How
to Deal with Support Issues
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Developer
101
How to Charge for Support