Reward loyal users
Mature apps with long-time subscribers, initially attracted by low prices and reliable features, face a difficult situation. Those loyal users are good for business, but they are often happy with software that works as usual and don’t expect to pay more for it.
But stagnant growth doesn’t mesh well with inflation or shareholder expectations. It can also leave companies without enough revenue to develop new features and keep software up to date. Sometimes the prices at which apps launch are not sustainable in the long term, as Plex has said about its lifetime pass, which has increased in price by 525 percent in two price increases since March 2024. We have seen a similar pattern with streaming apps.
New features may help soften the blow of massive price increases. But it’s still difficult for old customers to accept prices that double or even go up more, especially if they were happy with the app as it was.
Developers have options to cover rising costs and fund new features beyond price increases. For example, they could reward longtime customers with waived pricing, exclusive features, or other benefits to help offset higher costs. And when price increases are unavoidable, giving customers advance notice can go a long way in showing loyal users that they are valued.
Another option is to offer more subscription tiers overall. Developers often cite new features to justify higher subscription prices, but not all users want those features. A broader range of subscription options, including a cheaper, AI-free tier, could allow developers to expand an app’s features and audience without penalizing users who are happy with its original functionality. Alternatively, developers could offer advanced features to power users as individual plugins or in packages.
Sometimes, various internal and external factors make price increases inevitable. When that happens, users would do well to reexamine whether that beloved app is still the best option after all these years.
