MAKE IT MAKE SENSE: Why B2B software pricing has us scratching our heads

Industry:,

In our daily lives, there is often a frustrating lack of price transparency when we fill our gas tanks, or shop for groceries, or pay a vet bill. Whether you’re dealing with fluctuating prices for essential items or opaque pricing structures and surprise fees for services, it’s hard not to feel like a mark sometimes. It’s gotten so bad that governments have legislated band aid solutions targeting specific sectors, like healthcare in the United States. Now that federal transparency rules have been in effect for US hospitals for over a year, it’s becoming abundantly clear that there are large discrepancies in pricing that can’t be accounted for.

In the heady days of the dot com boom of the late 90’s, before the ubiquity of e-commerce, tech was said to be our saviour, shifting the balance of power to well-informed consumers. It is sadly ironic then, that as tech has become increasingly essential in our lives, pricing has only grown more dubious, even as there is an increasing public weariness toward these practices. At one time, going online to buy an airline ticket or an in-demand item that was sold out in stores was easy if you knew how to do it. Nowadays you need to be much savvier. Navigating the wildly fluctuating prices on an endless number of travel sites is so frustrating that a side industry of sites and apps promising to help you find the cheapest rate is itself now hopelessly crowded, and no guarantee that you will get a fair price.

Understanding the sales barrier

In the world of B2B, it can be just as difficult to know if you are being charged fairly. There is often a sales barrier – price isn’t listed at all, and their site will direct you to speak with their sales team. Perhaps as a reaction to this traditional but admittedly opaque practice, companies will publicize a low price designed to have extra fees or services tacked on, giving the illusion of transparency to draw you in.

You may also find yourself getting snagged into subscribing for a suite of services you don’t need because it either isn’t an option or the pricing is structured so that buying the one or two that you need is more expensive. Think of it like a cable package forcing you to buy expensive bundles full of channels you know you’ll never watch just so you can catch all your team’s games. If the widespread cable cutting trend has told us anything, it’s that people hate this kind of pricing structure, and will mostly unsubscribe from it at the first opportunity.

Justifying higher costs

Much like the cable provider taking advantage of the fact that only they are the only game in town, industry leaders in tech count on the assumption that name recognition and widespread use signals to consumers that it is a safer bet to go with the big brand. The higher costs are justified with the old “you get what you pay for” line. Increasingly though, what you’re getting is a lot of bloat. Especially if you are a small to medium-sized company, you may not need everything that is on offer, but you are often forced to pay for it anyway.

our solution

This is true in the world of MDM/EMM, where the big names are built on outdated legacy technologies, which are vulnerable to security threats and downtime, and are costly to maintain. With its modern architecture requiring less IT support and pay-for-what-you-use pricing model saving you time and money, emSentry offers a comprehensive Android mobile management solution that is right for any size business. We won’t lock you into long-term plans to get competitive prices, and you won’t have to pay for anything you don’t need.

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