{"id":94,"date":"2022-09-12T12:32:34","date_gmt":"2022-09-12T11:32:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sense.hr\/blog\/?p=94"},"modified":"2022-09-12T13:20:47","modified_gmt":"2022-09-12T12:20:47","slug":"misleading-pricing-practices-the-dark-side-of-discounts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/senseworkplace.com\/blog\/misleading-pricing-practices-the-dark-side-of-discounts\/","title":{"rendered":"Misleading Pricing Practices – The Dark Side of Discounts\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Discounts, discounts! Get your discounts! <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

20% OFF! This month only! <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a37<\/s> \u00a35 <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Was \u00a35 per employee per month, now \u00a34!  <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Start your FREE trial! <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026These are just a few of the HR software offers that you may have seen advertised after a quick Google search.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yes, we\u2019re only too cynically familiar with the deafening white noise of, \u2018huge savings\u2019, \u2018limited time only\u2019, \u2018cheaper than Primark\u2019, \u2018Asda price\u2019, and \u2018get your discounts here\u2019! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Too late, too late will be the cry, when the man with the offers has passed you by! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And why do they always seem to be trumpeted in giant fonts and gaudy video-arcade colours, promising huge reductions and fleeting chances of value for money\u2014if only your reflexes are fast enough to snatch them up before they\u2019re gone forever? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s a dizzying variety of tactics in use. Products are released \u2018on sale\u2019 from day one. 20% off! is preceded by \u2018up to\u2019 in tiny font. Prices are grossly inflated for short periods of time on selected HR software products, so prices can be slashed in half the very next day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this article we\u2019re going to take a quick and dirty dive into the unethical pricing lures that HR software vendors use to drive sales and trap customers. Join us if you dare! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Opaque Pricing <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Listing no price at all is a tactic used by countless HR software providers. Instead, there\u2019s just a friendly invitation to \u2018Book a Demo\u2019 for a \u2018free, no obligation tour\u2019.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nothing wrong with a free demo or tour, but we don\u2019t want to waste our time or anybody else’s, if the price – once finally revealed, is beyond our reach.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We wouldn\u2019t bother test driving a Bugatti if a Fiesta was at the top of our budget\u2026 bad example, I would totally waste somebody\u2019s time to have a shot behind the wheel of a Bugatti, but you get the idea.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The hook is that you can\u2019t possibly have one price for all, when your business is so unique. \u201cCome into my parlour\u201d, said the spider to the fly\u2026 Erm, no thanks, if you could just tell me the price?  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Drip Pricing <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Drip pricing<\/a> is as grim as it sounds. Attractive \u2018headline prices\u2019 are used to lure business customers into adding to their baskets, only to creep upwards, step by unknown step, and deeper and deeper into the buying process. Implementation fee, training fee, customer support fee (free non-existent support included as standard) and other additional charges being tacked on before the close of sale. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The logic here is that by the time we\u2019ve given our address, card information, blood, spun around five times, muttered the secret incantation, and finally, praise be, reached the hallowed land of transaction completion, we don\u2019t have the energy to do it all again with another provider. Instead, we\u2019ll just hold out our card and, like all Dick Turpin survivors before us, say \u201cfor the love of Human Resources, please take my money and let me go home\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not only do these kinds of tactics slow HR professionals down, but they make it almost impossible for them to make clear comparisons and informed decisions.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Subscription Trap   <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

One of the most popular sales tactics in the current landscape of Human Resources Management Systems is the subscription trap<\/a>.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, a subscription can be a convenient way to access a service, whilst offsetting the necessary ongoing costs to the provider. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A free trial too, enabling a business to \u2018try before it buys\u2019, can be most welcome.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The rub comes when these free trials use coercive \u2018FOMO\u2019 tactics, to ensnare card details and commitment from business customers.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s an example being used, at the time of writing, by one of the Jurassic leviathans of HR software – <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Get started with 1 month free today <\/p>\n\n\n\n

3 days : 10 hours : 26 minutes <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s a literal countdown timer, ominously ticking down the minutes like Inspector Gadget’s latest top-secret assignment. Anxiety-inducing. FOMO inciting. 3-2-1 seconds until our offer self-destructs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The real \u2018tick, tick, tick,\u2019 however, starts when an unsuspecting consumer falls prey to this tactic, hoping to enjoy some freebie manna from heaven. But \u201cwhy\u201d, you might ask, are you being asked to fill in your credit card details before you can enjoy your \u2018free\u2019 trial?  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stop right there or proceed at your peril!  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once your free trial is over, the offer will, according to one software company\u2019s own terms and conditions \u2018…expire automatically without notice. Upon expiry of the Promotion, all fees for the Products will revert to the current recommended retail price.\u2019 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And therein lies the \u2018KABOOM\u2019!  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You\u2019ve been captured by the cannon-net of the \u2018auto-renewing subscription\u2019. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s a jungle out there. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this case, the all fees RRPs (think I just found my new rap name) that your product will revert to, are stated in nebulous terms and pixie font, to be found by following an asterisk star after scrolling a lavatory-roll-length through the hinterlands of their landing page\u2026 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

*Get 1 month free, then \u00a37 \/ \u00a312 \/ \u00a317 \/ \u00a327 \/ \u00a337 \/ \u00a352 \/ \u00a377 \/ \u00a3102 (tier dependent) + VAT per month. Terms and Conditions apply. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In other words, your card has been charged to the tune of any of the above \u00a3\u00a3\u00a3 and unless you take action, it will continue to be charged, month after month, and according to their Ts&Cs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The <\/a>government<\/a> calculates that: <\/p>\n\n\n\n