good marketing?

[evoir]

Hey folks, I have not posted yet, but have been lurking for a while. I just wanted to encourage the vbulletin folks to consider a marketing strategy that would benefit me and a lot of other UBB users, as well as vbulletin.

here goes:
I think it would bring a lot of new users to your brand spanking new software, increase the linings of your pockets...
if you gave a 50% discount to current UBB owners (or lets say, folks who bought a UBB licence in the last year)

What this would do is increase your user base ten fold, create a name for yourself, and give you an influx of cash...from folks who might be hestitant to go with such a new software when they just paid for another package recently.

It could be 1:1 ratio. 1 UBB - 1 VBulletin = 50% off.

I know it sounds silly, or stupid even, since you worked so hard on this software...to practically give it away. But it would beef up your numbers pretty quick, and it would allow us to opt in at a reasonable rate (esp. since we just bought the UBB 6 mos ago)

Plus it is just good to get the product out there.

my ten cents worth.

Congrats on the new software. It seems very fast.

Evie Leder
http://www.curvemag.com

[Matt]

I think this would be an all around good deal for vbulletin and customers. I would be tempted to get it then. For right now i am watching to see how it goes before i make a move.


Matt

[Mark Hewitt]

Yes there are many users out there who wouldn't want to change and will stick with the UBB because either their license is not due for renewal for a while or because of the initial purchase cost of the vB.

After all vB *is* better than the UBB but its not a total new thing for the site so many UBB users would not consider it to be worth it.

If you could buy it for half price if you were a UBB user this would certainly encourage me to consider it as a serious option. I'm looking to change my entire website to PHP, using vB would be a logical step, but I don't want to pay for essentially the same system twice.

[Martin]

It's *not* the same system, that's why it was developed.

If you have a lot of traffic at your site, your UBB will not hold up and will eat up a lot of space and resources. What you're paying for here is a better way of doing things that is more efficient and economical.

I do agree that a discount would be nice, but I'm facing the reality that UBB is not sturdy enough for my site with only 2,500 members generating about 2,000 posts/day. This program offers me the opportunity to use something much sturdier, more scalable, more easily customised at a price lower than UBB. I'm willing to pay the extra $80 because I know that these people put a lot of effort into it.

Just my 2 cents.

[Martin]

For right now i am watching to see how it goes before i make a move.
Matt


I'll let you or Cheri know how it goes for me Matt :)

[TotalBS]

It's a good idea, but probably not neccessary. I think that anyone with a big board will appreciate vB and think it's worth the money.

The only problem for me is now I have to install MySQL and learn it. :(

As soon I figure that out, I'll probably be shifting a couple of boards over, even though I just renewed their licenses with UBB.

Of note for UBB, I feel a little bad for them. They have a great product, and they saw the need for this db solution but they went in a direction that seems to be giving them problems.

And it looks like a lot of their big customers are leaving them. The links they have on their page to Sample sites like WarnerBros. are showing new boards, not theirs.

I'm sure the OpenTopic will eventually work for them. After seeing the amount of space that UBB was starting to take up, with a new html file for every topic, I wouldn't mind having that 'mess' on someone else's server. :) But then I see the space that vB uses and I say 'sign me up'.

Which brings me back to learning mySql, damn. ;)

[evoir]

I believe that WB is using OT.

I emailed the webmaster w couple of days back asking what board they switched to and they said something like, "oh, we are still using UBB, we just made some design changes"

hmmmm.

[werehere]

No, they are using some funky looking new forum, that is not Infopops product as I saw.

[evoir]

I am very interested in VB, am most interested in customizability, as UBB really limits that (as well as speed..who wouldn't want that-we aren't even very big, but our pages are SLOW)

But I still think it would be a really smart marketing move on VB's end to let UBB users become the "early adopters" of VB and create a strong and smart user base that will give VB a voice out there.

There will be folks who will move over anyway, and certainly VB IS worth the price... (I'm not contesting)

I think you could easily add HUNDREDS of new VB's in a matter of a month... Heck, you could only allow a trade up for a limited time...and limit the amount of boards you would trade up...limit the trade ups per person.

What it would do is instantly allow newbies a chance to see the product in action, and create a loyal user base.

I would really like to trade up, but our budget is so low ( I mean really low) and I just got them to buy UBB in November. And I know I couldn't convince them of the benefit over cost.

Anyway. I realized after I first posted this, that I prolly should have sent an email to John Percival individually first, before making it a public issue. I apologise for not using email first.

Anyway.
Thanks.

[evoir]

I just did a little calculation...

Let's say you do allow UBB owners to move up to VB for even let's say $100. Lets say you .limit it to 500 VB's in 30 days. everyone else must pay full price.

500 boards x $100 = $50,000 influx into your new company.

500 new VB's out there in the world, with Custom templates, with speed. Talking about your product, showing it off.

ok. I be quite now.
Thanks.

[Badger]

WB is still using UBB, they just added a links page other then the Catagories page, if you select one of the things and hit go it will take you to a UBB page, it's still a UBB.

[werehere]

I went there and it was using a JSP-based forum. Maybe they changed back, but it was there and I tested it out, and other people were talking about how the move to the new forum was good and they liked it, even if I did not.

[Parker Clack]

I am like a lot of the other members here that would like to see a pricing structure that would basically be for people that are trading up to vB from UBB. I just purchased a new UBB license and reupped my membership for the other.

I know that the majority of us that start using this product on our pages would highly promote it and I know that the product will sell itself.

So John how about it? Do you think you will be able to offer a special promotion to us UBB owners that upgrade to your software? You could make it a limited time offer say over the next 60 days.

Thanks,
Parker Clack

[Mark Hewitt]

I'm not saying that this isn't a good original product, or if it is worth the money - of course it is.

However I have just recently renewed my UBB license before I saw this board. If I had an option to upgrade cheaper I would certainly do it. Otherwise I will probably be sitting out my UBB term.

It would be a great way to get the product started and get the word around.

[Mafukie]

Well heres the problem, how can they know for sure you have a UBB Lisence? People can say, " I paid for a lisence for UBB give me a 50% discount" some people would be trying to rip-off VB. Just a thought...

I paid for this product since its the first board I couldn't resist even tho the price is a little high. Now I just have to wait for my host to create me a MySQL database account :(...

[Craig Antill]

Mark, if you want vBulletin so much, i'll be pleased to host and run the forum for you as soon as the affiliated site wotsit thingamybob is invented... ;)

(BTW, I just recently noticed that you have set up your own forums - nice categories - wonder where you the idea for that from ? ;))

[Stallion]

Originally posted by Mafukie
Well heres the problem, how can they know for sure you have a UBB Lisence? People can say, " I paid for a lisence for UBB give me a 50% discount" some people would be trying to rip-off VB. Just a thought...

Just for the record, I've created a PHP script which will check Infopop's user database to see if a licenese number/password is valid. This script can be used to offer instant competative upgrades, if John & James decide its a route they want to take.

Even more interesting, is that I've modified it to work with vB. That means we should be able to setup some sort of a resource that only licensed vB users can access, to perhaps, share hacked up files.

Its just an idea, but I figured it was worth mentioning.

[Mark Hewitt]

Originally posted by Craig Antill
Mark, if you want vBulletin so much, i'll be pleased to host and run the forum for you as soon as the affiliated site wotsit thingamybob is invented... ;)

Thanks for the offer but I think I can manage :)


(BTW, I just recently noticed that you have set up your own forums - nice categories - wonder where you the idea for that from ? ;))

The categories basically came from the main categories on my main website, plus a ubb I saw at linksheaven.com , sssh, don't tell him ;)

[Craig Antill]

The categories basically came from the main categories on my main website, plus a ubb I saw at linksheaven.com , sssh, don't tell him


hmmm... I was thinking more of our own forum than Roy's... ;) But i'll take your word for it!

[cheeky]

Getting existing users of other boards to "jump ship" regardless of "new software" is still a hard task to achieve unless there's a real incentive.

simply offering discounted packages is not the answer or way forward.

The question is:-

Do you want their long-term custom ?

If the answer is YES, then a 12 month FREE-LEASE to users with competitive boards is the way forward. The other short term thinking approach of 50% discount, is exactly what it is - short term.

It would be an inconveniance on the new client to convert existing data, archives and page formatting for a new board, that it simply has to be FREE to be worthwhile.

well, whether you like the strategy or not, it's something that I will be deploying with my boards.
the net is fast changing into a FREE highway...
free dial-ups, free calls, free software.

[Martin]

The trend is headed in the other direction...

Nothing is free on the internet.

The free calls require you to see banner ads while talking and sell your e-mail addy to spammers...

The free ISP's take up a goodly portion of your speed and screen to serve you banner ads and make your ISP e-mail available for spammers...

Free software usually either has a time expiry or links you back to the developer's site (which I think is fair)

Companies that are considered leaders in the industry (Amazon and Priceline, to name 2) are starting to patent processes.

Another thing about giving it away free, most people think that if it's free, it's likely not worth a crap, which turns out to be the case in most things.

The conversion feature of this board makes enough incentive for people to switch without having to give it away for free. The reason people would want to switch is to get rid of bloated processes that kill servers, excessive storage space, which drives up hosting charges.