Dynamics of Cloud service plans and pricing

“Pick what you want” is the mantra that made cloud service providers to stay ahead in the competitive cloud arena. The “On-demand” services offered by cloud service providers are now more dynamically availed by customers. Based on the usage analytics, cloud service providers have to offer new exciting plans to keep customer happy and to get competitive advantage. To meet such requirements of the market dynamics, cloud service providers have to come-up with new promising plans that enhances customer stickiness, sign-up for long term contracts and engages them to avail services continuously.

Service providers are more competitive in offering modular packages such as Bronze, Gold, Platinum with additional services topping on the higher packages and Pay as you go services in order to suffice the market requirement. Though services are offered across the globe, they should support local currencies or a single standard currency.

Service provider system should have the option to scale up and scale down the services with respect to the market. Flexible service plans such as region and customer specific packages, dynamic pricing, lower monthly fixed plus usage based charges, long term contracts exclude or include different tax rates and support based services are few important factors which enhances the customer acquisition rate.

A service provider system should be flexible enough to allow customer to avail the service, even after exceeding the usage limit and charge them on the overages rather than terminating the service. This results in less efforts in customer retention process and more concentration of customer acquisition .

Some more scenarios where service provider’s system should support.

• Automates in changing the customer package on a future date.
  
• Override the existing price and define a new price for the same price plan.

Customer acquisition process in cloud computing services

As we all are familiar that, Customer acquisition is one of the important phases in the business process. There are certain best practices to increase the customer acquisition rate and reduce churn. Streamlining customer acquisition process will boost the sales of any cloud service provider.

1. Trial Sign-up Process:

Cloud computing enabled users or end customers with Try & Buy model which gives an option to sign up for a Trial period, evaluate and go for commercial contract. Cloud service provider should have a system in place which allows them to define a trial plan and activate their access. The system should automate the life-cycle of a Trial User such as trial plan activation, providing limited/controlled access to the service, deactivation of the trial services based on the trail period expiration.

2. Effective follow-up :

Cloud service provider should communicate to its Trial Users effectively in advance to convert them into Paid Users . Sending regular communications will help in keeping the trial users in engage and explore to the additional & attractive services by opting for the paid subscription which will result in maximizing the cloud service provider’s revenue.

Cloud service provider should have a system which provide the list of Trial Users whose access is about to expire . System should send regular communication on the account expiry date and other promotional service offerings.

3. Contract sign-up & tailor made plans

It is very challenging activity for cloud service provider to sign-up a commercial contract with its customers. In addition to the plans or packages offered by cloud service provider, customers will have their own plans, service requirement and contract terms during contract negotiation. Cloud service provider should meet their customer requirements by singing up tailor made contract. Cloud service provider system should be able to define flexible service packages, plans, pricing & contract terms.

Cloud Service providers should provide customers, the choice to utilize their preferred services. Which not only reduces the churn rate substantially but also retains high value and profitable customers. With this, service provider can experience increase in overall organization profitability. Cloud service providers should have a Business Support System and Monetization platform, which streamlines the above discussed customer acquisition process.