Is Dell and McAfee Fooling Customers to Make Money?
It is of great sadness I write this because I like these two companies but I have no choice but to reveal their "scammy" like sales method. I'm talking about Dell and McAfee.
Dell is a company that I have looked up to. They have a great story and been able to compete really well online. I also think they make good laptops. In fact I just bought another one from them. I hate “bloat ware”. Bloatware are programs that come with the PC and expires as the trial runs out. I hate that stuff but Dell and other companies use it to sell more stuff. Makes business sense and I recommend my clients to do similar things. McAfee came with my Dell for a 30 days trial. Here's the problem and solution.
Dell and McAfee are in fact purposely inflating prices by over 100%.
After 15 days of buying this laptop I received an email from McAfee sponsored by Dell telling me that I need to update my anti virus subscription. They used very scary sales copy to get me really scared of virus. Ok, you have scared my parents and other non-nerds. :) lol
This is their sales message after the scary part:
“You also won’t wait to save as much as 33% on powerful new McAfee SecurityCenter. Renew now, and instantly save a bundle on all the enhanced features of our new software. Do it soon, because these limited-time special offers expire 30 March 2009.”
Things to highlight:
- Cost: $79.95 for 1 year. (20% savings)
- 33% savings (3 yr subscription)
- Renew NOW to take advantage of this offer
- Limited to this email only
Most people would fall for this and buy right there and then. After all, 80 dollars isn’t a lot of money to be protected.
BAD MONKEY! THEIR SALES TRICK REVEALED!
I have developed, marketed and managed sales programs for all kind of software including anti-virus. $79.95 for a 1 year subscription is insane. I thought Dell and McAfee must have made a typo UNTIL I received another email today urging me to buy now and that this amazing offer is no longer valid. This is insane! Who falls for this?
I went to McAfee.com and saw the same offer advertised on the homepage for $34.95. The regular price is $69.95. (Canadian and US). How in the world can $79.95 be a 20% savings as they claim it to be? I used http://www.xe.com/ for exchange rates: 34.95 CAD = 41.7067 AUD.
I will give them the benefit of the doubt that I am in Australia but live in Canada so maybe they got their geo targeting all wrong. Nope. It works. They have identified that I am in Australia and I received the Australian promotion. The same software is $99 in Australia on sale for $79.95 but on the web site (North America) the same software is sold for half that price.
Did the coin drop?
Good business model?
I would have to say "hmm....yeeeees" but it's not really smart or honest. They can be smarter and more honest about it. I say this because I have used this model for other clients when they are selling software from US to Europe. I have built sales strategies that have sold millions of dollars worth of software glabally using smart and honest sales channels. Why does Dell and McAfee have to do this? So... anyway... there are costs involved...
Translations = Added costs. Customer pays.
In my personal case I know there is an increased cost of translating it from English to lets say German. That cost needs to be recuperated. The smart and honest way to sell it is by using “on the fly exchange rates”. $34.95 Canadian is $41 AUS. There are books written about this so here is the short version. They should sell it for that price directed by exchange rates. Not inflate it and risk people like me finding out and telling everyone about their “scam”.
Economic Downturn = Fooling customers? I don't think so. Not in Web 2.0.
I do understand why they are doing this. It makes money. Lots of money. The economy is bad.
The economy is tough and if people still buy at higher prices then maybe that will save jobs. Good for them but I don’t think this is the smart way to do business. It is definitely not honest.
Do Aussies speak English?
Look at it this way. In Australia they speak English. I think it is fair to assume that Australians are smart people. Is it then smart for Dell and McAfee to be selling the same software for twice the price? Hmmm... Furthermore, what if they can get away with selling it for so much more? Is that good? I would have to agree that it is very clever way to make money. But how long will that last? And to what cost?
Only a few % (people like me...online marketing nerds) :) know where to shop smarter and get the best deals. Majority of people will buy for the full price and are completely ignorant of the real value. In this case the software is worth $34.95 ($41 AUS) instead of $79.95.
Dell and McAfee – Words of wisdom.
If you are in fact going to continue these promotions then make it completely hidden for me to investigate price options. But then again I just saw the same software for $37.99 on an affiliate review site.
So use smarter ways to sell your software and I will personally guarantee a boost in sales conversion. On the fly conversion rates will eliminate errors. In todays Web 2.0 everything you do is transparent. Happy customers are your best advertisers. So... now I am going to buy Norton. Thanks for making my choice easier. :)
Until next time. Stay Tuned. Stay Hot. Stay Smart.
Really Hot Ideas is all about breaking the rules of marketing and outsmarting your competition. Smart, useful tactics every marketer should know. Sign up for the award winning newsletter at http://www.reallyhotideas.com/
Dell is a company that I have looked up to. They have a great story and been able to compete really well online. I also think they make good laptops. In fact I just bought another one from them. I hate “bloat ware”. Bloatware are programs that come with the PC and expires as the trial runs out. I hate that stuff but Dell and other companies use it to sell more stuff. Makes business sense and I recommend my clients to do similar things. McAfee came with my Dell for a 30 days trial. Here's the problem and solution.
Dell and McAfee are in fact purposely inflating prices by over 100%.
After 15 days of buying this laptop I received an email from McAfee sponsored by Dell telling me that I need to update my anti virus subscription. They used very scary sales copy to get me really scared of virus. Ok, you have scared my parents and other non-nerds. :) lol
This is their sales message after the scary part:
“You also won’t wait to save as much as 33% on powerful new McAfee SecurityCenter. Renew now, and instantly save a bundle on all the enhanced features of our new software. Do it soon, because these limited-time special offers expire 30 March 2009.”
Things to highlight:
- Cost: $79.95 for 1 year. (20% savings)
- 33% savings (3 yr subscription)
- Renew NOW to take advantage of this offer
- Limited to this email only
Most people would fall for this and buy right there and then. After all, 80 dollars isn’t a lot of money to be protected.
BAD MONKEY! THEIR SALES TRICK REVEALED!
I have developed, marketed and managed sales programs for all kind of software including anti-virus. $79.95 for a 1 year subscription is insane. I thought Dell and McAfee must have made a typo UNTIL I received another email today urging me to buy now and that this amazing offer is no longer valid. This is insane! Who falls for this?
I went to McAfee.com and saw the same offer advertised on the homepage for $34.95. The regular price is $69.95. (Canadian and US). How in the world can $79.95 be a 20% savings as they claim it to be? I used http://www.xe.com/ for exchange rates: 34.95 CAD = 41.7067 AUD.
I will give them the benefit of the doubt that I am in Australia but live in Canada so maybe they got their geo targeting all wrong. Nope. It works. They have identified that I am in Australia and I received the Australian promotion. The same software is $99 in Australia on sale for $79.95 but on the web site (North America) the same software is sold for half that price.
Did the coin drop?
Good business model?
I would have to say "hmm....yeeeees" but it's not really smart or honest. They can be smarter and more honest about it. I say this because I have used this model for other clients when they are selling software from US to Europe. I have built sales strategies that have sold millions of dollars worth of software glabally using smart and honest sales channels. Why does Dell and McAfee have to do this? So... anyway... there are costs involved...
Translations = Added costs. Customer pays.
In my personal case I know there is an increased cost of translating it from English to lets say German. That cost needs to be recuperated. The smart and honest way to sell it is by using “on the fly exchange rates”. $34.95 Canadian is $41 AUS. There are books written about this so here is the short version. They should sell it for that price directed by exchange rates. Not inflate it and risk people like me finding out and telling everyone about their “scam”.
Economic Downturn = Fooling customers? I don't think so. Not in Web 2.0.
I do understand why they are doing this. It makes money. Lots of money. The economy is bad.
The economy is tough and if people still buy at higher prices then maybe that will save jobs. Good for them but I don’t think this is the smart way to do business. It is definitely not honest.
Do Aussies speak English?
Look at it this way. In Australia they speak English. I think it is fair to assume that Australians are smart people. Is it then smart for Dell and McAfee to be selling the same software for twice the price? Hmmm... Furthermore, what if they can get away with selling it for so much more? Is that good? I would have to agree that it is very clever way to make money. But how long will that last? And to what cost?
Only a few % (people like me...online marketing nerds) :) know where to shop smarter and get the best deals. Majority of people will buy for the full price and are completely ignorant of the real value. In this case the software is worth $34.95 ($41 AUS) instead of $79.95.
Dell and McAfee – Words of wisdom.
If you are in fact going to continue these promotions then make it completely hidden for me to investigate price options. But then again I just saw the same software for $37.99 on an affiliate review site.
So use smarter ways to sell your software and I will personally guarantee a boost in sales conversion. On the fly conversion rates will eliminate errors. In todays Web 2.0 everything you do is transparent. Happy customers are your best advertisers. So... now I am going to buy Norton. Thanks for making my choice easier. :)
Until next time. Stay Tuned. Stay Hot. Stay Smart.
Really Hot Ideas is all about breaking the rules of marketing and outsmarting your competition. Smart, useful tactics every marketer should know. Sign up for the award winning newsletter at http://www.reallyhotideas.com/
posted by Chris Bjorklund at
2:13 PM
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