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Forum: General Discussion

Topic: The question/observation is not intended to aggravate anybody. - Page: 1

由于该帖子的部分内容已年深日久，可能包含陈旧过时或描述错误的信息。

But a qeneral observation from a user and a Marketing professional

Opening up downloads to forum members and the general public would allow you to gain more market share and increase community. This strategy of only Pro paying members can download acts as a barrier to new users and directs your potential new customers elsewhere.
 
发表时间 Sun 12 Aug 07 @ 11:44 pm
sadly that then would remove any reason to purchase the software at all

its a fantastic program , but sadly thats not enough more increasingly doday people dont buy software they obtain unoffical versions

classic story of a free demo that some one could crack

then they could help them selves to all the plugins , they woudlnt buy what would be the point it does what they need already :(

the plugins are an insentive amongst others to get folks to support the program

its quite a common pratise in softwares pcdj do it , trackor do it , so do mixvibes , reason , ablton and others

it aslo covers the trafic costs of thousands of downloads

and a small selection of skins and samples are free to download to give people a feel for what the software can do :)

i hope you can understand why

Kind Regards

Simon B
 
its really easy to use vdj without paying a cent - i know i used to do it - but unless you buy the product, you dont deserve the extra plugins, downloads and support that is available from this website.

if people dont pay for the product then the product wouldnt get made and developers wouldnt get paid, so even those people using unofficial versions wouldnt have anything to use!

vdj is F**Kn cheap for what is does - i dont realise why people cant pay for it. after working a couple gigs, it pays for itself!

 
I come from the software and gaming industry and am very familiar with Licensing, Sales and Piracy issues. Piracy is definitley an issue, you can't eliminate it alltogether. All you can do is reduce it by making it harder to copy etc....

That being said the games industry opens up as much as they can to foster community and product innovation via mods etc.......

You find very few game developers who charge for add-ons, mods etc......

Many commercial apps do charge for modules, these modules though have direct impact and create new channels for the developer.Not so with Virtual DJ they are intrisc add-ons which can also be downloaded elsewhere from 3rd party developers. The Virtual DJ community also develops these products as well.

In my professional opinion the current approach is hurting sales. I would bet a million that if a free demo with limited features unlockable by paying a fee was released and supported by free add-ons, mods etc... you would see a dramatic increase in sales.


 
i dont follow - after you pay for the program you can download the plugins free - you also dont have to pay anything to get the new updates of VDJ.

if people could use vdj and all the plugins then there would be no need to buy it in the first place.

game developers dont charge for add-ons because people have to buy the game first- thats where their income is.
 
The difference is, the mods you speak of (games) are developed by the community independently and are hosted independently. Of course people can distribute their plugins on their own websites if they wanted to but this way is a lot easier, even if imo the downloads section needs to be severely modernised. The software does come with some limited plugins anyway although I think skyfxl's explanation is good enough to explain why the system is as it is.

Forget about the addons for the moment though. Atomix have updated the engine twice in the last 18 months? Last time I checked, gamers pay for engine enchancements in the form of a completely new product, i.e. Half-Life & Half-Life Source.

And what you said about the gaming and software community make it easier to creativity. You need to buy those products first to get the sdk in most cases. This one is offered for free.
 
Here is another issue to consider. Those of us who do purchase the software are deserving of something that people who steal it aren't, that being the skins/pluggins etc. Also, if downloads were free, why work at improvements?
 
All very valid points but for a product to have legs you need new customers. Without new customers your base will slowly dissolve as new products come out.

I'm just letting you know, from a newbie perspective, that there are some issues that need to be addressed.

 
i agree with you in that vdj needs to put its fishing line out to grab more customers.

i know that everyone who uses VDJ gets asked "what program are you using?" while at gigs - i get asked that at least once a night. if vdj can keep its current customers happy - providing them with extras - then i think that we as users can highly recommend the product to new people because we are satisfied if it. i know this is only a small percentage of its advertising, but word of mouth as far as advertising, is free!

i would also encourage vdj to send out virtual dj logos or signs to the resident djs (thats me!) to put up in the club.
 
Let me just say that as a "Marketing professional", you must have fallen asleep during some of the lessons. This is one of the silliest idea I have heard all year. Maybe I should give all my clients the light show for free, so I can get a bigger market share. Nooooooo, they all love the lights that they see, and will pay for it. You do not get a bigger market share, by giving away the whole store. I learned that on the street, not in marketing. How many Iphones did they give away?
 
Maybe i should let you know my reasoning and that could shed some light.

Currently all the Sound and Video Effects are only available to registered pro users.

I'm not suggesting that everything is free but there needs to be a healthy mix to foster growth in both sales and community.The free area would be populated with genereal stuff that would be of general interest to DJ's and home users. To access a free area you will need to sign up and go on a mailing list, you would also market directly to this list as well.

Remember you are not just marketing to pros but the general consumer is finding you as well. Your weekend warrior DJ and hobbyist represents a significant revenue stream. Community, access to free add ons and help is important. They will purchase product if presented properly. I would bet you knickels to donuts that more general consumers are looking for and finding your site then Professional DJ’s.

Search Engine Issues

If you do a search for "DJ software" Virtual DJ is ranked #1 in Google.The phrase DJ Software is searched approximatley 407 times a day internet wide. That equates to 12,000 (ish) times a month.

Having a #1 position in Google should equate to some very good traffic numbers for you. If you take into consideration a .5% to 1% (conservative # for your vertical) click through to sales ratio then one out of every 100 clients who come to your site via a search engine should be purchasing a product.


 
We've really got a character on our hands here, well done you've put a smile on my face if no one else's :)
 
His approach leaves no incentive to buy.

Besides a hobby dj / bedroom dj - Can buy the home edition for 50 bucks at Staples/Radio Shack.

At 399.00 CAD the Price is out of reach of most but the Serious Professional.
 
DJ Marcel_1 wrote :
Shack.At 399.00 CAD the Price is out of reach of most but the Serious Professional.


If someone can afford a PC they can afford the software to use on it. I am sorry Marcel this argument holds no water. And if it is their parents PC then purchase home, like you recommended.
 
Look this has been the marketing strategy of VDJ since the earlier AtomixMP3 application.

You buy and register you get extras. And as pointed out VirtualDJ is #1 on the Google search for DJ Software (but then again if you know how Google works the example doesn't hold water)

But, lets use the example - so, from a marketing position - I think it works.

BTW, it's not the Skins or Plugins that get people to buy. It's the product and what it delivers.
And if you want proof of that just do a simple comparison of the posts in the Skins or Plug-in section of the forums.

So you can argue your point, but I can very much doubt that it will change anything.

 
I almost lost the point of this post. I had to go back to the beginning and read again. Let's assume that VDJ could not be cracked so there would be no silly questions being asked over and over and over again. Just technical questions would be asked.

Now, since there would be no pirated copies out there, the only real question would be how can I get some of the downloads in which some are enabled to home edition for lack of other words " starter kit ". The more serious user would say " hey, I like this program and purchase the pro edition for the full functions.

I believe the average person who is trying the software out should not need full access to bonus material to verify if he likes the software.

The company makes software for multi-layered dj's and rewards the person who purchased the top EDITION. The addons should not be given away to people who may not be serious or does not need the extras.

If you were to buy a house, would you ask the builder to put in all the nice stuff because you got the house for a low cost. Probably not, He would tack on the add ons in the cost.

Bottom line is if you want the extras... you pay for it.

DJ's are a community much like athletes and other professionals. We'll trade secrets and teach the upcoming but only if your serious about learning the trade. No matter what the trade is. It's all the same philosophy.
 
I guess it really comes down to a few simple questions.

Are your year to year sales increasing by 15%, remaining the same or decreasing?

Is your product competitive or are you losing ground to competitors who offer more for less?

Marketing strategies are meant to evolve and change over time. Especially in this "Internet world" marketing strategies need to be flexible and dynamic.

Using a strategy from the early AtomixMP3 days will in the long term fail against competitors who employ more modern Viral Marketing techniques.


 
You seem like you know something about what your talking about. So let's give you the respect you deserve.

I have Traktor and PCDJ. Now, for me wanted the FX on PCDJ but did not want to pay for the upgrade. It should come with package that I have since I'm with company right. Or maybe on Traktor, I should get the 3rd edition for free because I really could use the 4 deck output.

Oh by the way, I have the cracked version of both. So because I have exe. file to play both software I should get the extras which might get me to purchase the whole thing. I don't think so. I would keep playing the free copy.

Question, where do you get your music from? A record pool or somekind of P2P. If you got a cracked 199.99 3 year old software you probably are not going to pay a 1.00 per song. If you did, then this discussion would not be on this forum. If you steal music from P2P. Do you go on their forums and complain about the quality?
 
lordturbo wrote :
Are your year to year sales increasing by 15%, remaining the same or decreasing?

Is your product competitive or are you losing ground to competitors who offer more for less?


The Forum has grown since I have been here, since Christmas 2006. Radio has quadrupled, so the strategy is working. But good try..... you wanted free stuff..and didn't get it......
 
I get most of my music from friends, P2P and my own collection. I've been collecting for 30 years, i'm 47 and am considered a dinosaur in the DJ world. :-).

As i've said piracy will never be elimiated, you can only reduce it.I'm not talking about pirated copies they will allways be there.

I'm talking about not implementing marketing policies that are restrictive and aged in nature. Especially when viral marketing is your strongest ally. Word of mouth, the Internet, Community etc....

In the software industry its very difficult to keep your customer base. Competitors will make products that are cheaper , more feature rich and easier to use.

The ley to having legs is to listen to your cusotmer base, allways be innovative and never rest on your laurels
 
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