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If u owned HootSuite, how much would u charge?

by misc92
14 replies
I own a company that offers a Social Media Dashboard platform. It is similar to Hootesuite. (I just rebranded one of them under their white-label / private-label programs)

It lets you program posts, manage several social media profiles with a single user and allows you to automate several tasks... it essentially lets the social media manager have a more efficient task and a better experience when doing his job.

Im having trouble pricing it....

I wanted to charge $300/monthly with no start-up fees, and 2 users included. (It costs me around $25/month per user = $50 total costs)

Is $300 a good price? selling the service to SMBs and private schools in Latin America.

Ill also offer $700 and $1500 plans that have more functions for large corporations.
#charge #hootsuite #owned
  • Profile picture of the author Aaron Doud
    Which did you rebrand? And $300 a month when your quoted competition is charging $10/mo? What do you offer that is worth 30x hootsuite?
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    • Profile picture of the author misc92
      Originally Posted by Aaron Doud View Post

      Which did you rebrand? And $300 a month when your quoted competition is charging $10/mo? What do you offer that is worth 30x hootsuite?

      My only real value over Hootesuite and similars... is that my local latin american, non-internet-savy clients:
      - Know of my existance but they dont know of the existance of my competitors
      - HooteSuite and similars are not currently running campaigns or have a salesforce in my area.
      - Prefer to deal with local providers. Relations are king in business (and I can leverage or hire those in my social network as salesman or to get connected with the decision takers)



      However I do understand your point about how i can justify charging 30x more.. but i keep remembering what warriors say when they sell shared hosting for $30+/mo.... If they want a cheaper provider they can go and search for it (something most wont be able to find because of the previously mentioned situations).
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  • Profile picture of the author wally247
    Are you kidding?

    I was paying for Hootsuite for a while and it was $5 but I honestly found that for my needs the FREE version was just fine.


    Nobody on the face of the planet will pay you $300/month to schedule spammy Tweets....sorry.
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    • Profile picture of the author misc92
      Originally Posted by wally247 View Post

      Are you kidding?

      I was paying for Hootsuite for a while and it was $5 but I honestly found that for my needs the FREE version was just fine.


      Nobody on the face of the planet will pay you $300/month to schedule spammy Tweets....sorry.
      What if they dont know they can get a similar software for $5? see above
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      • Profile picture of the author abbot
        Banned
        Originally Posted by misc92 View Post

        What if they dont know they can get a similar software for $5? see above
        It's people like you that give people like me a bad name in this game.
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        • Profile picture of the author misc92
          Originally Posted by abbot View Post

          It's people like you that give people like me a bad name in this game.

          Thats just words, elaborate how are we different? We here to help companies and make money.

          Are you here for a different reason?
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          • Profile picture of the author abbot
            Banned
            Originally Posted by misc92 View Post

            Thats just words, elaborate how are we different? We here to help companies and make money.

            Are you here for a different reason?
            Because sooner or later they ARE going to figure out that they are being way overcharged and NOT seeing returns. Even if they are completely internet illiterate.

            There is no way that they will see any kind of ROI with your pricing. No way...companies with large social networks run the social networks manually (the right way) no company in their right mind would choose to automate this process and spam their networks that they worked so hard to grow. And no "consultant" in their right mind would recommend they do so. That defeats the ENTIRE purpose of a SOCIAL network. SOCIAL networks are driven by INTERACTION, that's why they are so powerful.

            The company would be better off hiring an in-house employee part time to manage the social networks...and that's saying A LOT...

            Now back to your original question...

            Many people/businesses think of seo,smm, ppc, gpo, email marketing, etc.. as the same thing...They just do...

            Now...when you come in with your automated software and charge them out the ass for a service that they later find worthless, they are going to tell YOU to kick rocks. NOW since they had a 'bad experience' with you, anyone else that comes along trying to help this business with their lack of internet marketing will have to cross that barrier that YOU already put up with your crappy service.

            Yeah, it is possible to overcome this barrier because I do it every single day. But I do get sick of hearing the same stuff "all you guys are the same" "last time I dealt with a company it was a nightmare"

            If you really don't have anything of value to offer them, then don't offer it. This is all about money, business owners don't BUY your service...they INVEST in you. They invest money and trust. And if you don't show them a worthy ROI you have now lost both their MONEY AND TRUST.
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            • Profile picture of the author misc92
              Originally Posted by abbot View Post

              Because sooner or later they ARE going to figure out that they are being way overcharged and NOT seeing returns. Even if they are completely internet illiterate.

              There is no way that they will see any kind of ROI with your pricing. No way...companies with large social networks run the social networks manually (the right way) no company in their right mind would choose to automate this process and spam their networks that they worked so hard to grow. And no "consultant" in their right mind would recommend they do so. That defeats the ENTIRE purpose of a SOCIAL network. SOCIAL networks are driven by INTERACTION, that's why they are so powerful.

              The company would be better off hiring an in-house employee part time to manage the social networks...and that's saying A LOT...

              Now back to your original question...

              Many people/businesses think of seo,smm, ppc, gpo, email marketing, etc.. as the same thing...They just do...

              Now...when you come in with your automated software and charge them out the ass for a service that they later find worthless, they are going to tell YOU to kick rocks. NOW since they had a 'bad experience' with you, anyone else that comes along trying to help this business with their lack of internet marketing will have to cross that barrier that YOU already put up with your crappy service.

              Yeah, it is possible to overcome this barrier because I do it every single day. But I do get sick of hearing the same stuff "all you guys are the same" "last time I dealt with a company it was a nightmare"

              If you really don't have anything of value to offer them, then don't offer it. This is all about money, business owners don't BUY your service...they INVEST in you. They invest money and trust. And if you don't show them a worthy ROI you have now lost both their MONEY AND TRUST.
              Since scalability is king in business, I believe doing something once and selling it thousands of times is the best way to make money in a time efficient manner.

              Would u charge $1500/month or more for:
              - Sprinklr type of Consulting and advice
              - Social media campaign design
              - 5 seats community managers,
              - full-spec hootesuite type of dashboard
              - hundreds of SMS and email messages included in the package?
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  • Profile picture of the author Eddie Spangler
    Sell it for what you want but it seems weird that the non internet savvy people you describe will all of the sudden pay for software to manage social media campaigns when they dont even get why they need social media in the first place.
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    • Profile picture of the author Aaron Doud
      Originally Posted by Eddie Spangler View Post

      Sell it for what you want but it seems weird that the non internet savvy people you describe will all of the sudden pay for software to manage social media campaigns when they dont even get why they need social media in the first place.
      Bingo. If they lack the tech savy to understand that free and cheap alternatives are out there do you really think they need the service?

      If you could make a latin american version of hoot that was about the same price you would be great. Lots of companies made a splash by making local versions of American websites.
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  • Profile picture of the author kazute
    I don't think its cool ripping them off like that, sell it at an honest price and teach them how to use it, thats a far better business model
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    • Profile picture of the author misc92
      Originally Posted by Aaron Doud View Post

      Bingo. If they lack the tech savy to understand that free and cheap alternatives are out there do you really think they need the service?

      If you could make a latin american version of hoot that was about the same price you would be great. Lots of companies made a splash by making local versions of American websites.
      I understand your point but i cant get near hootesuite prices to make it worth my time lol.
      Originally Posted by kazute View Post

      I don't think its cool ripping them off like that, sell it at an honest price and teach them how to use it, thats a far better business model
      What if I not only teach them but also offer 24/7 support with platform use, social strategy design and consulting included in the price?? and...

      Extra services $$ like: Community Management, reports+analytics


      Take a look at what they offer, they target large companies.
      Social Media Services | Strategy, Client Services, Community Management, Reporting & Analysis | Sprinklr

      At Sprinklr we don't have clients, we have partners. Brands can count on us to support them throughout the entire relationship, from managing day-to-day platform needs to helping drive and create across all Social strategies. Each partner is assigned an Account Manager from a dedicated Client Services team who will be there to assist the partner at every step of the way. They will make sure every engagement with Sprinklr is a enjoyable experience.
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      • Profile picture of the author vndnbrgj
        Originally Posted by misc92 View Post

        I understand your point but i cant get near hootesuite prices to make it worth my time lol.
        I think you have an extremely overpriced service in a market that isn't ready for it yet.

        A non-internet savy business using an internet based platform to manage their social media postings....

        At a price that is, in my opinion, ridiculous.
        If you can't compete on price, then compete on value.
        But from what you said, you don't really offer more value than HootSuite that meets my clients needs on the FREE version.
        As soon as people do a little research your reputation is over.
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  • Profile picture of the author SJJPFTW
    You say you are targeting non-internet savvy people with a social media tool? I would imagine if they know enough to have social media accounts they will know how to google for your competition.
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