Re:The worst users come from referral programs, free trials,...
by gumby on Saturday February 03, 2024 @09:50AM
(#39240838)
> I sort of expected something more insightful.
It’s just marketing spam. The legal disclaimer is longer than the content in this self-described “high quality newsletter” (and in Safari reader mode all you get is the disclaimer!”.
Plus you need to enter something that looks like an email to read it — ironically, given the subject, [email protected] works!
Par for the course for a16z, really.
Re:The worst users come from referral programs, free trials,...
by Veuxdo on Saturday February 03, 2024 @09:42AM
(#39240747)
The note at the end that referrals performed better than non-referrals _for drivers_ was interesting. Plus I'd say that even if this isn't earth-shattering insight, there is still benefit hearing the results for something on the scale of Uber.
I agree that including free trials with referrals and coupons doesn't make much sense. As others have commented, free trials are all-but-unavoidable in certain markets.
This general topic was discussed quite a bit when Groupon was a thing. The coupons brought in people who were pretty much only there for the discount, tipped poorly, and generally didn't become repeat customers. They weren't looking for a new place. They were looking for a deal.
ADDED: Per another comment, there is probably an angle whereby a free trial is the necessary nudge for someone to try something they'd be willing to pay full price for if they liked it. But I didn't get that distinction between those two modes from this short piece.