Trial Removing Three Day Therapy Trial - Information for the community!
Hey All,
We wanted to share an update with you from the Therapy team. Since the program started, we have had a 3-day trial, where members who sign up get the opportunity to talk to a therapist for 3 days free. We have long wanted to trail a new option for interested members. So we will be doing a trial where we remove the 3-day trial and track the impact. Members will have the opportunity to select a therapist of their choice and begin talking to them directly. Additionally, Members will still be able to go through Sophia and get auto-assigned to a therapist if they prefer that. No 3-day trial in either scenario.
We wanted to let you know, because once this trial goes forward, you may see updated language around the site around how we talk about therapy. Especially for adult listeners, youll want to keep this in mind if you refer a member to our therapy team.
Why are we trialing the removal of the 3-day trial?
- Continual and ongoing billing issues and disputes
- Majority of members who sign up this way did not stay retained
@Laura
I did use the 3 day rial and I did take up the payment option and continue with it. I did find it a big inducement. I am not sure whethere I would have signed up without it because I had no idea what texting therapy would be like.
I do have a problem with the texting mainly because the text box is too small.
Bad idea really. 3 days are not a lot and that's how many members decide if they wanna continue using therapy. Instead of paying for an entire month why not just pay for each session, per hour/day. A lot can happen in a month, it's a lot to pay in advance considering the fact you might wanna stop before the period is over.
@VeganFeminist123 I like this idea so much, if they kept the plan the same amount. $150 a month is a little under $35 a week. But paying weekly is easier to swallow and what if you are going on vacation and wont use it or are just feeling like you dont need it for a period? Having the ability to pause or skip rather than cancel a membership has also been a good incentive to stick with a subscription at a later date.
@VeganFeminist123 yeah, here is exchanging emails, and no session/live chat
I feel like the biggest thing that dissuaded me was the fact that whether you use it or not you've already paid for the month. I'd be much more likely to join if i only had to pay for the days i used. That way you could still have the 3 days free and only charge on the fourth day IF you sign in and talk that day. If that's not an option, the week option is a lot better,and ensuring you have to conform the bill at the beginning of each week would save a lot of head ache for everyone. There could be discounts for signing up for a month or 3 months, but not having smaller increments is sure to scare away the more hesitant and anxious folk.
Question: do your statistics for who continues to pay after the trial period take into account those who ended up canceling at the end of the trial to give it some thought and the confronted and paid at a later date?
its stupid to demand access to payment for what is supposed to be free anyway, also these people outright refiusing to say two words to someone unless they pay for it really says that's all they care about
Lots of good input given here so far.
I always thought that having several 'tiers' of therapy service (of course, without making it complicated to understand so it can work effectively) would be better than just paying a certain large (to many) amount upfront for an entire month.
You posted:
Why are we trialing the removal of the 3-day trial?
- Continual and ongoing billing issues and disputes
- Majority of members who sign up this way did not stay retained
Thanks for sharing that particular info with us.
Just in-general here, granted, many free trial period offers for merchandise or services can be a good thing but in some cases, a bad thing too, as some folks may not fully understand the terms and conditions of the specific offer or decide to simply take undue advantage of the offer, meaning, by intending upfront, to drop the service or return the merchandise within the alotted period of time, making it a win win situation so-to-speak for them.
The KEY to avoid the headaches, pitfalls and problems that a business (be it a brick and mortar one or an online-only one or both) may/can encounter, is to simply make sure that the terms and conditions are made crystal clear in print, and this paramount, there should be stellar customer service available at reasonable hours of the day/night to handle and fully-resolve ANY customer complaints or problems. Not rocket science. :)
Good readin' material:
"Free" Trial Offers?
If you're interested in a particular product or service, trying before you buy might seem like a no-brainer. But what starts as a free trial — or for a very low cost — might end up costing you real money......
https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0101-free-trial-offers
