GAINESVILLE, Fla., April 1, 2017Â â SharpSpring announced today that it increased pricing by 1,000% to be more in line with competitors like HubSpot, Pardot, Marketo and Act-On. The decision came based on input from HubSpot, who regularly questions the viability of our pricing model on âkill sheetsâ they send to their customers that are considering a move to SharpSpring.
âHubSpot seems deeply concerned with the viability of our pricing model and company, so we thought we ought to listen and give a 10x price increase some serious consideration.â said, Kim Jamerson, SharpSpringâs VP of Marketing.
Ultimately, the decision to raise prices was based on input from an unlikely source â a key member of SharpSpringâs development team. Peter April, a senior software developer, happened by the pricing meeting and decided to chime in. Peter is brilliant, but he has a reputation around the office of being a bit âsaltyâ at times.
âItâs simple guys,â Pete shared. âRemember, softwareâs all about 1s and 0s.â
Pete pulled up the SharpSpring website, navigated to the pricing page and said, âIs this the number thatâs giving you problems?â pointing to SharpSpringâs unbelievably low $800/mo. price point. Everyone nodded in frustration and defeat.
âHubSpot is right. Itâs impossibly lowâŠweâre doomed,â one SharpSpringer said.
Pete confidently grabbed the mouse. âLike I said, itâs all about 1s and 0s,â he said as he deftly moved a zero from the 20,000 contact limit to the $800/mo cost.
âAnd, wham. Now if youâll excuse me, I donât have all day to solve all your foolish marketing problems.â And just like that he was goneâŠ.
The entire team had a eureka moment. Upping the price by the power of 10 would be so simple, yet so effective!
âPeteâs no fool, heâs a genius,â James Morgan, VP of Sales, said. âOur live demos are going to run much more smoothly now since marketers are no longer shocked by how low our pricing is.â
âI feel foolish for not having thought of this myself,â said Ed Lawton, CFO. â1s and 0s⊠brilliant. Whoâs idea was it to offer an equal, highly-rated product for such a low price anyway? I bet Pete wasnât there when we made that decision.â
The new pricing brings SharpSpring more in line with competitors such as HubSpot and Marketo, who charge thousands for the same features that SharpSpring offers, including a landing page builder, form builder, blogging tool, behavioral-based email automation and tons more.
When asked how SharpSpring was able to address this important pricing issue, Carlson responded, âThatâs what we do. We solve tough problems.â
âThe board and the investor community are really going to be into this change,â Lawton said.
Pete has been asked to be a guest presenter for the next SharpSpring board meeting, which is planned to be at a trendy resort near the North Pole.
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Note: Donât worry. This is indeed an April Foolâs joke. Weâre still offering the same fraction-of-the-cost pricing that we always have. Get on a demo and see what makes us the perfect alternative to HubSpot, Marketo and others.