THE FREE MODEL

Ever wondered why some stuff sell out while many other stuff do not even see the exterior of the shop in which they have been warehoused..

ANY IDEAS??

Well, before you start giving me all the Business school answers  such as innovation, superior customer service and the like let me tell you that the answer is far from all of that.. This answer is rarely found within the walls of a Business School.

So, lets take a walk into a religious centre.... The first stop is my Church *smiles*. Here, we believe in Jesus Christ who is the only son of God and was sent to earth to die for the sins of man and redeem him from the bondage of sin and death. After offering himself up as a great sacrifice, he offers redemption free of charge. All that we need do is accept Him as our Lord and saviour, become born again and we become free from the hold of death....ALL THESE FOR FREE.

No strings attached, no sacrifices, no hidden charges (at least for the upright worship centres)

Nothing sells like FREE stuff ... But when you are told that nothing goes for free, not even in Freetown, you had better believe it. The free in Christianity comes with huge responsibilities and in the world of business its not a different kettle of fish.

Many technology companies have built successful business empires around this business model that I would like to call the Free Model. It probably started with www.yahoo.com (but can you believe I was made to pay for opening my email in Nigeria), then companies like Facebook attained half a billion followers in a few years and Twitter was not a different story.

But there are TRUST issues coming up, issues of businesses selling the information of their users without their permission and the like.

So, here's my advice for both business owners (Adopters of the Free Model) and user (Benefactors of the Free Model);

Business Owners:
The Free Model is a smart tool for acquiring a large client base
Your job is to redefine the revenue model (advertising is such a lazy approach, try something else)
Respect the privacy of the users of your products or services
Avoid bad publicity
Trust is invaluable, never loose it


User:
The moment you accept free stuff, you accept to take primary responsibility of yourself
Never give away valuable information that could be used to harm you
Never forget that nothing in life is truly free



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