Business-focused topics from Jason and Kim. We'll discuss deceptive business tactics like perpetual sales, strike through pricing that isn't real, disabled plugin features until you "upgrade". We also talk about a new product idea for a global "Out of the Office" settings app that Kim had (and Jason isn't excited about!).

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Welcome back to that talking thing. I'm Kim I'm Jason. This is episode nine, season two, and it's a business topic episode, and I'm stealing the show. I'm going to ask the only questions today and I hope I don't catch you off guard. No anything. So my first one is kind of a controversial thing. I'm ready to dig into this and name names and feel it because it's affects us.

It affects our business. It affects our team. So it's based on deceptive business tactics. What do users think about it? How do we as other developers of WordPress products, how do we observe these deceptive tactics? And does it even matter? Is it worth engaging in. The number one deceptive business tactic that a direct competitor of ours uses is a perpetual sale.

I was on a call with Patrick, our team member, and he said, don't you just wish one day they got their come up. And that users realize that this is a total lie. This isn't an opportunity to buy something at a discount. Their actual price is their discounted price. And I said, sure do I sure wish they would.

That would be revealed, but it hasn't been, so I guess it's two part, let's talk about what are some deceptive business tactics? What have we tried in the nature of testing deceptive tactics and what do users actually think of those things? Yeah. I'm not so sure that. Folks like MemberPress you said name names who have perpetual sales and by the way, like they're not the only website it's super common.

Yes. Are trying to be deceptive. Um, a lot of marketing is kind of psychology, behavioral modification type stuff. So when does it cross the line be high and like crossed a line? You know, just nudging the person, the buyer in a direction to really being deceptive or, you know, what we would consider a bad practice, but I always thought like, don't lie to your customer.

So that's kind of a line, right? So it feels really simple that I feel that the customer. So even if they're little lies, they subconsciously pick up on these things over time. And they just get the sense of like, they're not serious. And that is one that interests me when I see that, you know, it's, it kind of, it makes me just feel like, why are they doing that?

Or is it not really worth something or there's something wrong here. Um, but I also think folks who use those kinds of perpetual sales and I don't, maybe we didn't even describe what it is, but you'll see. It's like a banner at the top of the page saying you have three hours to save temporary. Oh, it's for four hours, three hours, 53 minutes or something.

Yeah. I, and then, yeah, it'll, their price will always show up as strike through because like people love getting a deal. And I think the philosophy behind that too. People come to your website, they might be comparing you to other options, or maybe they might get the thought to compare you to other options, some point during the checkout.

But if they feel like, oh my gosh, I have to make the decision. Now this is like FOMO, fear of missing out, encourages people to like, yeah, go ahead. Do it. You should get, you know, you got hurry up. Just kind of nudges people towards buying, which to hurry up is okay. But it is like, is it just, it's kind of lying to say this is a sale now.

I, I actually, I literally know that those folks would sa...