Holy cow, @BS605, that is some suuuuuuuper greasy behaviour!!! That’s terrible!!! I would have been so tempted to tell them to cram it! : )
May I ask what country / region you’re in?
Remember the Google G Suite ‘legacy’ free edition debacle from early 2022?
My wife applies your logic on any company that raises prices. In her view it is a super jerk move for a profitable company to get a customer hooked on any product, and then raise prices to either fuel growth or be more profitable.
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South Dakota, USA
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@WindWarrior Yeah, I mean, under certain circumstances I agree, it’s necessary for the company to thrive. But:
1 - If the CEO / upper “Directors of _____” / “VP of _______” s got >5% raise, and the lower staff didn’t, it wasn’t to ensure company success.
2 - If the company had other viable options to increase revenue, and chose to steal money from the lowest on the totem pole [paycheck to paycheck users, paying up to the company & CEO] instead, it wasn’t for company success.
3 - Completely free, to stripping away features and making those features forced paid, no other option, is a completely different ballgame from something that was originally paid, and price is increasing.
In the first, people were in agreement with the company that the service was fun / useful, but only if free. In the second, they had already agreed to pay out of pocket for it.
I think that difference is massive, a very important distinction, and a very special level of super-jerk-movery!! : )
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Honestly don’t know what happened at Strava, but do know that the cost of doing business is going up. I work for a small (73 people) company and we don’t waste any money on anything, and I’ve had to be the messenger on price increases.
From my perspective Strava is 100% discretionary, and free is absolutely good enough for most people. The main feature is social media for sports, without ads or the creepy feeling of ‘we track everything you do, and you are the product’ that I get from Facebook, Instagram, Google, etc. Thats what made Strava the company it is.
Business to business, and some business to consumer, is on another level, IMHO. Once a company outsources something (tools, software, services) to another company, it literally is beholden as the alternative is often very disruptive. Same for the average person when it comes to electricity and water and …
Imagine what is going to happen if Tik-Tok is banned in the US!
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GDP will increase from the new “productivity” of a less distracted workforce? 
ETA: If it goes down, maybe Nate will have enough time pitch in and finally get us WOLV2 
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This is my marketing day job side of me speaking:
That’s a good short term strategy but ultimately drives dissatisfaction and growing frustration. If at all possible, provide a service that people actively and consciously enjoy so much that the price is totally moot to the perceived value they experience.
There’s a real world example in the subscription space I’m aware of: Gyms/health clubs with restrictive cancellation policies vs. those in states with legal protections enabling customers to cancel more freely. This is still emerging, but the data are showing that customers who are given the choice to leave do leverage it, but they’re also more likely to return to the gym and restart the membership at some point in the future. Customers who are locked in to contracts obviously cannot leave, but they basically count down until they can. And then once they’re out, they’re never starting again because they hated the experience so much.
I mean ultimately, my real point is: Be a good company and make people love your product, which is neither insightful nor particularly actionable. But if your company finds itself implementing more restrictive policies, scaling back features behind price gates, and generally focusing on internal performance metrics vs. customer success, my opinion is that you’re on the wrong path.
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I get the idea, I just think the ‘value’ aspect is probably different between a gym membership and strava membership…
A gym membership can be £50/70/100 a month, strava in my example is a cup of coffee once a month.
If I pay a few pounds/dollars a month, the actual expected value of the service is completely different to that of a one off £/$80 spend. For a small fee, I don’t have to be an advocate or invested in the tech… I just need to use it.
(Though I’m not in marketing for a living 
)
Edit just to add…
What strava should have done is Targeted adverts…
Race partnerships, you live in X and like running - want to enter this race?
You entered X race… need a training plan?
You entered X race… need a warm up event?
Well done on completing your race, your next challenge?
You have run X amount of miles, might be time for some new shoes…
I sincerely hope they are selling anonymised data to Nike/Asics etc - People in this urban area run for an average of X amount of time, they run at this level etc… to influence there advertising, same with cycling etc
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Well there’s nothing wrong with being so cheap people don’t mind either. 
Basically, I’m just a proponent of: “Look if you make a product people love than price becomes a non-factor.”
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Sorry I edited my post whilst you posted.
I’m probably of the belief it’s very hard to hit that non-factor price point for a hobby
The strava founders had a good idea, but they have proven time and time again that they are terrible at running a business.
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I totally get what you are saying. My utilities have doubled. My insurance is up 20%. Fuel is up 30% food is up over 40%. My 2016 truck I bought for $42000 at 0% is now $98000 at 6% to replace. I cant go to my boss and say well for the last 10 years inflation is between 6 and 15% per year and in total I have had 8% in raises total. I need a 40% raise this year to make what I did 10 years ago. Thanks. Ya. Not going to happen. I just keep cancelling services and looking for replacements. Definitely not going to go for the old poor company line who’s costs have gone up. Try raising a family on 2017 wages
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Times like these I dig out the imaginary cassette tape and put on side 2 of Joshua Tree.
Oh yeah, Almost forgot. Our house burnt down almost a month ago now. Got a bill for $13655.56 in the mail a couple days ago for putting out the fire. That sure is a nice kick in the teeth!
Just got an email where strava is integrated with spotify. That has to be worth $20.00 a month
Home of the true north strong and not fire services for free (Canada).
I think you are near Red Deer? Vaguely recall that. If so, you need ChatGPT to run the provincial government…
Question to ChatGPT: does the Alberta province charge the homeowner for putting out a house fire?
In the province of Alberta, Canada, the cost of putting out a house fire is generally covered by the local government’s fire department and is not charged to the homeowner. The fire department is typically funded through taxes and other government funding sources.
However, in some cases, homeowners may be responsible for the cost of fire department services if they have been found to have caused the fire due to negligence or illegal activity. Additionally, some municipalities may charge fees for non-emergency services, such as smoke alarm inspections or fire safety consultations, but these fees are typically not related to the cost of putting out a house fire.
It’s worth noting that fire department policies and procedures can vary depending on the municipality in Alberta. If you have questions about fire department services or fees in your area, it’s best to contact your local fire department or government offices for more information.
You should have seen the answer when I asked why Strava raised prices LOL
Red Deer. The city manager MAY charge for fire services. Now I want to see the records for the last few hundred fires to see if it was always charged or if the city manager charged some and not others. Will be interesting to see what the criteria were for charge vs not charged (if any). I have 15 days left to pay.