Latest marketing campaign reeks of extortion

Once you purchase Logos 7, it will always work on the operating system of your choice. Today. Tomorrow. Next week. Next year. Always.

Life is already filled with too many worries.

You shouldn’t have to worry that your Bible study tools will suddenly not work…especially when you need them the most.

So buy Logos 7 today and put your mind at peace! Understanding God’s Word is too important not to take action now.

Hmmm... Why would you need to "worry that your Bible study tools will suddenly not work"???? So, we need to shell out more money (on top of the $6500 we've already spent) to "put our minds at peace" and avoid the potential of our software "suddenly not working" !?!?!?!?

Surely that's not what they mean... but it is certainly what they are saying!

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PetahChristian

Setting aside how FL can make a promise that Logos 7 will always work -- will it be supported indefinitely? -- the issue in general is that any third-party program, not just Logos, can stop working on newer versions of Windows or macOS, because of some incompatibility with the newer version of the operating system (OS).

Older versions of any program eventually stop being supported/maintained, and eventually stop working (due to incompatibility, rather than some deliberate attempt to force you to upgrade).

If an older version of Logos still works on your computer, I wouldn't really worry about it suddenly not working (as long as you check before upgrading the OS that all the programs you use will work on the newer OS).

While FL would like you to upgrade (and there are many other reasons why someone might want to do so), fear of your older version suddenly not working shouldn't be one of them.

As for "extortion," I don't think they're actually saying that you have to pay them for your software to continue to work.

Phillip Burse

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/868068#Comment_868068

Thanks Petah, my first PC was a 1985 Tandy 1000, BS Elec Engr, used every application software from CAD, PSpice, Database, SPC, Industrial Controls, Office, etc (basically from c:\ to Windows 10; from Motorola 8088 thru Pentiums to i7 Intels) - even wrote a little Fortran in the day and html in more recent years. Thanks for the education, but I do know how the product cycles work. The post was directed at the language of fear to peddle a product:
- life is filled with too many worries
- you shouldn't have to worry that your Bible study tools will suddenly not work
- So, buy Logos 7 today and put your mind at peace

You don't have to be a Harvard MBA or a practitioner of marketing psychology to see the obvious. It's not about technology, it's about honorable business practices. IMHO.

Simon’s Brother

Philip I agree with you the wording is inappropriate and over the top for a company run by Christian men and women - a fear campaign with false claims about always being able to run Logos 7 on whatever operating system we choose in the future is not an appropriate to market Logos Bible Software. For starters Logos 7 is not supported on Linux thus debunking claims of being able to run it on any OS, and as to the future they have no idea of what changes wil come to Mac or Windows operating system that will prevent Logos 7 from running correctly. Logos have discontinued support for previous OS's so why would we expect this behaviour will be any different in the future. I have been raising concerns for a long time about the way they make false claims on the Vyrso marketing. We now clearly see them doing it with Logos marketing. Shame on you Fairhlife you are slipped further down the slippery slope of worldly marketing practices - Shame, Shame Shame!

Once you purchase Logos 7, it will always work on the operating system of your choice. Today. Tomorrow. Next week. Next year. Always.

Life is already filled with too many worries.

You shouldn’t have to worry that your Bible study tools will suddenly not work…especially when you need them the most.

So buy Logos 7 today and put your mind at peace! Understanding God’s Word is too important not to take action now.

Hmmm... Why would you need to "worry that your Bible study tools will suddenly not work"???? So, we need to shell out more money (on top of the $6500 we've already spent) to "put our minds at peace" and avoid the potential of our software "suddenly not working" !?!?!?!?

Surely that's not what they mean... but it is certainly what they are saying!

PetahChristian

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/868084#Comment_868084

Sorry about the product life cycle education! I just didn't see it really being about extortion (although any company in business to preserve its revenue/profits does capitalize on technological obsolescence).

I definitely agree that fear shouldn't be used to scare people into buying the new version.

There is a lot of marketing psychology in use. FL's apparent desire to perpetuate the whole "Total value" inaccuracy for collections proves that they'd rather mislead people into thinking they're getting a good deal, rather than displaying a true and accurate total cost, when items are purchased separately. The fact that they're not discounting bundles they put together for sales has been another sticking point.

While some may feel it's appropriate, others may not see it as reputable. Unfortunately, their success is apparently more closely tied to revenue, rather than customer happiness (which can affect future revenue).

I've grown disillusioned with FL. I wish FL would change the way they do business, since it's awkward for me to be so very pleased with the Logos software, yet dissatisfied with the practices of the company behind it. One shouldn't have to choose between a superior product, and questionable business practices. I remain an idealist, and still think business practices should reflect honor and integrity.

My dissatisfaction generally revolves around buying new courses with issues, yet it not being corrected, or being mislead -- a money-back guarantee shouldn't be the answer to deceitful practices. I have no issue at all with FL making a profit -- they've certainly profited from me -- I merely don't want to feel ripped off.

Gail

Once you purchase Logos 7, it will always work on the operating system of your choice. Today. Tomorrow. Next week. Next year. Always.

I think all they are saying is that the core program engine will always be free (free updates) and thus you will always have the use of your library. That is the main reason I chose to invest in Logos as opposed to other Bible software. I have too often had the experience of purchasing products that are unusable after a few years.

PetahChristian

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/868102#Comment_868102

Once you purchase Logos 7, it will always work on the operating system of your choice. Today. Tomorrow. Next week. Next year. Always.

I think all they are saying is that the core program engine will always be free (free updates) and thus you will always have the use of your library. That is the main reason I chose to invest in Logos as opposed to other Bible software. I have too often had the experience of purchasing products that are unusable after a few years.

The marketing suggest you have to make a purchase to ensure Logos will work on future operating systems.

That seems misleading, since you don't have to purchase anything to use the core engine. The core engine is always free without purchase.

Simon’s Brother

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/868089#Comment_868089

I have no issue at all with FL making a profit

I want them to remain in business so no qualms on this point either, what I dont' want to remain is their current business practices.

Unfortunately, their success is apparently more closely tied to revenue, rather than customer happiness (which can affect future revenue).

This is what I find most troubling because many years ago they were concerned about customer happiness. They no longer are concerned about whether we are happy but only if we are opening our wallets. They no longer respect the customer.

I've grown disillusioned with FL. I wish FL would change the way they do business, since it's awkward for me to be so very pleased with the Logos software, yet dissatisfied with the practices of the company behind it. One shouldn't have to choose between a

Exactly!

Simon’s Brother

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/868102#Comment_868102

Once you purchase Logos 7, it will always work on the operating system of your choice. Today. Tomorrow. Next week. Next year. Always.

I think all they are saying is that the core program engine will always be free (free updates) and thus you will always have the use of your library. That is the main reason I chose to invest in Logos as opposed to other Bible software. I have too often had the experience of purchasing products that are unusable after a few years.

Then simply say that and stop adding in a whole lot of misleading and false claims they know they cannot keep. Stick to what is true.

Mike Childs

I am sure all of you are correct that there could circumstances where any program stops working, and even the strongest companies can go out of business. I am not sure exactly what point Logos is trying to make, and perhaps they are not saying it just right.

But I do know this. The books and resources I bought from Logos over 20 years ago work better than ever today. That is certainly a great record from personal experience. Therefore, I certainly have peace of mind that any resource that I buy from Logos will be there whenever I need it.

Mark Barnes

I suspect that this marketing campaign began by trying to counter the notion some people have that they must keep upgrading every couple of years to keep their software working. This message is saying that notion is false — you won't have to keep upgrading in the future.

Unfortunately, however, the message has morphed way beyond this to give the impression (never stated, but certainly implied) that this is only true if you buy Logos 7, which of course isn't the case. That's really spoiled what should have been a positive message.

PetahChristian

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/868137#Comment_868137

Unfortunately, however, the message has morphed way beyond this to give the impression (never stated, but certainly implied) that this is only true if you buy Logos 7, which of course isn't the case. That's really spoiled what should have been a positive message.

I think it's all the hype that sours the message. If they would tone it down a bit, it would be better received.

I'm constantly inundated (e.g., email, blogs, home page, Twitter) with Logos announcements like "Sale ending today! Last chance to save!" when I know that the sale will come around again in the future, and that there's no immediate pressure to buy today.

A great product will sell itself. E.g., Apple never has to put their products on sale.

DAL

I don't think extortion is the right word, though.