Is Google Getting Scared?
With Google feeling the pressure from other business cloud apps providers such as the increasingly popular Microsoft Office 365 for business, it is understandable that their methods seem to be getting a little desperate.
Prajesh Parekh, Channel Marketing Lead at Google, wrote in a blog post on the Google enterprise blog: “we’re offering a $15 referral bonus for each new Google Apps user you refer… Many of the millions of Google Apps customers learned about tools like Hangouts, Drive and Gmail for business from their customers, friends and networks. To help continue the momentum, we’re launching the Google Apps Referral Program. The referral program makes it easy to share Google Apps with your network and show them how they too can use these tools at work. To show our appreciation, we’re offering a $15 referral bonus for each new Google Apps user you refer.”
To complete the enrollment form you need to give your name and email address, a valid taxpayer ID number and a bank account in which to receive direct deposits. Google will then send you 10 coupons worth $10 off per user for their first year subscription. The idea is that these coupons will be sufficient to entice your friends and peers to switch over to Googles apps for business.
Parekh said, “When we discover something amazing – whether it’s a new local coffee shop or a tool that improves the way we work – we want to share it with people we know so they can also benefit.”
The referral scheme is specially designed for you to get Google as many new customers as possible. You can refer an unlimited number of customers, and are rewarded for each referral for the first 100 users. You receive $15 per user and it is paid directly into your bank account. The more people you refer, the more coupons you receive in order that you can refer more.
This program is currently only available to users in the US and Canada, however I am confident that if Google get the traction they are hoping for this will expand globally.
The application provides 30 gigabytes of cloud storage per user, a personalized email as well as several other features, though this is by no means revolutionary, Parekh still feels Google have something to boast about.
“For those of us who use Google Apps, the ability to access all of our documents from anywhere on any device and being able to seamlessly collaborate with colleagues or customers across the world, are impressive moments. These are moments we want to share with friends and colleagues because the more the people in our networks use Google Apps, the more seamlessly we can collaborate with them — whether it’s video conferencing via Hangouts, working together on Docs or sharing calendars. Best of all, it means we can all begin to experience a new way of working.”
This is yet another step Google is taking to try to stand out within the apps industry.
