Case: Freemium strategy to reduce CAC at iMedicina

Context

After launching the free trial model, we started working on the new challenge: a huge number of users were not converting into paying customers at the end of the trial period. Many healthcare professionals, who are often extremely busy, found it difficult to test the platform fully within the seven-day period, leading to higher loss rates. Additionally, acquisition costs were rising due to increased spending on paid media campaigns to attract qualified leads.

Challenge

The challenge was to reduce Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) and increase conversion rates by providing a more flexible pricing model. This required rethinking the platform’s architecture to support a Freemium strategy, where users could use the software with limited functionality for free and upgrade to premium features as needed.

Solution

I led a team in the architectural redesign of the platform to accommodate a Freemium model. This required extensive research into competitive benchmarks and identifying the core functionalities that would provide value in a free plan while encouraging users to upgrade.

The key to the strategy was offering enough features to attract and retain users without giving away too much value for free. We also established usage limits on certain features, which acted as natural triggers for users to upgrade to a paid plan.

This transition was complex, as the platform was initially not designed to support a Freemium model. It involved restructuring the user access management system and implementing a seamless upgrade flow that allowed users to move to paid plans without friction.

Results

The Freemium model led to a 62% reduction in CAC and a 150% increase in Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR). This success was driven by users engaging more deeply with the platform, converting to paid plans as their usage grew. It also allowed us to scale without significantly increasing marketing spend, making it a highly efficient growth lever for the company.