Well, generally speaking, a “free trial” probably should be free …
But at a higher level, let the small stuff go.
- If you want to keep a customer for 10+ years, and the first month is free and that makes the experience better … just do it. It won’t matter.
- If the customer wants to downgrade or drop a few seats, just let them. Even if that makes the renewal or the next month smaller. Just let them. And make it easy on them. Don’t make them ask repeatedly, or hide a link, or make a smaller renewal challenging.
Don’t worry about small stuff in each individual customer. Worry about making all your customers as happy as possible. Let them buy the way them want to buy, and try they way they want to try. As least as much as you can.
That’s what will matter in the long run. Not a seat or two here and there, or a free month to start.
