Businessmodel of Nitro

Customer Segments

Nitro has a segmented business model, with customers that have slightly different needs. The company targets its offering at consumers and at firms of all industries and sizes.

Value Proposition

Nitro offers three primary value propositions: convenience, price, and brand/status.

The company offers convenience by providing software that addresses a wide range of activities. Its solution can be used to create, edit, sign, and secure PDF files and digital documents.

The company offers a price value proposition. It maintains a freemium business model, through which it makes its most basic level of services free. It also offers a two-week free trial for new users of its Premium and Enterprise versions. All users of Lenovo products get a 30-day free trial.

The company has established a strong brand as a result of its success. It bills itself as the leading alternative to Adobe Acrobat, and is the PDF software partner of choice for Lenovo. Its solution is used by millions of consumers monthly in 200 countries, and has a 97% customer satisfaction rating. It is also used by 600,000 businesses, including more than 50% of the Fortune 500. Prominent customers include Nike, Pfizer, Xerox, IBM, Staples, and Honeywell. Lastly, it has won many honors, including multiple placements on the BRW Fast 100, Inc. 500, and Deloitte Technology Fast 50.

Channels

Nitro’s main channel is its website; that said, it also utilizes a direct sales team and has a distribution partnership with Lenovo. The company promotes its offering through its social media pages and participation in conferences.

Customer Relationships

Nitro’s customer relationship is primarily of a self-service, automated nature. Customers utilize the service while having limited interaction with employees.

The company’s website features the “Nitro Resource Center” which includes self-help tools such as white papers, case studies, eBooks, infographics, webinars, and video tutorials. The site also provides product manuals, a newsletter, answers to frequently asked questions, and the Nitro Blog, which provides PDF editing tips, IT best practices, and productivity “hacks”.

Despite this orientation, there is a personal assistance component in the form of e-mail support and a community element in the form of a peer forum.

Key Activities

Nitro’s business model entails designing and developing its software for customers.

Key Partners

Nitro maintains a distribution partnership with Lenovo through which its software is pre-loaded on Lenovo’s devices. The company invites other firms to become channel partners and sell its products in order to extend its reach. Partners receive the following benefits:

• Product specialist training
• Sales training/materials
• Pre-sales support
• Access to joint marketing and PR opportunities
• Upfront discounts and deal registration The company’s current channel partners include ATI Solutions, Softchoice Corporation, CDW, Iventure Solutions, PCM, PC Connection, Insight, Zones, and Micro Logic.

Key Resources

Nitro’s main resources are its human resources, who include the technology employees that design and develop its software and the customer service employees who provide support.

As a startup it has relied heavily on funding from outside parties, raising $24.8 million from three investors as of November 2014.

Cost Structure

Nitro has a cost-driven structure, aiming to minimize expenses through significant automation and low-price value propositions.

Its biggest cost driver is likely sales/marketing, a fixed expense. Other major drivers are in the areas of product development and customer support/operations, both fixed costs.

Revenue Streams

Nitro has one revenue stream: the subscription fees it charges for monthly access to its software. The company offers two plans:

Premium Plan – For power users and small teams. It charges $14.99 per user per month when paid annually and $19.99 per user per month when paid monthly. Plan features are as follows:

• Unlimited electronic signatures
• Unlimited secure sharing
• Unlimited documents (250 page/10MB limit per document)
• Cloud storage connectors
• Unlimited templates
• Unlimited analytics
• Premium support (response within 24 hours)

• Team Console & Governance Enterprise Plan – For large teams. Sales staff must be contacted directly for pricing quotes. It includes all features of the Premium Plan, as well as the following:

• Enterprise support (Account Manager)
• Advanced Team Console & Governance
• Salesforce integration