patterns 102 free as a business Model Freemium Pattern The platform is the most important asset in the freemium pattern, because it allows free basic services to be offered at low marginal cost. VP CR CH CS KP KA KR R$ C$ The cost structure of this pattern is tripartite: usually with substantial fi xed costs, very low marginal costs for services to free accounts, and (separate) costs for premium accounts customer relationship must be automated and low cost in order to handle large numbers of free users. An important metric to follow is the rate at which free accounts convert to premium accounts users describes how many users a company with a freemium business model can attract fi xed costs a company incurs to run its business model (e.g. systems costs) bmgen_final.indd 102 6/15/10 5:37 PM