Your Empire Needs You

I haven't played Empires & Allies for a while.  As a result, I received the above offer by email.  The offer is for 5 free Empire Points, which can be claimed by returning to the game.

Accidental Use of Empire Points

The following is based on feedback I just gave on one of those surveys after speaking to a customer service agent:

I have accidentally used Empire Points several times in the last few days and have been refunded each time UNTIL NOW.  I find this to be very frustrating, and my experience puts Zynga in a very negative light in my eyes.

It is way too easy to accidentally use Empire Points in this game!  I understand that it looks suspicious for a player to frequently ask for refunds on accidental EP use.  What Zynga needs to understand is that their current system makes accidental EP use far too easy.

If you cannot always refund accidental uses of EP, then there should at least be confirmations on ALL possible EP usage, not just a token few.  Confirmations should be added for adding EP allies in Campaign Mastery (I know Riptide all too well!) and for purchasing Element Z.  Even better, there should be a LOCK option that you can turn on that prevents you from using EP unless the option is unlocked.  A simple click/unclick box will do.  It could even be password-protected, which might save your EP in case a friend, family member, or hacker plays your game.

The current system is unethical and akin to stealing money (which, after all, is used to purchase EP).  I understand that the current system in all its ugliness is aimed at profit maximization from "whales," who probably enjoy the ease of using EP and brush off accidental EP use.  When will Zynga realize that to succeed on a larger scale, it cannot just rely on "whales."  It needs to open up the wallets of a much larger pool of players, and to do that, it must shape its policies accordingly.

The customer service agents I have interacted with have been almost all friendly and helpful, including the one I just chatted with.  However, I rate Zynga a ZERO for its policies.

90% Off Empire Points

Recently, a few low-level, infrequent players have reported receiving an offer of 90% off Empire Points.  If you haven't spent any real-life money on Empires & Allies (or any Zynga game) yet, would 90% off be enough to entice you?

Related discussion:
Zynga's Marketing Tactics

Zynga's Marketing Tactics

If you've recently started playing World Domination in Empires & Allies, you most likely find it a very exciting, new feature.  At some point when you re-enter the game, you probably got the offer above for 60% off Empire Points.

This is part of Zynga's marketing tactics.  First, introduce a new and exciting feature (World Domination).  Let players play around for a bit.  Have lots of new units that can be unlocked for free but only with a lot of work.  

When the player comes back into the game within the next day, they see the limited-time (2 hours) offer for 60% off Empire Points.  What better way to coax someone into buying virtual goods than to get them excited by a new mega-feature?  Excited people tend to be more impulsive.  Zynga feeds on this impulsivity--not giving it a chance to die down--and encourages a rush decision by limiting the offer to only two hours.

Even better, the buying process goes very smoothly and quickly if you already have your payment information stored on Facebook.  Wasn't it convenient then that within the last couple of weeks there was this amazing offer?

If you had not purchased any Facebook credits prior to this offer, you might have been very tempted at an offer of 80% off at a price point of only $1.  It was also a good way for Facebook to get your payment information so that you could experience a smoother transaction in the future.  Wasn't that nice of them?

Here's a more recent offer that shows up as a banner below Zynga's games:

At the same time, low-price offers like these are probably designed to increase Monthly Unique Payers (MUP).  MUP is a metric that Zynga uses in its press releases to portray growth.  See the following article from Seeking Alpha:

Has Zynga Stopped Growing?

Recall the recent news of a former Zynga employee bashing Zynga, calling it a marketing company rather than a game company:

http://empiresandalliesgame.blogspot.com/2012/02/former-zynga-employee-bashes-zynga.html

More on Zynga's marketing tactics later...

UPDATE Feb. 24, 2012:

A few low-level, infrequent players have reported receiving this 90% off offer recently: