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Shareware has been fighting the stigma of being misunderstood for decades. While
corporate software giants can no longer ignore the marketing potential of a trial
version, small software startups are struggling with new listings and bandwidth
costs. Businesses and individual consumers need to take a closer look at the benefits
of taking advantage of shareware marketing. The concept of a trial version is
not a new one. Consumer expectations, and the need for immediate satisfaction
have spurned the industry to realize the need for instant software. The availability
of file downloads in the Internet era, is spurning a revolution of purchasers
who never leaving their homes or offices. As a result, the Internet has taken
the proliferation of shareware to a new level.
Why the Success?
Why developers have succeeded using shareware marketing under poor global economic
conditions is fairly obvious. Shareware allows consumers to evaluate an application
prior to making a purchase decision. There are no risks to the consumer, if
the trial version does not satisfy a purchasers needs, they do not spend the
money registering. Evaluating the software prior to purchasing also increases
consumer satisfaction as they gain a complete understanding of the software
they are ordering and there is little room for surprises. Trying the software
before buying is no longer a novelty it is a consumer expectation.
Traditionally, because the barrier to entry is fairly low, companies participating
in shareware marketing are usually small and willing to provide personalized
service uncommon in large companies. Customers often speak directly with developers
requesting feature enhancements, thus improving the software for all. Software
support forums with users helping other users have become commonplace. These
allow developers to focus on future upgrades, while repetitive user issues can
be quickly dealt with. Software developers, who market via the shareware method,
have revolutionized traditional support models.
Many of the shareware directories provide ratings and user assessments. Often
the user reviews provide insight to important feature sets. Allowing consumers
an opportunity to assess and compare multiple products prior to making a decision.
Let us not forget the delivery advantage the shareware model has over the traditional
retail counterpart. Shareware allows for instant gratification, there is no
need to wait for a shipment because consumers can download and use the software
immediately.
What does this all mean?
Marketing via the shareware method is far less expensive than traditional advertising,
the increased customer demands, personalized service and instant satisfaction
all provide an added consumer benefits. With Shareware, software developers,
have a great method for consumers to evaluate and purchase their software. Consumers
can easily determine if the software is suitable. Ultimately, by allowing the
software to sell itself, consumers often obtain top quality software that is
priced far less than traditional retail applications.
About the Author:
Sharon Housley manages marketing for NotePage, Inc. http://www.notepage.net
a company specializing in alphanumeric paging, SMS and wireless messaging software
solutions. Other sites by Sharon can be found at http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com
, and http://www.small-business-software.net |
