Free Website Content - Benefits to Shareware
Benefits to Shareware
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
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the issue or a link to any online posting would be greatly
appreciated send an email to sharon@notepage.net
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