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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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be greatly appreciated send an email to sharon@notepage.net
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