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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.
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