10 Affordable Marketing Ideas for Software Startups

by Rebecca M. Rebecca Matias is a Business Development Manager a

At the way things are going at the moment, people continue to look towards the IT industry for solutions in everyday life. Complex tasks have become simpler through automated systems and mobile applications. This is not to mention the fact that nearly all other areas of society depend on software and IT products to streamline routine processes.

Nowhere has this been truer than in the B2B industry. From financial services to industrial solutions, you can bet that there is an IT product that best fits the preferences of larger companies. And this would explain why there is a great wealth of business start-ups out there that have software to sell for a variety of purposes.

But as the number of software and IT start-ups grow year by year, it has become a challenge for many smaller players to get themselves noticed by their target audiences. Marketing remains to be a crucial factor for success and without focusing too much in this area would be downright dire for a software enterprise that’s still in its infancy.

At any rate, B2B marketing remains to be a tough cookie to crack. According to Business2Community, 68% of B2B marketers are struggling to generate high-quality leads using their present marketing strategies. This number alone should get software start-ups all riled up in formulating their marketing plans.

Fortunately, there are numerous ways that start-ups can do to better promote their software products and services. Here are just a few of the most effective ones.

Make use of referrals

Nothing passes off more as an affordable marketing method than generating referrals from previous customers. One thing’s for sure, a great deal of B2C sales have been influenced through social media referrals. If it works for consumers, then we might have the same chances when it comes to getting new B2B customers into the fold. The dynamics might seem a bit different, but at least referral marketing allows you to better increase your clout.

Attend industry events

Another cost-effective way to get your brand known is to participate in software and IT-related events. Trade shows and product unveilings provide great opportunities not only to get information about issues affecting the industry. They also allow start-ups to enhance their image and generate potential leads from big-time attendees.

Optimize your sites

When it comes to generating leads through your landing pages, a presentation is everything. But not only presentation. You also need to ensure your site’s functionality. Luckily, you can do all this for less by simply focusing your resources on making effective web designs and graphics.

Do outreach on LinkedIn

Social media is your go-to place for affordable marketing. But Facebook and Twitter just won’t cut it for start-ups that want to have bigger brands on board. Your best bet will be LinkedIn. Ever since it was founded, the service has offered individuals and enterprises an apt avenue where they can interact with each other and do business. By creating your account, you will get access to a whole roster of important contacts to pursue.

Grow your network

No man is an island. Or rather, no business startup in the IT world is an island. For survival’s sake, you will need to rub elbows with important industry leaders to build your credibility and get the customers you need to ensure success.

As for Ted Rubin, The Return on Relationship Expert said:

The deciding factor will be whether or not enough brands and marketers are willing to go beyond just talking about relationships… to actually building and sustaining those relationships with consumers, peers, employees, and others in their social graph. Read more…

Make your pitches irresistible

Now, this may seem like something a person from the sales department would do. But sometimes, the pitch can also be inserted into a marketing conversation. It’s only a matter of knowing how to craft irresistible talking points.

Contribute

If you want to build influence even further, write for reputable websites like Forbes or Business2Community. This will surely convince potential software buyers that you know a lot about the industry.

Write effective copy

Using Google Adwords isn’t effective if you settle for less than stellar adcopy. As much as possible, make it a goal to compose strong and irresistible offers. Here’s the secret.

Involve sales

Coordination with the sales team will surely help marketing in formulating strategies that work and that would result in tangible successes.

Create stellar infographics

On top of writing lengthy white papers and reports, you can always create fun infographics that will make software and IT less of a technical area than it already is.

Sources: thebalance.com, business2community.com, annexcloud.com

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