All businesses rely heavily on certain pieces of software for their day to day operations. It may be accounting software, or sales and marketing automation software, or it may be something more specific to their industry. Whatever it is, these businesses could not operate effectively without this software. That means that there is a big market right now for software development companies. However, it also means that there is a lot of competition out there, and a lot of these software businesses run into trouble when it comes to marketing. 

If you run a software company of your own and you are struggling to increase sales to businesses, your marketing strategy may need a rethink. These are some of the most effective marketing strategies for software development companies. 

Free Trials 

By far the most effective way to market software is to offer a free trial. You can spend as long as you like telling a business owner how much your software will improve their company and how much money it will save them. But until they see it for themselves, they won’t listen to a word that you say. It’s much better to let the software speak for itself and give people a free trial. If you get a cd replication company to print up a professional looking disc with a nice case, you can post these free trials out to local businesses with an information pack about how the software works and what benefits it has. Once a business sees what your software can do and they start to rely on it on a daily basis, they will soon pay for a subscription. 

Trade Events 

One of the best ways to network and connect with other businesses that may potentially be interested in your software is to attend trade shows. If you choose industry specific trade events, you can be sure that most of the people there will be qualified leads. As long as you are well prepared before the event and you make sure that your stand is interesting and eye catching, you should meet a lot of prospective customers. It never hurts to bring along some good quality giveaways as well. If you can come up with something more inspired than a free pen, you will get a big crowd at your stand. 

Customer Testimonials 

When businesses are looking for software to use, they put a lot more trust in customer testimonials than they do in your sales pitch. You can list all of the amazing features that your software has and show people why it’s good on paper, but what businesses really want to know is how your software performs in the real world. That’s why customer testimonials are so important. If your website is filled with reviews from other companies, praising the software and talking about how much time and money it saved them, you’ll find it a lot easier to convince new businesses that it’s right for them. You need to encourage all of your existing customers to leave you reviews and you can even give them incentives, like a month’s free subscription. 

These 3 methods are all very effective marketing strategies for a software company that is looking to target businesses.