Software must be maintained as long as someone uses it
After months of research, planning, development, and fine-tuning, the product is ready. The work is done, right? All that remains is to wait for the fruits of labor in the form of money. Not quite. At least not in the software market.
If in some industries the product can indeed simply be handed over to a sales point and wait for it to be sold, in the software field, there is an active implementation process consisting of two fundamental stages - selling the solution and delivering it to end consumers. In other words, it is not enough to take the money and send the digital product in exchange. It will also be necessary to ensure that it integrates into the buyer's computer or is available as a cloud service.
The path to the buyer
The sales process does not technically differ much from selling other goods in the digital environment. The differences lie in specific nuances. The sales process can be organized either as direct sales on the developer's website or online store or by involving partners. This means that the respective product can be offered by other online stores, intermediaries, or IT companies that maintain and service client computer systems.
Each approach has its pros and cons. For example, when distributing the software on its own website, the potential buyer will not immediately see direct competitors. If they have reached this page, there is a high likelihood that the product will be purchased and downloaded. However, it should be noted that specialized company websites have relatively low traffic.
On the other hand, on large online trading platforms like Sellfy, Shopify, Podia, and several others, there is no need to worry about buyer traffic. Thousands of people visit these platforms daily, but the competition among sellers is fierce, and offers from lesser-known brands can "sink" amidst the marketing activities of larger and wealthier competitors. As a result, in both cases, significant effort will be required to increase publicity to "bring" potential buyers to the product. Therefore, many developers offer their products through as many channels as possible and strive to ensure its visibility within their means. This can be done in many different ways.
The product must be made "visible"
Content marketing is very useful in the software field. Specifically, creating interesting and useful content for potential users about the software's capabilities, collaborating with app reviewers and inviting them to try the product so that it gets included in prestigious reviews and rankings, as well as collecting feedback from satisfied clients and including it in podcasts, video materials, or media publications.
Undoubtedly, active engagement on social networks is necessary to reach the target audience. There are hundreds of positive examples worldwide of how even small niche products with interesting content have gathered a large and high-quality follower base that not only consumes the content but also helps spread it further.
Classic email marketing should also not be underestimated, informing existing clients about additional features, updates, improvements, new version releases, or promotional offers.
Support services play a significant role
Once a client has purchased the software, it must successfully reach their computer or smart device. Alternatively, access to the cloud service must be provided from the user's chosen devices. For this purpose, technical and customer support is vital during the product implementation and maintenance stages. Usually, these are separated. Customer support provides assistance during product and license purchases or in case of subscription uncertainties. Meanwhile, technical support's responsibility is to assist with product usage, resolve technical issues, and ensure that the client can utilize all available features.
Additionally, it should be kept in mind that practically every product needs maintenance after development – either according to the requirements during the warranty period if the product is custom-made or to ensure client satisfaction. To measure client satisfaction, various feedback tools are often integrated into products. Experience testing is necessary to make improvements to the product's functionality during the maintenance period. Maintenance includes all subsequent development aimed at improving the product's functionality. During maintenance, the same production process occurs with specification development, planning, development, testing, and marketing activities, as a new version of the product is essentially a new product. Therefore, developers must ensure that it works flawlessly.
In other words, the development and improvement of good software do not end as long as it has a user base ensuring profitable operations. This factor largely illustrates the formation of the software's price. Whether it's a one-time purchase or a cloud service subscription, the developer includes the costs of improving the software over a long period in the price. If the software is suspiciously cheap, there is a very high risk that the developer does not plan to maintain it for years to come.
Speaking of accounting software, it should also be noted that this is a specific product created for companies in a particular country, as tax-specific requirements vary across countries. Of course, it is possible to purchase accounting software developed in other countries, but one must be prepared that certain tax calculations will not be suitable for Latvian legislation, such as payroll taxes (personal income tax and mandatory state social insurance contributions), and adjustments will need to be made independently or a locally developed and locally targeted software will need to be purchased.