In the early stages of building a software development company, you will be focused solely on software development solutions. Building software that meets a need is crucial if your business is ever going to take off. But once all of the testing and tweaking is finished and you are ready to launch your new application, it's time to start thinking about marketing.
This is often where new businesses fall down because business promotion is outside of their normal skillset. People start software development companies because they're good at developing new applications and they want to provide software development solutions. But being a business owner means wearing a lot of different hats. Unless you can work out how to market your business effectively, you will struggle to get off the ground. These are some of the most effective ways to promote your software development business.
Focus On The Story
You might think that the best way to sell your software is to talk about all of the features and functionality. After all, people invest in software because it performs a specific task for them. However, it's actually more important to focus on the story. Think about the problem that your software solves and use that as the basis for your marketing. By telling a story, you can relate to your audience more effectively and engage them. Marketing materials that focus on listing features quickly get boring and customers switch off. So, think about what your story is before doing anything else.
Invest In SEO
A large percentage of your customers will find you through online search. In fact, many customers never even consider a business that isn't doing well online. SEO strategies are essential for every company that wants to attract clients through organic search. But you have to invest in SEO if you want it to work. You can't simply hire someone to write a few articles and expect Google's algorithms to automatically pick them up and rank them highly in search results. You need a comprehensive strategy to ensure that your site ranks highly for the most relevant keywords.
If you are not well-versed in SEO, you should consider outsourcing to a professional digital marketing agency. Making mistakes with SEO can cause your site to be penalized by Google, so you can't take any chances.
Network With Business Leaders
If you offer software development solutions for business, networking is a vital part of your promotion strategy. You should go to as many meetups and events as possible and talk to business leaders. Follow people on social media who run their own businesses and engage with them so that they'll want to connect with you. When you have a professional network, it's much easier to attract new clients and you can start generating more work through word of mouth. Many business leaders value close relationships with their service providers, so networking is key.
Create A Local Marketing Strategy
Often, software development companies assume that they should cast a wide net with their marketing. Their products are digital and so can be sold across the world, meaning that there is no need to focus on a specific geographic area. However, that isn't the case because business owners often prefer to use software development solutions from companies in the local area. Working with providers nearby means that they have easier access to support, which is a big priority.
That doesn't mean you can't look outside the local area but you should make a specific effort to improve your local marketing, especially when you are first starting out. If you can build a strong base of local customers, this will keep the business stable as you try to expand further afield.
Try Guest Blogging
Guest blogging is a great way to promote your software development business. Make sure that you contribute expert advice on one of the top industry websites. Your articles should be unique and high quality, which will help you attract links from other sites that usually bring in high volumes of traffic. This strategy allows you to reach customers that would never have heard about your business otherwise. It also gives you an opportunity to showcase your expertise. When people are looking for software development solutions, they need to feel comfortable that they are working with a knowledgeable industry leader. Guest blogging and content marketing are some of the best ways to do that.
Promoting your software development business can be difficult, especially with so much competition out there. However, if you use these methods, you can start building a strong customer base.