5 Excellent Marketing Strategies for Software Companies in 2020

The third decade of 2020 has started off with plenty of challenges for businesses of all types. If you own and operate a software company, chances are that you're wondering what the year has in store for your firm.

Whether increasing sales, generating more leads, improving SEO, driving quality web traffic, launching more products or enhancing customer service is among your top priorities, it's important to have an actionable marketing strategy for your company and your goals.

Today, we're going to highlight five striking marketing strategies that software companies need to consider to put their best foot forward in 2020.

Strategy #1: Create conversion-driven landing pages

It's hard to imagine a software company that doesn't have a professional-looking website in 2020. It's laughable, if not downright absurd.

But having a website is no longer enough; creating hyper-targeted landing pages can be the game-changer for IT marketers.

A landing page is designed to not only make that pivotal first impression but also drive high-quality traffic to a specific product and make a personalized offer.

Want to nail the art of creating high-conversion landing pages?

Think like a minimalist – You've got only a few seconds to impress, so seize the moment with a clean, easy-to-navigate page devoid of distractions like flashing banners, pop-ups, and whatnot. Don't overwhelm your visitors with too much info – only what's necessary.

Let the headline do the talking – Create a killer headline that makes an offer and value proposition clearly and concisely. An example: Get 20% off on #1 marketing software and double your sales in just 4 weeks.

Create a sense of urgency – Make an irresistible, time-limited offer via your Call-To-Action (CTA). The visitor should get the itch that the only time to act is now!

Make sure it's 100% mobile-friendly – The landing page should adapt to any device, whether that's a PC, Mac, tablet, smartphone, or any other mobile gadget. With 52 percent of all web traffic coming from mobile devices, it's easy to see why. Your landing pages should feel and look stunning on mobile – they should load in a snap, be easy to navigate, and be ultra-clickable.

Add trust signals – Great landing pages incorporate a variety of trust signals, elements that speak to your brand and offer's credibility. They can come in many forms, including testimonials, the number of “likes” on social media, and trust badges (such as logos of trusted brands like CNN, NYTimes, HuffPost, Verisign, BBB, etc. who have ratified or noted your brand, products, or offers).

Tailor your landing pages – Personalize them for different audiences. After all, visitors arriving from Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, search, and email are different.

Strategy #2: Build and segment a robust email list

Subscribing to your newsletter remains one of the best ways for existing and potential customers to keep abreast of your latest offers, news, stories, and product updates.

Remember it takes roughly 6-8 touch-points to convert a lead into a sale according to Salesforce research. Here's where email can really work for you; it's a great tool for engagement.

Creating a highly segmented email list is the first secret to acing email marketing for software companies. So how can you increase your subscriber base?

• Don't spam – If someone hasn't subscribed to your newsletters, don't send them an email even if you have their email address. Bought email lists will only ruin your reputation.
• Maintain opt-in email lists, but also make it easy for them to opt-out
• Follow up for up to 9 days. From there, send the address to the general segment who will rarely receive your email communications.
• Incentivize subscribers to share and forward your newsletters, updates, etc.
• Run opt-in campaigns from time to time
• Create and promote online contests with intent to ramp up subscriptions
• Add CTAs to your social media pages

In recent months, links with gated offers seem to work best if they originate from trustworthy pages like your social media accounts.

Strategy #3: Tell your story; what makes you unique?

The vast majority of software companies typically focus on the technical aspect of their products and services. Accordingly, they center their marketing efforts on the benefits and opportunities they can offer to customers.

The truth, however, is that the variety and features of your software products are most probably the same as those offered by many of your competitors. So, how can you differentiate your products in the market?

One of a handful of the best ways to set your software brand apart from the herd is to get personal. What truly makes your software portfolio or brand unique?

Tell your target audience your story and help them identify with your brand. With your narrative, showcase to them how special you are as a company and as a brand. This way, your prospects will not see you as just like any other company made up of hierarchical departments and certified software experts.

Tell your story can captivate your audience in ways little else can. Neuroscience researchers have shown that it's the most effective way to capture someone's attention and connect emotionally with them.

What's more, our brains are wired to seek out, crave, and resonate to well-crafted narrative. That's as old as humanity itself.

With this in mind, weave storytelling into your product descriptions, blogs, how-to articles, videos, and even ad copies. Bake in elements of emotion, suspense, and drama to ensure your story sticks longer in their memories.

Strategy #4: Seek out user and professional reviews

Most software buyers – both B2C and B2B customers – check out both user and professional reviews when doing their research. And these reviews influence their purchase decisions more than you think, according to Inc. Magazine:

• 84 percent of consumers place the same level of trust in online reviews as they do in personal recommendations
• As much as 91 percent of people read online reviews before arriving at a purchase decision
• 89 percent of consumers admit that they check out responses of businesses to online reviews

B2C buyers are more likely to lean towards what others say about your product and interactions with your brand.

B2B customers, on the other hand, dig deeper, which is why they prefer more in-depth, professionally written reviews. In either case, you need to reach out to past customers and software comparative sites for reviews.

Your reviews strategy should be two-prong: i) make it easy for your brand and products to be reviewed on-site and in popular platforms, and ii) be sure to respond to as many reviews as possible.

Strategy #5: Incorporate a solid social media strategy

49% of the global population on social media, according to Forbes, means that nearly every type of consumer you are targeting is on these platforms.

One of the major tenets of marketing is to constantly acquire new customers, nurture existing ones, and promote your business to your target audience. Whether you make software for consumers, other businesses, or both, developing and executing a social media strategy is one of the most effective ways to achieve this in 2020.

The most important thing you can do – which not many software companies are doing, apparently – is to customize your social media game-plan. After all, you cannot create a strategy for every social media platform out there.

Facebook and Twitter are the go-to platforms for most consumers. And for that reason, they are great for promoting your content, extending your customer service, and engaging your target market.

Both platforms offer incredibly versatile paid marketing programs that enable software firms to grow their following and ramp up their engagements. The news-friendly nature of Twitter makes it a perfect platform to announce product launches, upcoming marketing events, webinars, and so forth.

With 1 billion+ monthly active users, Instagram is a visually-heavy platform that's also remarkably important for engagement. If your target audience includes teens and 18-34-year-olds, then Instagram should be an important part of your marketing strategy.

YouTube is the best platform to post video demos, software webinars, pre-roll advertising campaigns, video tutorials, and other video-driven marketing activities.

If your software is primed for professionals, business executives, corporate clients, and B2B customers, then look no further than LinkedIn. It's a networking platform for users who are in search of tried-and-true business solutions, including software and IT services. 8 out of 10 B2B leads from social media are said to be sourced through LinkedIn, according to a 2017 report by the site.

Conclusion

Every software firm has a different set of customers, so a one-size-fits-all strategy will not cut it. However, creating personalized conversion-based landing pages, customizing your social media strategy, seeking out reviews, and ramping up your email newsletter subscriptions will help you stay ahead of the curve.

Author bio: Marina Turea works as Content Manager at Digital Authority Partners.