January 31, 2010

Advertising Software in a Store or Website?

There are two common ways of selling software: either online or in a store. Both have some kind of advantage, both for the costumers and for the merchants. It is in the merchant's interest that his/her clients know about the product, and the way to achieve this point is through advertisement.

The disadvantage of advertising software directly at the store is that other products may compete for the client's attention. But there are also some advantages: one is the constant presence of a salesman/woman who can answer customers' questions about that product and give more information. Also, some customers prefer to buy software which is being distributed on portable media such as DVDs or CDs. The layout of the medium can also draw the attention of the customer.

A product which is being sold online requires differrent distribution and advertisement techniques than the products sold in stores. advertising software on the web can be quite user-specific: an inexpensive way is the use of marketing software, which for example sends e-mails out to customers which did buy similar products in the past. This is just one example of the use of ecommerce software in a product promotion.

Another way to advertise software online is by employing popup windows. This method is less personalized, but the numbers you will connect with make up for the generic approach it takes. Popup windows also cost you less than ecommerce software, since you will pay only a small fee for every view the online ad gets.

%NL% The disadvantage for online advertising is that there has been desensitization among frequent online users toward online ads. This is due to the extensive and sometimes intrusive use of advertisements on a number of websites. As a result, users tend to just block out the ads.

It is also noticeable that some Internet users are now afraid of clicking on any advertisement online, especially in the case of advertising software. Consumers have become aware that they might inadvertently install a virus packaged along with software they have downloaded, and it is no wonder that this makes them leery of clicking on an advertisement.

I personally count myself to those, who prefer to do the research for software online and then go into the store and buy the product. Therefore I am influenced by the advertisements online, as well as those in the store.