May 26, 2009

Free resources for software marketing execs

by Gordon Graham, Editor, SoftwareCEO

The job of a software marketer is never done. So here's a handy grab-bag of no-cost resources to help your marketing efforts.

This grab-bag includes:

• Tips on converting free trials
• A resource kit on how to improve your inbound marketing
• Tips on making first meetings better
• 50 places to send your press releases
• 50 directories to submit your site
• A domain typo generator, and
• A tongue-in-cheek sitcom used to promote a SaaS product.

Seven tips for converting more free trials
Trying to up your conversion rate from free trials of your software? This is especially key for SaaS firms who make a free demo the cornerstone of their signup campaign.

Marketing consultant Howard J. Sewell (who also serves as one of our Marketing and PR forum moderators and runs consulting firm Connect Direct) has some practical ideas on the topic in a new white paper. Here's a quick taste.

Convert more free trials tip #1: Keep your trial period to two weeks
"Perhaps the #1 mistake software vendors make in setting up free trials is that they allow the user too much time," writes Sewell.

"Granted, some products are more complex than others, but for most, a trial period of 30 days is way too long. If you limit your trial to two weeks, it creates urgency. When users feel they have plenty of time to evaluate your product, they'll put off the evaluation. Pretty soon, a week has gone by and you've lost them."

Convert more free trials tip #2: Make sure they use the product
"One of the primary reasons trials don't convert is because the user never got around to using the product," says Sewell.

One way around that: send encouraging e-mails that describe how to get started.

"It's a good idea to focus at least one or two messages early in the trial simply on how to use the software. Save the 'why you should buy this' for later...

"Outline a simple task that can be completed easily. It doesn't have to encapsulate your entire value proposition; first and foremost, the purpose of the e-mail is to get the user to engage with your product.

"Once you've broken down that initial barrier, the chances are much greater that the person will evaluate the product more fully."

There's lots more good stuff in the rest of this white paper. You can download "Closing the Deal: 7 Tips for Converting More Free Trials to Paying Customers" from here.

A free kit of goodies about inbound marketing
Want a quick overview of the best and the worst marketing techniques, according to a survey of 167 marketing pros?

Check out the word cloud graphics here, based on the survey done by marketing system software firm HubSpot.

The first Wordle graphic shows the best marketing efforts of 2008:

• Blogs
• SEO
• Websites
• Maybe social media.

The second shows the worst marketing efforts:

• Direct mail
• Trade show
• E-mail
• Telemarketing.

Notice how the best are all inbound (attraction) marketing, while the worst are all outbound (interruption) techniques.

What's more, the survey shows the cost-per-lead from inbound marketing is dramatically lower than from outbound.

"Technology is making traditional (outbound) marketing such as cold-calling, print advertising, TV advertising, junk mail, non-solicited e-mail, and trade shows less effective and more expensive," explains the Hubspot website. "It's still possible to get a message out via these channels, but it costs more."

"On the other hand, inbound marketing is focused on getting found by customers... instead of interrupting people with various forms of outbound marketing."

You might be interested in a free kit of resources about inbound marketing. If so, you can download it here [registration required].

This kit includes a pile of goodies, including:

• Four how-to videos
• A 10-page e-book "Getting Found Online: Learn how to get found online in the search engines, blogosphere, and social media sites"
• A couple introductory articles.

Here's the angle, if you're still wondering...

"Ten years ago, companies reached their consumers through trade shows, print advertising, and other traditional marketing methods," says the e-book.

"Today, consumers start shopping by looking on the internet, in the search engines, the blogosphere, and social media sites. To remain competitive, business websites need to be found online by the people searching for the products and services that you sell.

So your standard basic website won't cut it any longer. Your business must now be found in the search engines, the blogosphere, and in social media.

If you want to kick-start your inbound marketing for today, this free kit is a great place to start.

Make your first meeting count!
Jill Konrath has made a career out of breaking down doors... the doors that prevent salespeople from getting in to see buyers.

Through her firm Selling to Big Companies, she dispenses a steady stream of practical advice to sales people.

Now she's got a new white paper out that sketches out how not to blow that all-important first meeting or phone call when you finally get it. Below is a quick sample.

Effective first meeting tip #1: Ditch the canned presentation
To start with, ditch the canned pitches about the company, its glorious history, its state-of-the-art software, and your big-name clients.

"Many sellers feel that it's essential for their prospects to know this information about their organization right up-front," writes Konrath. "They also feel that it positions their company as a bona fide competitor in their market space."

"They're wrong. This sales-derailing mistake causes decision-makers to start thinking, 'How soon can I end this meeting?'"

Don't let that happen to you.

Effective first meeting tip #2: Talk about them, not you
"Ninety-five percent of your initial meetings are with people who are reasonably satisfied with the status quo. Things may not be perfect, but they're certainly tolerable," says Konrath.

Your challenge is to talk about things relevant to them, not you. And those things are precisely this: "ideas, insights and information that helps them eliminate problems, address issues, and achieve their objectives."

"For example, I start meetings by saying that the objective for the meeting is to 'Help Acme Systems grow their sales in a turbulent economy.'

"CEOs and VPs of Sales immediately take notice and pay rapt attention.

"You'll get the same reaction from your prospects. Just start the meeting or presentation by stating a business objective they're expected to achieve in the upcoming year.

"Decision makers may be extremely busy today, but they always have time for sellers who bring value."

There's lots more good advice in this e-book. You can download the entire document called "Five Essential Strategies for Highly Effective Initial Meetings" here.

50 more places to send your press releases
Got a summer student on hand? Or a neighbor's teenager you could pay for working a day or two?

Here's a webpage that lists 50 places you can send your press releases, from software e-commerce provider Avangate. All these are free; some ask that you create an account before you post your release.

It's worth a little time to submit your last few releases to these sites, then add them to your regular list of outlets. Every link back to your site helps your search engine ranking.

50 more directories to submit your site
While you've still got that student helping you, Avangate has another list you might be interested in.

This one shows the 50 top-ranked, human-edited business directories where you can submit your site.

This one may take a little more imagination to navigate to the right sub-directory for your software, but with a little guidance, your summer student can likely do this very nicely.

A domain typo generator
Ever wonder if you're missing some traffic because people are typing in your company name wrong?

We can't all have simple domains like SAP. So how about a name like Journyx: Do you seriously think everyone gets that right every time?

There's a free, quick way to check what typos people might be making. The typo generator is found here. And it's a breeze to use.

Just type in your domain name, click on the types of typos you want to see, and they'll pop up.

You might want to register some or all of these to scoop up that legitimate traffic... and block anyone else from doing the same.

And while you're on that page, check out all the other SEO tools you can use in the left margin... all free.

A sitcom to promote software? Very funny
Bringing the benefits of their software down to earth can be a big problem for some marketers.

Consider SaaS firm Kinaxis, an Ottawa-based company with a unique SaaS offering. Kinaxis helps companies balance their global supply and demand chains, and respond faster to today's fickle markets and offshore suppliers.

(Full disclosure: I've written white papers for this company.)

The company competes with SCM add-ons from huge vendors like SAP and Oracle, which means it's hard to break through the noise and get noticed.

So the Kinaxis marketing team came up with a cool idea: a mock sitcom that touches on the challenges faced by manufacturers today. They engaged The Second City Communications, a spinoff from the comedy troupe in Chicago that does corporate communications.

Together, they came up with "Married to the Job," a tongue-in-cheek sitcom about a married couple working at ACME Manufacturing. Damon is the lovable slob who works as the demand manager, while wife Sibley is the conscientious supply manager.

You can watch the first three episodes here.

All around these videos on the Kinaxis website, visitors find a full array of other media: blogs, podcasts, interviews, webcasts, articles, white papers, and case studies. The site is updated constantly, making it quite a lively destination.

We love creative approaches to software marketing like this. What do you think? Could something like this work for your software firm?

About the author: Gordon Graham is an award-winning journalist with 30 years in the software industry. And as That White Paper Guy, he helps B2B software firms tell their stories with persuasive, fact-driven white papers and crisp case studies.