The New Dynamic of Selling Software

Take Control of Your Channel Completely
Channels are very much a boon to your online sales today, particularly when you manage them closely. They can act as valuable extensions to marketing operations and, when managed well, distribute your message consistently to a targeted audience and provide the "instant gratification" experience across more verticals and locations than your growing business can by itself. This is particularly important in the online era where, for smaller software vendors, it's easy to get drowned out by bigger players thanks to their stronger efforts in search engine optimization, pay per click, etc. To this end, supporting channels through unified portals and APIs creates a unified experience that the customer expects.

The most important theme to take away from these tips is that the sales process is no longer about selling; it's about ease of access and accommodating disparate preferences. To do this, your marketing efforts must enable an active dialogue that can convert into a sale at any moment. Additionally, establishing marketing prowess creates an ongoing feedback loop with current customers improving value on both sides, as well as retention. Start thinking like a soda producer and upping your marketing ante!

Michael Ni is the chief marketing officer/senior vice president, marketing and products, at Avangate, an e-commerce platform for online software sales.