Content area
Full Text
SOFTWARE COMPANIES HAVE DISCOVERED THERE ARE PROFITS IN MAIL ORDER SALES. DESPITE THE PROFIT POTENTIAL, HOWEVER, MISTAKES CAN BE COSTLY.
n the last few years, software companies have discovered the enormous profits to be made in mail order sales. Smaller startup companies especially (with little or no chance of retail visibility) are finding that they can leverage the one-to-one strengths of direct response, bypass some of the head-to-head competition, and lower their market entry and market testing costs. However, many of these companies have limited direct marketing experience. And as they rapidly add direct response to their marketing mix, they're bound to make mistakes that can cost thousands (or millions) in lost sales. Because of their uncertainties, there's an impression among many software makers that mail order success is hit and miss - a matter of luck. However, as a software mail order expert, I believe that success with software is no different than success with any other product. Below, there is a list of 13 common direct mail order mistakes made by today's software companies - and ways to avoid them. Mistake #1: Pawning off a second-rate product. In a rush to grab a slice of the market pie, too many developers release inferior products barely beyond the beta stage, copycat me-too titles, and feature-heavy do-itall mishmashes. The marketing department is then left with the task of trying to figure out what the product really is or what the market is looking for.
Solution: Mail order is not the place to figure out what your product is. Develop a strong product with a clear identity, and then use mail order to sell it. Software products are a little like restaurants: advertising can get customers in the door, but it's what you serve them that brings them back. Mistake #2: Enthusiastically giving away the store on the envelope. If you're going to the trouble and expense of custom converting 6-inch x 9-inch full-color envelopes, goes one school of thought, why not use every square inch of real estate for selling copy and graphics? This can create truly exclusive, must-have programs, that can work. However, there aren't too many programs like that. And there's too much chance of saying or showing something that will...