Hi, Can anyone suggest me how to promote my Online accounting software. We have all the features like other accounting softwares but when it comes to price ours is completely free. So my question is, Why people never trust when it is given for Free. Instead they spend lot of money for paid services. Why is this so??? I need suggestions, Please. Do they believe only in paid resources.
I remember once being told that people never actually value anything that they don't pay for.
Personally, for me, the reason I wouldn't use the service is that it's online. I am, therefore, at your mercy for the security of my data and for the continuation of the service. Also I suppose being free, if one day you decide that you no longer wish to offer this service I have no redress. Or if one day you decide to charge me £100/month what do I do?
I would need to redo all of my work.
I much prefer to have a program installed on my own system which I can then control totally.
The views expressed in this post are my own personal (HRA protected) views, and are not representative of any organisation I have any involvement with.
Don't know if I'm allowed to mention it here but over on accountingweb the anti cloud computing movement seems to be gathering steam as well.
It was announced as the next big thing that was going to revolutionise us all... But of course it's not that easy to pull the wool over the eye's of those who spend every waking moment examining the small print and reading between the lines.
I won't say anything more on the online side as I think that Kris has said it perfectly.
Taking this being an online service out of the equation and just looking at it being free software which seemed to be the main thrust of the original email. I would say there are a couple of other points that you may wish to consider.
People are generally adverse to downloading anything offered free as there may be other unwelcome gifts coming down with it and as it was free there is little recourse that one could take. Improve your virus checker, they just make a better virus!
But enough of the negative vibes. If you are seriously trying to get a foothold in this quite lucrative market, one option that you could go for would be to burn a few hundred trial copies to disk and send them to bookkeepers far and wide.
If the software is any good then sites like this one will rave about it and people will start approaching you for copies.
Make the software so that data can be exported to Excel and Sage so that way people will not feel that you are trying to bully them into keeping your software. Also ensure that your software can import data from it's major competitors.
Make your software better than the competition and people will use it.
A word of warning though. You're jumping into a pit of vipers. This is a crowded market with very picky consumers. Something as small as the phone not being answered within a reasonable time (or the helpline being a premium rate number!!!) will see your software replaced on customers machines faster than you can say "How do I liquidate my remaining assets".
Which brings me back to the question of how can you offer something for free that must cost a small (or not so small) fortune to support?
I wish you the very best in whatever your endeavors become but to quote the great Theo Paphitis, "This isn't something that I would invest in".
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Shaun
Responses are not meant as a substitute for professional advice. Answers are intended as outline only the advice of a qualified professional with access to all relevant information should be sought before acting on any response given.
