How Are Consumers Judging Your Software? Reality or Stereotype

Malware, badware, adware, spyware… These labels are used constructively at times but frequently as a stereotype given to software that does not live up to a user’s expectations.

The risk in using these as stereotypes is that by our very nature we all have different expectations of software.

A user can prefer:

Sophistication or simplicity

Casual use or heavy use

Ad-supported or fee-based

Pre-roll ad or embedded ad

W3i is committed to uncovering the facts about a software publisher’s ability to satisfy the user. Our hope is that the facts will allow users to make better decisions on whether a software is worth downloading and give software developers ideas on how they can improve their software. The facts will help software providers determine what the optimal business model is while maintaining a focus on user satisfaction.

To understand software marketing best practices, it took input from top Internet leaders like Yahoo!, Google, and AOL; trade groups like the IAB, and TRUSTe; and security players like McAfee SiteAdvisor and StopBadWare. Along the way, we became somewhat of an expert; for example, a member of the IAB committee, that was drafting their Lead Generation Best Practices, asked W3i’s General Counsel, Hayden Creque, to write the section on software marketing. Nearly all software marketers I talk to don’t even know that IAB has any such best practices on software marketing. With the knowledge of all of these competing best practices, we are able to ensure that our software marketing solutions comply with all of these standards to help our clients avoid any reputational pitfalls. Read an overview of our policies here.

In these difficult economic times, business models will require innovation for user’s to continue to get high quality service while supporting the software publisher’s funding needs. I think this was well documented by one of my favorite authors, Chris Anderson (author of “The Long Tail”), in his article published in the Wall Street Journal called “The Economic’s Of Giving It Away” (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123335678420235003.html?mod=dist_smartbrief).

Contact us if you would like to explore W3i’s services for improving your visibility of user’s satisfaction and their reception to advertising as a part of your software offering. Get the facts so you can make your own decision as to whether this business model is right for you.

Ryan Weber, Vice President of Corporate Strategy and Co-Founder, W3i Holdings, LLC
Entrepreneur and pioneer of Internet marketing focusing on increasing revenue and distribution for digital downloads.