marketing, salesI have created a software in my freelance time and now I’m trying to target specific industries that would be interested in using it.
I tried Facebook Ads and target i.e Restaurants, Doctor’s offices, Hairdressers etc. but it doesn’t seem to bring any conversion.
Do you know of any system where I can directly reach these industries? I doubt google ads will help either.
Is there really only way to use a salesperson for introducing my product?
Thanks.
A few ideas off the top of my head:
Try running some Google ads on “waiting list software” and similar keywords that can be used to find a product such as yours.
While you research those keywords, additionally identify your competitors, and reverse-engineer whether and how they’re approaching your target audiences. What sites mention your competitors (prompt them to mention you too)? Which forums mention your competitors (mention yours in the same threads)? Etc.
In the case of your audience, sending an ad by fax may also be an option. (Check that it’s legal where you live before proceeding, as not all countries allow the practice.) Doctors invariably have a fax; so do most restaurants, hair dressers, and so forth. You can build a list by mining phone registries.
When I typed that keyword in, btw, the first Google suggestion was “waiting list software free.” This may or may not be indicative that a significant chunk of your target audience will never pay for your software. If so, try to understand which subsegments reliably do pay, and touch base with a couple of them to know what specific feature or particularity lead them to do so – implement it or make it clear in your marketing that they do.
As for your sales copy, your best bet is to head downtown and do a few meetings with your audience when they’ve some time to receive you. Tell them you’re doing a market study for a cool app, and that you’d like their feedback on it. Don’t be shy or fear rejection; most will accept to receive you. During the meeting, seek to identify what pain points they’re having with waiting lists (if any) and, in the case of those who do not have software yet, whether they’d even consider software for it and at what price point.
Identifying the pain and getting a feel of much it costs the business is crucial, btw. You can then use the information both for your sales copy, and to determine the appropriate price point. It may turn out, for instance, that a non-equipped business might be losing a client per month or so. That seems trivial, but if that extra client would earn them and extra $50 or $200 per month, it can probably command a price which is much higher than what you expect. One that’s possibly high enough to hand this to telesales.
A few old world ideas to help you out.
Write a press release about your new product and submit it to all the trade journals in your target industries. Tailor each press release to stress your selling point in the journal’s target industry. Journals are always hungry for content and press releases are very often welcome.
Every time you add a new client, write a press release celebrating their enhancement of their waiting list management system. Write it up in your customer’s voice and ask them to submit it to the journals in return for a free month of service.
Offer every customer a commission when they send you a lead which produces a sale. Every year, choose a couple non-lead providing customers and stage an accounting accident; send them a commission check for a lead then didn’t provide. Without exception, they will start sending you leads as soon as that commission check clears.
Put an advertisement in the trade journals where your press releases have been fruitful and include the phrase “resellers welcome”. Customers aren’t the only people who read trade journals. Often a reseller will already have an established list of customers and will be looking for new products to sell.
Get involved in your community. Sponsor your high school’s football team and find out what it would cost for them to hang your sales banner at games. Since your targeting business owners, join your local rotary club and attend business related meet-ups. Pass out lots of business cards.
A few new world ideas…
Add a description of your product and a link to your website to your profile footers on every forum or social site that you frequent. Then make informational contributions to those sites, answering questions in your target industries and sharing your expertise on waiting list management.
Create fan pages for your product on all of the major social sites and on each, provide a prominent link back to your product’s main webpage. Monitor the comments on those fan pages for questions and flames. Respond to either type of comment respectfully.
Contact pod-casters, video-bloggers and conventional bloggers who target the same audience that you are seeking. Ask them to interview you about your product. Even if they say no, ask what you can do to help them and do it if you can. They might be more responsive to your request next time around.
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