3 Ways Software Businesses Can Leverage Digital Marketing

3 Ways Software Businesses Can Leverage Digital Marketing

Has your software business been experiencing flat or shrinking growth? This is a common problem facing many software companies. A question I often get is “How do I ramp up and reshape my funnel?” My answer is always the same:

The way prospects engage with businesses now is very different than in the past, and businesses need to adapt their approach.

You may have successfully built your software business through word of mouth, face-to-face meetings and exhibiting at industry events. However, in today’s market, it’s important to add digital marketing to your business development toolkit.

As SiriusDecisions has researched, 67 percent of the buyer’s journey is done digitally. If your business is not adapting, you are missing revenue potential.

So, how can improving your digital marketing have a direct impact on your funnel? You’ll need to put effort into a few different areas of digital marketing. The main areas you should pay attention to are website development, search engine optimization (SEO), and video marketing. Not sure where to begin? Read on to learn about the basics of each.

Website Development:

A lot of the time, your website is your first chance to make a lasting impression on your prospects. What kind of an impression are you giving them? Is your site easy to read, or difficult to read? Friendly or unwelcoming? Cutting edge or out of date? If your website is difficult to read, or you appear unwelcoming or out of date, it may be time to supercharge your website.

How effective is your website? Ask yourself these questions to decide:

1. Are you converting visitors to opportunities?
2. Are visitors engaging in content?
3. Have there been advancements in web technology?
4. When was the last time it had a major update?

Track visitors and engagement metrics using a web analytics tool like Google Analytics. Even if your website is in good shape, it’s good benchmark to aim for a redesign every 2-3 years.

Recently one of our businesses underwent a website redesign with a goal of creating a value driven web experience. The results? An 82% increase in web sessions and a 35% increase in time on-page.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO):

Maximizing SEO for your website could be an easy way to generate leads with digital marketing. In many vertical markets, SEO is a largely forgotten channel for driving web traffic. SEO should be a priority, because it has the ability to help drive traffic to your website in a cost effective way.

Why spend time on SEO?

1. Low cost option to drive prospects to your website
2. A higher ranking makes it easier for your prospects to find you online and learn about your business
3. Helps you build your brand as an industry leader
4. Potential to overtake your competitors positions on search pages

Interested in making your web pages more SEO-friendly? Good news. There are many free tools to get you started:

MOZ.com – An SEO authority that offers tools and resources to help with link building and analysis, keyword research, webpage performance, local listing audits, and more.

Keyword Tool - An online tool to help you discover thousands of new long-tail keywords by generating Google’s search suggestions.

Google Keyword Planner – Search words and phrases related to your solutions and Keyword Planner will find the most relevant keywords.

Video Marketing:

Video marketing has quickly become a leading channel to educate, engage and move prospects through the funnel.

According to Vidyard’s 2018 Video in Business Benchmark Report, 90% of customers say that video helps them make buying decisions and 64% of customers say that seeing a video makes them more likely to buy.

With stats like that, can you afford to ignore video marketing as part of your digital strategy?

There are many different types of videos that help lead prospects through the funnel and creating videos has never been most cost effective. If you would like to dive into creating your own videos, you could try user-friendly video editing software such as i-Movie or Camtasia Video Editor.

What type of video content can you produce? A lot! And all of them can help generate funnel and build brand recognition.

Here are some of the types of videos you could be using to help generate funnel:

• Company Overview
• Thought Leadership
• Product Videos
• Demos
• Customer Stories

We’ve seen video marketing work really well for many of our businesses. One of our businesses implemented a video marketing strategy and the results have been truly staggering. Over the past two years, their marketing team has influenced over $35M in opportunities moving through their pipeline.

Improve your Digital Marketing Strategy (or Start One)

Whether your company is new to digital marketing or you are looking to take your digital to the next level, there are simple steps you can take to reshape your funnel. Get your website in shape, brush-up on your SEO knowledge and consider creating video content. They could be great ways to generate more funnel for your business.

_________________________

Jonathan Denbok
Portfolio CMO
Volaris Group

Back to Resources