Articles

There are two common ways of selling software: either online or in a store. Both have some kind of advantage, both for the costumers and for the merchants. It is in the merchant's interest that his/her clients know about the product, and the way to achieve this point is through advertisement.

The disadvantage of advertising software directly at the store is that other products may compete for the client's attention. But there are also some advantages: one is the constant presence of a salesman/woman who can answer customers' questions about that product and give more information. Also, some customers prefer to buy software which is being distributed on portable media such as DVDs or CDs. The layout of the medium can also draw the attention of the customer.

The techniques used for distributing and advertising a product sold online is not the same as those used in stores. advertising software over the internet can be accomplished much more consumer explicit. The use of marketing software, which for instance sends out e-mails automatically to customers who have purchased a similar product before, is also less costly. This is one case for using ecommerce software to promote a product.

Using pop-up windows is another way of advertising software online. This is a quite less customized approach. However the mass of people which you can reach through the use of this method compensates for a minor customization. It's also quite less expensive than to use costly e-commerce software: the advertiser only pays for the actual number of views that the ad is getting.

One down side to advertising online is that people who spend a fair amount of time on the Internet become inured to online ads, because they see so many of them. Because many sites use advertising extensively, even intrusively, viewers may simply block out the ads they are shown.

It is also noticeable that some Internet users are now afraid of clicking on any advertisement online, especially in the case of advertising software. Consumers have become aware that they might inadvertently install a virus packaged along with software they have downloaded, and it is no wonder that this makes them leery of clicking on an advertisement.

As for me, I like to research software on the Internet before I go into the store to purchase it. For that reason, I can be influenced by online advertisements in addition to the ads inside the store.