Our approach is to offer a combination of on-site and offshore talent working together on software development projects. We have a few companies in Bay Area that are happy with the approach and results that they are getting.
What should we do to find more local (SF Bay Area) customers?
For software development business LinkedIn ads, content marketing and Google Adwords don't work well. The best and most cost effective method is email outreach.
Try to find the contacts of key decision makers in Bay Area from your target companies. You want to present yourselves as custom mobile and web development specialists and highlight your core competencies to get an initial call to discuss their mobile strategy or software development needs.
Attaching your case studies how you helped other similar businesses and your portfolio can be extremely helpful as well. Try to always focus on the benefits in you pitch that they can get by working with you and point their missed opportunities of not having certain types of software or apps for their business. Clients love that software development companies have not only strong execution but also ideation skills.
Hope this helps. If you have any questions I am also available on call for your convenience.
Great Question!
Software Development is a broad area so the first thing you should do is select specific niches you want to market to.
The Simplest Way: Think of existing projects you've worked on.. What were the customer's needs? What did they ask you? What did you respond? Make a list.
You'll likely find that the same needs and concerns pop up over and over again with clients and prospects. Now pick one specific need and do the following:
1. Create a headline that matches the need
2. List the main benefits or features
3. Set a "Call to Action" (make a call, submit their e-mail, etc)
4. Address all the possible concerns they might have in their head and answer them using a conversational writing style.(Think of how telemarketers always have the answer for your next question).
5. Always keep your call to action visible
(Repeat for every niche you pick)
You can do this in a landing page (online), brochure, or even direct mail - the same principle applies. The most important thing to keep in mind is targeting: only target people who will likely be interested in that specific product/service. You can run as many campaigns as you need, just keep each one as specific as possible.
Remember, a focused effort is way more effective than a broad one.
Give me a call if you have any additional questions!
I don't think you should be spending money on advertising. There is a faster and more direct way of getting more clients.
First consider the direction your development expertise is headed. Is there a trend? Have you used the structure you developed in a past project to give you "tilt-up" ability to kickstart the next? I worked for a developer who did this: the next project would build from the expertise developed in the previous one.
See how this guides your search for the next client? By intelligently planning out the progression of your expertise development, you filter potential clients by the problems they are experiencing. If they are in a situation that calls for the development of your solution, it's a fit. If not, you know immediately and quickly move on.
Direct conversations and referrals will be the fastest way to filter for these opportunities. "Do you have Problem X?" is all you have to ask, and as long as the prospect is being honest you will know in just a few minutes.
You can search for likely candidates...common size, industry; perhaps they typically buy something immediately before they realize they need a service like yours...
This is a way of creating a knife-edge focus to your business, instead of trying to be all things to all people and wallowing in the state of being a commodity developer. It's also much easier to get clients this way because it's ultra-clear who you are and what you do. But it takes thought, and as Henry Ford said, "Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is probably the reason why so few engage in it."
Agree with all the answers posted by the others.
Additionally the relationship marketing approach may help as well. Here is a live recording of a guest lecture I did for a university to give you some ideas. Happy to answer any questions thereafter. :)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0m7eC3KppY
Infact, all the ways are good when it comes to marketing strategies for software development business, it is upon you which one do you prefer:
1. Set Your Goals: No matter if your business model is B2B or B2C, the first thing you need to ask yourself before you start drawing a Digital Marketing strategy is “What do I want to accomplish”? You might want to attract more customers, increase your brand’s awareness, or promote a new software product you just developed. Whatever your purpose is, defining your goals and putting them into writing will lead to a significant possibility of success. An action without a goal leaves you with no idea where to go. Having a better Digital Marketing Plan is a great way to know what to focus on.
2. Define Your Target Market: Your target market is the group of people to whom your product or service is most relevant and who are more likely to benefit from it. Based on your target market you will choose the right tactics to drive more traffic to your sales funnel. When promoting a product, your new software platform or interface you should know not only who will use it, but also who will be the buyer. For the Software development companies and particularly for those who are focused on B2B, defining the target market can be more complicated because most often the user is not the actual decision-maker. Your marketing activities must be directed towards users, influencers, buyers, and the C-suite. For that purpose, you will need to create buyer personas, write targeted content, and design landing pages according to their expectations and demands.
According to the audience you aim to target, you will choose how to approach it and how to communicate to it. The effectiveness of your marketing activities strongly depends on defining as accurately as you can your ideal customers by conducting deep research. You should focus on the following segmentation criteria:
1. Demographics (Age, Location, Gender, Income level, Education level)
2. Psychographics (Personality, Attitudes, Values, Interests/hobbies, Lifestyles)
3. Behavior – purchasing patterns such as price sensitivity, brand loyalty
4. Business segmentation – business size, nature of business, structure, etc.
3. Spend to Earn: In a survey by Clutch, 75% of respondents say that paid search ads make it easier to find the information they are searching for on a website or search engine. What does this data tell you? Do not be afraid to spend. Spend and you will earn. Digital Marketing is the new trend for attracting mass consumers. Allocating some of your budget on display ads, paid search ads, or social ads can help you reach the target market and achieve high conversion rates. Awareness of the brand is established. Thus, potential customers will come to your website for further information on their specific needs.
4. Focus on Multiple Channels and Take Advantage of What Each Offers: There are different social media channels and each one has pros and cons. Most of the businesses nowadays strive to be active on as many channels as they can manage, but the truth is that you need to find which social media platforms your users get information from.
When it comes to software development and particularly B2B companies, you have to pay attention to which platforms your target audience seek business advice from. LinkedIn is the most relevant B2B social media channel as it is business-oriented and connects professionals from various industries and networks who both offer or seek solutions for their business. Research by HubSpot shows that LinkedIn generated the highest visitor-to-lead conversion rate at 2.74%. Which is almost 3 times higher (277%) than both Twitter (.69%) and Facebook (.77%). Facebook and Twitter are great platforms for engaging with your potential clients and followers and promoting your content. YouTube has become the second search engine after Google, so it is a great platform to post your video tutorials and webinars on.
5. Contribute to External Online Communities and Blogs: This is a great chance to increase your company’s exposure and to demonstrate professional knowledge and skills in your industry. Especially in the software development and deep programming field, there are always people who are willing to learn online and other practitioners who are seeking advice on online communities and forums. This approach also involves guest blogging and link outreach. Your company can offer content to be cited on another blog and in return, you will publish a guest post on your blog. Or you can offer your content to be linked to an external website which is dedicated to the Software development industry. You can also contribute to different groups on Social Media such as LinkedIn or Facebook groups related to the industry you work in. In this way, you will get involved in conversations with professionals who can later become your partners or clients.
6. Educate Your Clients Through Tutorial and Guides: Creating and distributing problem-solving content such as “How to” tutorials and Best practices guides is a must for your digital marketing strategy. Every business aims to stand out from the crowd and beat the competition which is why companies would invest in a new software product. Understand what problems your prospects face and how your products can solve them and create educational content which can be distributed through Social Media, website landing pages or email. In return, you will be able to collect valuable information about your followers and contact details which is a great starting point for your email marketing strategy. Email marketing is the perfect chance for you to get to know your customers better. Acquiring a customer’s email addresses is an open door for you to send out promotion of your brand. It helps to start a conversation or to keep them up to date with your latest products.
7. Create a Solid Website: A website is a good tool to showcase your business, unique selling options, videos, and client testimonials. Visitors go to your website for information regarding your company and offerings so give them what they are looking for. Improve the speed of your website, give it a mobile-friendly layout and post relevant content. Including pricing pages will help you to filter people who visit your website only to find out the price and clients for whom price is the main purchasing factor. Software development companies often have the technical know-how of building a website. But there is a lot more to a website than the code itself. It’s about the corporate brand, web design, user experience, and numerous marketing techniques tailored for conversion rate optimization and increasing the traffic from organic search and social media. The price and product have always been important factors for marketing. But nowadays the customers’ experience can play an even more significant role. The data shows that 86% of buyers are willing to pay more for great customer experience. Focus on creating experiences for your customers and make them happy.
8. Invest Efforts and Time in SEO: Effective SEO (Search Engine Optimization) strategies aim to increase organic visitors to your website or blog which would later be converted into leads, provided if you have followed the steps so far.
Allocating enough time on strategic business development and SEO at the same time is hardly ever accomplished by anybody. You would probably not have the time to develop the additional expertise yourself. Your SEO goals can be achieved if you assign to employees/ agency and monitor the following steps:
1. Make sure your website can be found by the search engines
2. Make sure your website loads fast. Page speed is important both for Google ranking and user experience
3. Make your website mobile-friendly
4. Make sure your website has reliable and updated Sitemap and Site structure
5. Pick the right keywords for your content
SEO may be tricky to master as a beginner, but it pays off in the long run. The most straightforward thing you can start with is identify which keywords will bring prospects to your site. You can use keyword research tools to understand what words and phrases your target market uses when searching for information or products that your business provides.
9. Get Featured in Industry Websites and Lists: There are various industry platforms where your company can be mentioned and classified among other companies. Platforms such as Clutch, UpCity, GoodFirms, Top Developers, etc. perform analysis based on customer’s feedback to create useful industry lists.
There are different ways of categorization – location, industry, field or proven skills. Having your company listed there builds trust and justify you are professional in your industry.
For instance, DevriX has been listed several times by Clutch:
1. As a Service leader in Eastern Europe
2. Company no 23. among WordPress development companies worldwide
3. Second highest rated B2B company in Bulgaria
How do you get ranked by those industry platforms? You need to register and verify your company on those platforms. After setting up your profile you will be able to submit the client’s reviews and gather more references.
10. Use Simple Language and Avoid Industry Jargons: In software development, as in any other industry, there are specific terms which you, as a professional, know and use. However, the visitors on your website are likely to be unaware of their meaning. If you use too many of those, your audience may be unable to understand and relate to what you are communicating. If that person did not understand what you are relating to her/him, it probably means the language you use is not clear. Another thing you can do is create a short questionnaire based on the description of a product or service on your website and then see how many of the questions have been answered correctly.
11. Be Unique: Merely providing valuable and attractive content to your customers, your competitors, industry influencers, and practitioners is not enough anymore. You need to find a creative way to present it, as well.
In the software development industry, this can be implemented by posting daily videos, explaining how your product will make your clients’ lives easier, or how it will improve their working process, how your company differentiates itself from the competitors, tips and tricks on how your products can be used and more. The main reason why videos are getting better preferred is the fact they are visually appealing and make the information easily digestible.
12. Invest Time and Efforts into the Research Process: To support each of your decisions or furthermore to understand what stands behind your target audience behaviour and what drives the attention of the decision-makers in your industry, you need to do a deep research. Researching your customers, your target audience, your competitors, and your industry trends will give you a better understanding of the current market situation and define your strategy.
Besides if you do have any questions give me a call: https://clarity.fm/joy-brotonath
