Articles

The two most widespread methods of selling software are through a store or over the internet. Both methods have their own advantages, not just for the consumer but for the merchant as well. It is to the advantage of consumers to learn about the product, which entails 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.

Advertising a product online, as well as distributing it, is not the same thing as doing so in a store and requires different techniques. On the Internet specific consumers can be directly targeted. An example of this would be employing marketing software to automatically generate an e-mail to a customer who has bought the same kind of product you are selling; this is a cost-effective method for product promotion through ecommerce software.

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.

The downside of online advertising is that those who spend a lot of time online have been overstimulated by online ads. The cause is the large - often intrusive - use of ads on a number of web sites. As a result, most people simply tend to ignore the ads online.

One can also observe a fear that has developed towards clicking on advertisements online, especially those advertising software. Surfers of the web are increasingly affright of being ripped off by accidentally installing a virus that came with the software downloaded from the web.

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.