A Year in the Life of an ISV

A Year in the Life of an ISV
Real world lessons about what it takes to create & market a software product

Being an ISV Rocks
Clarity on requirements for success
Flexible hours
Highly empowered

Who We Are
Small Independent Software Vendor
Young Company
Started Development Feb 2008
Public Release June 2009
Product Division of Consulting Company
eSymmetrix founded in 2000
Engineers, not Sales People

But It’s not Consulting
You can’t convince them you’re right
No one cares how your code works inside
No partial credit

Diesel Engine Products
Steady Value over Time
Closer to the Money the Better
Well Defined, Large Markets
A solid answer for “Why You”

Pricing – Your Market Set It
Ranges by Audience
Consumer / Impulse Buy Market (<$99)
Professional Market (<$500)
Business Market ($300 to Infinity)
Make your Productworthy of the Price
More Expensive = Better
People are used to paying certain amounts

Pricing – Don’t Sell Yourself Short
Biggest Mistake is to go low
If you’re better, charge more
Based on where you will be 18 months out
Lay out a family of related options
Consumers like buy ups
Consumers like 2-3 choices
Create a structure for experiments

Pricing – Consumer Myths
Few Well Informed Customers
Customers Don’t Cross Shop
“If it only did…”

Marketing MarketingMarketing
Metric & Monitor First Contact to Decision
The Right Traffic
Reach Out at Every Opportunity
Ask for the Sale

The Internet

Get Anyone’s Attention

It’s Not about You
People have distinct, strong preferences
Be where they are: Accessible Everywhere
Project your Values

Steady Growth

Design for First Wow
People decide fast
Deliver value in small increments
Look at every bump between first hit & first wow and sand them down

Support Tools
Support Ticket / Defect Tracking
Live Chat
Desktop Sharing
Lightweight CRM
Web Metrics that Matter

Things to Ignore
Brand Building
Fancy Web Site
eCommercePipeline
Business Operational Scalability

Things to Pay Attention To
Responsive Communication Systems
Automate or EliminateRoutine Tasks
Every Bump fromFirst Hit through First Wow
Why people tell you they bought your product (and why they didn’t)

Critical Lessons Learned
Have a Diesel Engine Product
Marketing MarketingMarketing
Worry about Values,not Brand
First Hit to First Wow

Additional Information:
Websites
www.GibraltarSoftware.com
www.eSymmetrix.com
Follow Up
Kendall.Miller@eSymmetrix.com
Twitter: kendallmiller

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A Year in the Life of an ISV

by Gibraltar Software on Oct 10, 2010

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A Year in the Life of an ISV — Presentation Transcript