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Change is inevitable and in the information technology sector it takes place so fast that today’s innovation is very soon tomorrow’s antique!
Once an organization starts using certain software it has to be careful that it does not become outdated before it reaches its potential. For this reason it is important that the question of modification of the original software be addressed right at the onset.
Custom modifications can be created for both custom software and off- the- shelf packages and provisions need to be built in to the initial agreement between the developer and the buyer. It is highly recommended that updates, modifications and fixes are explored thoroughly before the buyer actually invests in the software.
Some of questions that need to be raised at the time of the initial contract are:
- Have definite plans been made to incorporate updates and modifications to the original software.
Both the developer and the buyer need to anticipate that the software will require modification in the future. Then, the process and pricing for this can be spelt out right at the start. If this is not done, the buyer may face
various limitations when the software gets outdated.
- Does the software developer plan to market this software or other similar software to other buyers?
If there is nothing in the agreement which prevents the developer from marketing the product to other potential users, the buyer may find that the special customised features of the software are very soon not exclusive any more.
- How will the pricing be structured and will it take into consideration future modifications?
In the creation of custom software it is usually implied that future developments too will be funded entirely by the buyer. Thus pricing parameters need to feature in the contract.
Most software developers charge exorbitantly for adjustments to the software in the future. Such adjustments include increasing the number of users or locations or changing the software to suit the changing needs of the organisation. However if the buyer is able to anticipate such changes, the initial agreement can take them into consideration and future pricing can be mutually agreed upon. It is significant that the buyer’s negotiating power is the most at this stage. Pricing negotiations at a later date force the buyer to accept the developer’s rates or else be saddled with outdated technology.
- How will custom modifications be made to an earlier version of the software?
It is not necessary that a new version of the software will support all modifications. Sometimes it may so happen that the modifications do not run at all and may need to be redeveloped.
A problem may now arise if the initial agreement had laid out that the developer’s support obligation was conditional on the buyer using the latest version of the software.
Know Your Target Audience
The most important decision on has to make before we begin to analysis, design and implementation our web design is who is our targeted market and audience. Focus is to understand with to whom we are trying to converse. Our target is to create a web site with a motive, and expectantly we intend people to view it. In fact, it’s required to define the viewers even before we define about what the web site is suppose to do, this would truly make more clear picture once we understand the target market and audience.
If we have the focus of focused market and audience the query of "who" would conclude web contents, graphics and sounds we need to include, what kind of HTML tags we need to use and what other technologies are required.
It is significant to comprehend that we cannot commune with each and everyone. For example, a web site that is focused for children would probably not be very useful for computer professionals (except, the possibility, as a sample of how to do it).
Thus, we need to think for a minute before we proceed. It is not the substance of what kind of site we imagined but it’s all about what kind of audience we have determined. We need to start with the subject substance.
Subject Substance is the attempt to explain visitors about your product, services, company taking in consideration that they don’t know anything about it. It requires you to provide some basic information and instructions which are the key benefits for anyone to obtain our services. At the same time excessive details are not necessary. By simple defining the information, we can determine exactly what information is needed by the targeted market or the focused audience.
If feasible, a grand idea is to interview or survey some of your projected audience as it prevents many blunders which may otherwise have creep into the final stage creation. Always remember that our end user may not be the individual who is paying for the project - it is the populace with whom we are trying to communicate.
Few points which we need to define our audience or visitors are by their education, technology training, medical condition, graphical orientation, age level, etc. Once our audience or visitors, other things become obvious. Next comes the next stage for things like screen resolution, graphics formats (jpg, gif and png), load times, coding etc and so on.
The targeted audience also determines what kind of content would include on the site. As we can observe, by understanding our audience, we are able to answer many of the questions that come up during web site design. In fact, this understanding frequently makes the decisions become non-issues - they are palpable.
A Mixture of Online Marketing
What is the best way to market your company online? The answer is not as clear cut as you would think. Many factors play into your online marketing strategy such as target audience, budget, market strategy and internal resources available. First lets start with the basics. Do you have a good website that properly conveys your product or business's marketing message? If the answer is no then we have a little bit of work to do before jumping into Internet Marketing. If your website is not up to par, then most your efforts and resources spent on Internet Marketing would be a complete waste of time and money.
Once you are satisfied with your website then it's time to shout the message. You can have a great website but without the proper mixture of marketing your website and ultimately your marketing message will go unseen. So what are the options available for Internet Marketing?
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Blogging: Setting up a company blog is a great informal way to communnicate with your target audience. Although you still need to have your marketing message in mind, the way in which you can deliver that message is far more informal. You can blog about the benefits of your product or service and let others interact with your blog and leave comments. You can create a blog that reviews your products and explains in great detail the pros of using your product. Whatever your message is, the main point with a blog is you want to provide useful original content for your target audience. Many times we tell our customers to blog about common questions they get from their customers on a daily basis.
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Pay Per Click: Pay Per Click marketing is a very common practice and if managed properly can be a cost effective way to generate traffic to your website. There are many popular choices for Pay Per Click such as Google Adwords, Yahoo, MSN and Live.com. Many times it's best to experiment with each of the different providers to find out where your customers are coming from. For example, if you where an High Tech company then you might find your target audience is more prone to searching on Google than some of the other ones. Regardless of your choice you need to determine and stick to a budget. Let me say this again because this is really important. Come up with a Pay Per Click budget and stick to it. Adjusting your campaigns on a daily basis will just create a chaotic environment where tracking costs and conversion rates will become impossible.
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Organic Search Marketing: Although blogging fits into this category, Organic Search Marketing can really be viewed as traffic that comes to your website from other means than Pay Per Click. This can simply just be a well ranked website within the search engine result pages (SERPS) but it doesn't really just stop there. There are many new ways to market your website and each of these methods falls under what we would call Organic Search Marketing.
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A content rich website website that is ranked
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Google Local and other Local Listing Providers
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Viral Marketing like product review videos on You Tube
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Social Networking sites like Linked In
There are many new ways to market your company on the Internet and a good mixture of the tactics listed above will help your company shine on the Internet. To find out more about marketing your company on the Internet please contact Cogent Media Group (317.423.3526) or use the contact button located at the top of your screen.
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