The past two weeks has been quite an extraordinarily speedy ride recovery for a year that was lost due to a health issue. While learning about a completely new industry and facing all sorts of reputable people in their own fields, I got one thing clear. “If you are a software company trying to make lives easier and investing so much on the technical resources, Then, First… *Take a deep breath* and then stop Googling ‘How to price your Software as a Service‘ or similar keywords and, think this… ‘Can you persuade a rock to move on its own?‘”. Well, I believe this previous statement gave you a clear view on how to tackle the challenges for people who are in this business.
To be honest, ‘Making a great Software‘ is basically a waste of immense talent and time if you are taking a vision to develop IT scene in Nepal. So, does this mean it is quite a discouraging scenario while working in Nepal in a software industry? ‘NOPE!‘, there are people doing great in this same scene in Nepal who are staying low-key without doing immense Branding or Marketing in all sorts of platform. And, how do we do find the best price for the software we make, then?
To answer all these questions, we have to be aware about the laws of economics. This comes from basic Demand and Supply to the Economic pricing strategies. First, we definitely need a demand for what you are making. If there is no demand at all, and you are all talking about ‘Entrepreneurship‘ (Then please stop reading this from here onwards). When you have demand in the market for the software you just made, then learn what is happening in the scene. Because *keep in mind* that No-one knows what’s the best price for your software. Neither the buyer knows, Nor the seller. As seller sets the price just based on what they have incurred the cost of development and the cost of maintaining the service along with few % of profits in between. When we do basic math, The seller believes that their software is valued right for the buyers. When you pitch that exact same price to the buyer, that person will assume that you are on the higher side and immediately start bargaining as if you are selling vegetables on a roadside.
Is it discouraging? Obviously!
Can you tackle this issue? Yes!
What do you have to do? Just learn basic economics.
People want higher quality of software along with higher quality service for the lower price, and well… That defies all logics of economic theories out there for pricing. So what do we do then? Here’s a basic yet, the most effective solution. If you are an owner of the company and have learned the value of patience, then, do the same. ‘Patience’ is the key to succeeding in the software scene of Nepal. What do I mean by patience, then? It means, just as you invest in your company, that your software will raise you profit in certain years after a breakeven… Similarly, price your software in a way that you will create an illusion to your buyer that you are giving them software almost at a free of cost, and yet they will be so dependable on your software that, they will have to pay you the amount your software deserves in a year or two. This is completely a *nonsense* and waste of your time of reading this, but let me give you advice. ‘Go out there…… and pitch your software, …. tell them your price…. and comeback and read this article again…‘
“Thank me later!”
Cheers! Let’s sell our software in Nepali style, being in Nepal. That’s how you find your best price.