Every entrepreneur desires to cut operating costs and increase profit margins. One way to do this is to save money when buying software, an essential part of running businesses today.
Notably, business spending on software has been on the rise, reaching USD$567 billion in 2022. That’s 37% more than companies spend on industrial equipment and factories. But technology is a critical component of business that can’t be ignored.
An excellent workaround is acquiring software and digital tools at lower prices. Below are tips to help you save money when buying these tools:
Using promo codes and coupons
One way to spend less when buying software and digital tools is to use promo codes, coupons, and deals. About 90% of the American population has used coupons during purchases. Promo codes and coupons can offer a percentage or fixed amount to be deducted from the purchase price of the software or digital tools, thus reducing the cost.
In some cases, the promo codes and coupons you find allow you to get free trials of the software or digital tools you want to buy. As such, you can test the products before buying them and evaluate how they work. It can help you avoid tools that won’t meet your needs.
Another thing to note is that promo codes and coupons provide discounts on bundled packages containing several products, such as software, digital, and marketing tools. It means that you’ll be getting several products at a reduced price. Such bundles are cost-effective compared to buying each product separately.
Additionally, you can take advantage of seasonal deals offered by some vendors, such as Black Friday or Cyber Monday sales, to buy software, be it assets management software, customer relationship management (CRM) software, or marketing tools. During these seasonal deals, vendors usually offer amazing product discounts.
You can find these promo codes, coupons, and deals announcements through the vendor’s website, social media platforms, and email newsletters.
Finding discounts and promotions
You can save money by taking advantage of discounts and promotions offered by different software vendors. Typically, you’ll be given a promo code, which you must use during checkout to claim the discount.
There are several places where you can get such discount codes. Firstly, some websites specialize in compiling the latest promo codes from different vendors. For instance, experts at DontPayFull.com consistently scour the internet for the best deals on software and compile them on the site. With their help, you save significant time that you’d have spent looking for promotions on your own.
Another way to find discounts and promotions is to visit software vendors’ websites and social media pages. But this will be more effective if you can identify a few reliable brands that offer discounts regularly. Software vendors are in their hundreds, and rummaging through all these websites can be tedious. About 96% of 1,300 people in a survey admitted to searching for discounts online before a purchase. Deals and promotions can be offered anytime within a year, and announcements are usually made through social media pages or company websites.
Moreover, many software and digital tools providers have a dedicated website segment for current promotions, deals, and discounts. This is because businesses can significantly increase sales from promotions. When searching through a given website, you can keep an eye out for the sections labeled “Deals” or “Promotions.”
You can also take advantage of promotions and discounts by subscribing to the provider’s newsletter. Subscribers are usually the first to receive information on product updates, promotions, and discounts through the newsletter. Therefore, you’ll be alerted to discounts and promotions on the software and digital tools you’re interested in.
Additionally, it’s advisable to follow software providers’ social media platforms. As mentioned before, it’s common for vendors to post notices of promotions and deals on their social media platforms. Once a deal is announced, buy the product before the discount period expires or the stock runs out.
You can also use a search engine to find promo codes or discounts on digital tools and software. All you need to do is search for the exact digital tool, like SaaS, and include the terms “promo code” or “discount code.” If there are available offers, they’ll pop up on your search results, and you can make a subscription or purchase at a reduced cost.
The good thing with discounts is that you save money and get the same value from the product, similar to those who bought it at non-discounted rates.
Some benefits of grabbing discounts and deals when buying software and digital tools include the following:
- Saving money: You can buy software and digital tools at a significantly low price because of discounts and deals. This can benefit a business with a limited budget.
- Access to premium features: You can find discounts that provide access to a product’s premium features unavailable on trial versions.
- Trial period: Some discounts and deals can allow you to get a trial period where you can test the product without a commitment to buying it. This can help determine the product’s value and suitability for your business needs.
- Upgrades and updates: You can find discounts and deals that allow you to get free upgrades and updates on your software and digital tools for a specific period.
- Increased productivity: You can significantly improve your business’ productivity and efficiency through access to discounted and free software and digital tools.
Advantages of discounts and deals
In principle, you can gain benefits that’ll help you stay ahead of your competitors through discounts and deals on software and digital tools.
Disadvantages of discounts and deals
While discounts and deals can significantly reduce the purchase price of software and digital tools, there are some disadvantages you might encounter:
- Limited availability: In some cases, discounts and deals are limited for a certain period or a number of customers. So, you must be quick to take advantage of the discount when it’s available or risk missing out.
- Quality issues: There are instances where software and digital tools are discounted because they have quality issues, limited features, or need to be updated. Thus, you’ll be getting a low-quality product at a low price that might not serve your needs.
- Hidden costs: While the initial cost of obtaining software and digital tools might be low, you may incur additional expenses for maintenance, support, or upgrades.
- Security risk: Ensure you’ve thoroughly researched a discounted product to prevent threats to your data or systems.
Always evaluate the product, discount terms, and potential downsides to ensure you’re getting value for your money.
How to ensure a discount or deal is legitimate and verified?
It’s crucial to ascertain that the discounts and deals offered are legitimate and verified to avoid security risks to your data and systems. Scammers leverage humans’ innate tendency to get free stuff by sending non-existent saving deals. Such phishing emails lure you into clicking malicious links, where any information you provide is stolen. About 20% of security breaches are from phishing, so you must be careful when opening enticing emails.
You can verify the legitimacy of a deal or discount through the following:
- Check the source: Always ensure that before you click a discount or deal link, you’ve ascertained it’s from a reputable source. Moreover, it will help if you look for discounts from official provider’s websites, reputable coupon sites, and legitimate newsletters and email subscriptions.
- Verify discount code: You can verify a discount code by entering it during checkout to see if it applies to your product.
- Read the terms and conditions: It’s essential to read and understand the terms and conditions of a discount or deal. These terms and conditions inform you of restrictions and limitations in the offer.
- Check reviews and feedback: It’s advisable to read reviews from other customers to determine if the product offers the value you’re looking for.
- Contact customer support: You can always contact customer care agents to verify the legitimacy of a discount and provide more information.
Verification of the legitimacy of a discount can help secure your system and prevent you from getting scammed.
Conclusion
You can use promo codes, coupons, and discounts and take advantage of deals to save money when buying software and digital tools for your business. The main thing is knowing where to find the deals, as elaborated above. Lastly, it’s crucial to verify and ensure that the discounted products are safe and offer value for money.
