There are two different types of marketing strategy for software, depending on whether the sales are more likely to be to other businesses or to consumers.

The crucial elements of business-to-business (B2B) marketing include sales forces that work closely with buyers, tailoring solutions to market niches, trade shows, and presence in trade journals. Generally, B2B involves selling a limited number of expensive licenses, with extensive after-market support.

Consumer marketing relies on reaching a large volume of potential buyers with generic packages. Marketing strategies involve both mass and social media. Rather than devoting most of one's marketing effort to a few highly profitable customers, one needs to keep down costs per prospect reached and rely on small percentages and large volumes of sales.