The SaaS (Software as a Service) industry is growing rapidly and there’s no doubt about it. But how can you, as a SaaS entrepreneur, make sure that your company stays atop its competitors? It’s actually pretty easy! You just need to devise a solid SaaS marketing strategy, and you’ll be good to go.
In this blog, we’re going to discuss some of the most effective ways you can market your SaaS business and, of course, earn high revenues.
But before getting into the crux, let’s learn the basics.
What is SaaS marketing?
Simply put, SaaS marketing is nothing but the process of promoting your product in order to create awareness about it and sell it to a larger audience. Although you may think that SaaS marketing is just like any other marketing plan- you create an offering, promote it and sell it to your target market – but in reality, SaaS marketing is very different.
One of the main reasons is that SaaS products are nothing like regular products. They are intangible, that is, they do not have any physical presence. Hence, you need to have a plan majorly focusing on digital or online platforms. You can market your SaaS business through various digital channels and content marketing platforms.
For example, if you own marketing automation software, you can promote your tool via SaaS content marketing strategies like writing blogs with relevant keywords, hosting webinars, and podcasts.
Now, let’s see in detail how SaaS marketing is different from other types of marketing.
How is SaaS marketing different from other forms of marketing?
The differences are based on certain factors. Let’s see-
Product
SaaS business models offer products and services that are intangible in nature. They are software that you can download or subscribe to in order to smoothen your business operations.
Pricing
The pricing models play a huge role in SaaS marketing plans. For your SaaS product, you can have a tiered pricing model, that is, you can offer different plans with different price ranges. This will help you cater to a larger audience with different budgets and requirements.
Whereas for physical products, pricing is pretty simple, as you can simply account for your costs and come up with a price with a suitable profit margin.
Competition
It’s true, the competition in the SaaS industry is huge. Hence, you need to come up with an extraordinary SaaS marketing strategy in order to achieve your goals. Come up with the most engaging and interactive content for your marketing campaign, and utilize SEO best practices to stand out from the rest.
9 ways to build your SaaS marketing strategy
1. Implement SaaS content marketing
Content marketing is one of the most popular and effective lead generation methods for any SaaS business. The content you publish on your website paves the way for your target audience to notice you, and maybe even sign up with you. Thus, it’s important to make sure that the content you publish- the blogs you write, the infographics you create, the webinars and podcasts you conduct- all align with the needs and preferences of your target audience.
You can find an endless list of suitable topics to write about or discuss. In order to make this process easier and quicker, you can utilize keyword research tools like UberSuggest or LSIGraph.
Once you have decided upon your focus keyword, you need to create a well-researched outline based on the search intent of users. Once your outline is in place, you can start writing. Make sure you include your primary keyword and other related long-tail keywords in your blog. This will help you drive traffic to your website.
2. Try out SEO strategies for SaaS marketing
If you’re looking for ways to boost your website’s traffic, SEO should be the first thing that comes to your mind. This is because SEO (search engine optimization) is very closely associated with SaaS content marketing. The idea is to optimize your website so that it appears in the first few pages of the search engine results.
Some proven SEO strategies include the usage of targeted keywords, writing personalized content, and link building.
Here’s an example of a brand that understands how implementing SEO strategies can do wonders for a business.
Canva is a tool that lets its users create marketing designs either to share online or print out. Canva offers, besides paid plans, free programs which helps to scale the business and boost their shares. On top of that, they offer the software for free for educational purposes and for nonprofits, so the brand’s backlink profile skyrocketed. Because Canva got backlinks from multiple reputable companies, Google saw it as a credible tool, resulting in an enormous improvement in its SERP ranking.
Smart, right? You can implement this as well. And once you start ranking on the first page of SERPs, you can slowly start charging for your tool’s subscription!
3. Explore the world of interactive marketing
Interactive marketing, as the name suggests, is a model where you create and distribute content that your audience can interact or engage with. Interactive content, like quizzes, engages audiences better than static content and provides real-time value. In a SaaS setup, this type of content helps users with awareness, consideration, and the decision stage of the buyer’s journey.
Apart from quizzes, some of the most popular types of interactive content include calculators, polls, surveys, giveaways, assessments, product recommendations, and chatbots.
For example, LiveAgent lets its users determine the most cost-effective help desk solution using an interactive calculator. For a website visitor, this is a much more convenient and fun option than sifting through different features and pricing options, comparing them, and then deciding.
According to SnapApp, 88% of marketers said that interactive content is effective in differentiating their brand from their competitors. This is because this form of content lets the users take part in two-way communication where they can share their opinion, needs, or preferences. Hence, it leaves a lasting impression on the users who consume such content.
Let’s understand how you can utilize interactive content with an example.
Function of beauty is one of those companies that really understands how to make the purchasing process interactive. A website visitor simply fills out a short quiz full of relevant questions pertaining to their preferences, goals, and requirements.Their customers don’t have to even look at a product catalog, because Function of beauty chooses the products for them. This approach has been a great success all over social media and helped build Function of beauty and extensive client base.
Similarly, you can create various other types of interactive content like quizzes, surveys, assessments, giveaways, and chatbots and capture more audiences.
4. Build loyalty with free tools
A free trial is the highlight of a successful SaaS marketing plan. This is because it is extremely effective in convincing users to take that first step toward buying your product. Besides, everybody likes free stuff.
But the main reason why free trials are a must for the success of a SaaS marketing strategy is that it lets your prospects experience and understand your tool without having to pay for it. Once they’re well-acquainted with your product and know what features they require, they’re most likely to subscribe to your SaaS plan.
If you want to go one step further, create and host free tools on your websites that anybody can use and benefit from. Once people start using those free tools and find them valuable, the awareness and demand for your core products will skyrocket automatically.
Hence, offering free tools is a sure-shot way of improving your conversion rate.
Notion is a note-making and project management tool. Simply put, you can utilize this tool to manage your projects and content guides, keep track of your progress and organize new projects efficiently. It’s widely used across the world by teams and companies in professional settings, and offers an accessible free plan to individuals who want to give it a go.
5. Leverage social media marketing
More than half of the world (59%) now uses social media. Is this not reason enough for marketers to start leveraging social media platforms for promoting their business?
It definitely is.
So, to promote your SaaS product on social media platforms, you need to follow some simple steps:
- Learn which social media platforms your target audience use the most.
- Create high-quality visual content like graphics, short videos, infographics, etc.
- Collaborate with influencers whose followers align with your target audience.
- Utilize paid advertising on social platforms.
- Organize live sessions through Instagram Live, Facebook Live, etc.
Mailchimp is one of the most popular email automation tools out there, and there’s a reason behind this. Not only do they provide solid services, but they also keep their users engaged through their social media content. They distribute valuable and interesting content through their social channels to make sure that the users are aware of offers and get the best out of their products.
6. Run personalized email marketing campaigns
Email marketing, although one of the oldest forms of marketing, still remains on top. It is also one of the most cost-effective ways to promote your business. However, in order to achieve your targets through email marketing, you’ll have to write a very concise email.
So, make sure that you keep these points in mind while drafting your email content:
- Get personal, but also maintain your boundaries. Address the users by their first name, and write using a human tone rather than a robotic or computerized one.
- Keep your subject lines short and specific.
- Set up an email calendar with suitable time slots based on customer behavior and habits.
- Use a mobile-friendly email template.
In the example above, you can see that Goat Story addresses the customer by their first name. On top of that, the whole message has a friendly tone which adds a personal touch to the interaction. All of this is nothing but smart personalization tactics that you can apply to your next email marketing campaign, or to simple everyday correspondence.
7. Attract with account-based marketing
Account-based marketing is a growth-focused SaaS marketing strategy where the marketing and sales teams come together to create a personalized customer experience for some mutually identified, high-value prospects.
This starts with marketing representatives attracting leads through their solid content and overall marketing plan. Once the leads enter the sales funnel, the sales team steps in and seamlessly takes over. They can then guide the prospects through the sales funnel and convince them to make the purchase.
Snowflake is a data storage and analytics solution. It focuses on tier account-based marketing strategy. Using information from their Data Cloud allows them and their clients to make data-driven decisions to maximize their profits.
8. Utilize video marketing
In order to boost your SaaS business sales, you should definitely try your hand at video marketing. We’re currently in the wave of video content marketing, and leveraging it will definitely be fruitful for your business.
You can distribute video content on your website and social media platforms. This will help in directly engaging your audience, save their time (as they can simply watch the video instead of reading an entire blog), and boost your overall conversion rate.
You can create different types of videos such as promotional videos, videos addressing the pain points of your customers, or you could even produce a feature-length instructional video designed to turn your existing customers into power users.
As you can see, Post Affiliate Pro has been using videos as additional content not only to promote their services but also to entertain and educate potential clients on the world of affiliate marketing. The video above walks a person through Post Affiliate Pro’s software with a visual representation, so it’s easy to understand. On top of that, the video is divided into multiple chapters so viewers can easily navigate through and rewatch parts they maybe missed the first time.
Extremely smart, right? Plus it will also help you save the time and cost of onboarding all your clients through one-to-one calls or meetings.
9. Make the best out of review sites
People pay a lot of attention to reviews and testimonials before signing up for products or services, especially if it’s software. They go through the latest reviews thoroughly in order to make sure that what they’re about to sign up for will provide them with what they’re looking for.
Therefore, it’s extremely important to get your SaaS business rated well on SaaS review sites like G2. This is because positive reviews provide social proof to prospects, which ultimately helps in improving website traffic. Hence, you should definitely try to get a listing on such review sites.
Besides reviews, let’s see how Bethesda leverages user-generated content to their benefit.
Bethesda’s Creation Club is a well-known platform among gamers. Here, Bethesda features user-created mods to their games. Players can create and then publish mods under their usernames, while other players can download, use, and review them. All of this user-generated content is roofed under Bethesda’s ecosystem and lets them use their customers’ input to their advantage.
Some SaaS marketing best practices
Offer incentives & referrals
Referral marketing is exactly like word-of-mouth marketing but in the digital context. It basically involves asking your current customers to recommend your product or service to their acquaintances, family, and friends through emails, as well as social platforms like LinkedIn. This can be a very effective way to bring in qualified leads who are most likely to get converted.
Embed & distribute interactive content
Interactive content, as we’ve already discussed, is an extremely powerful and lucrative marketing tool. This is because this type of content empowers your audience to engage directly with your brand. Therefore, you should definitely embed a suitable interactive content piece on your website.
Refine CTAs & make sign-ups easy
You have a well-optimized website with great content, and your visitor is almost convinced to sign up with you. But they are unable to find your CTA. Chances are they’ll drop off. The same goes for lengthy sign-up forms.
Therefore, your CTAs should be prominent on your website and your sign-up forms should be short and specific. This will make the process easier and quicker, and your chances of landing a conversion will increase tenfold.
Provide outstanding support
Working on software can be complex and your clients may get stuck quite frequently. They can have numerous queries about the features, pricing, and subscription plans. And to solve all these issues in real time, it is critical that you have an outstanding customer success team. You can embed a chatbot on your website that works in real time. So, whenever a client or lead has a query, they can simply get in touch with a sales representative through the chatbot and get it resolved in real-time.
Utilize SaaS outbound & inbound marketing
Inbound marketing involves the usage of educational content such as blogs, ebooks, courses, infographics, webinars, product videos, and podcasts. On the other hand, outbound marketing is the creation and distribution of content that an audience may not necessarily be looking for like TV ads, billboards, direct mail, radio ads, and display ads. The approach in both these forms of marketing are completely different. And to get the most out of it for your SaaS business, you need to strike the right balance between the two.
Leverage SaaS affiliate programs
SaaS affiliate marketing programs are referral-based partnerships wherein you can have publishers such as deal sites and blogs promote your product and drive prospects into your sales funnel. In return, you can offer them rewards and incentives.
Conclusion
There you go! In this blog, we’ve discussed all things SaaS and we hope that you’ve been able to grasp enough to try your hand at creating and implementing your own SaaS marketing strategy that converts.
Utilize these 9 actionable steps and start out on your SaaS marketing journey!
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you attract customers to SaaS?
You can attract customers to your SaaS business by following a solid SaaS marketing plan. Make sure that your website is SEO-optimized, your content aligns with the search intent of your target audience, and you create interactive content like quizzes, polls, etc., and you will be good to go.
What makes SaaS marketing unique?
SaaS marketing is unique because it’s a marketing plan devised to promote software. The tactics and strategies used in SaaS marketing differ in nature. For example, in SaaS marketing, you offer free trials, whereas, in regular marketing, the most you can do is offer free samples of your products.
What is B2B SaaS content marketing?
B2B SaaS content marketing is nothing but a strategy to create and promote content that caters to a SaaS business audience. The idea here is to create SEO-optimized content in order to build brand awareness and widen the client base.
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