Software-as-a-service (SaaS) is a business model that provides online software services to users. SaaS gives users access to use cloud-based software applications over the internet. Owing to the rise of technology, different marketing strategies have evolved to meet the growing demands of the tech space. SaaS marketing is one of those strategies and understanding how it works is an essential key to success.
While marketing elements might have similar concepts across all boards of businesses, marketing for SaaS still remains unique for many reasons. For one, the very concept of SaaS involves non-physical products. The marketing and sales of non-physical products tend to follow a slightly different approach from physical products. Unlike physical products where your customers can see, touch, or feel the products, SaaS marketing relies more on user experience and customer service.
Most companies that offer software as a service use the B2B business style, meaning they sell these services to other businesses who need them. If you just founded your SaaS startup or have been struggling with marketing your services, this article would cover basic tips on how SaaS marketing works. We would also discuss proven strategies to take your SaaS marketing to the next stage.
Why Does Your Startup Need a SaaS Marketing Strategy?
If your company offers software as a service, you may be wondering why you would need a marketing strategy; after all, your excellent software should sell itself. Well, if you have created exceptional software and you offer incredible customer service, your product would eventually sell itself in the long run. However, in the early stages, you need to attract as many customers as you can for your service. The SaaS business space is overly saturated, and you need to make a mark in the industry as soon as possible so that you do not drown in the sea of other businesses.
Some reasons why you need an excellent SaaS marketing strategy, especially as a startup, are:
Business Expansion
One of your goals as a SaaS startup is expansion, and an effective marketing strategy can help your business achieve that. With marketing, you can attract new customers and encourage existing customers to make repeat purchases. Together, these increase your revenue and maintain the cash flow your business needs to succeed.
Business Establishment In The Industry
Through customized marketing campaigns, you can firmly establish your presence in the industry and win the trust of prospective customers and the loyalty of existing customers. People are more likely to purchase from a familiar business than one they hardly hear about. Marketing brings your startup closer to your customers.
Business Distinction
Because of how saturated the SaaS industry is, you need to stand out amongst competitors, especially as a startup; you should give potential customers reasons to choose you over others. Marketing helps you achieve this by communicating your SaaS’s premium quality and excellent customer service through marketing campaigns.
How to Build An Effective SaaS Marketing Strategy for Your Startup
There are different marketing strategies and styles you can incorporate into your SaaS business to achieve your goals. The steps given below guide the main things you should do while drawing up your marketing strategy.
Have a Great Product
This might seem like an obvious step, but it is one of the most critical steps to take if you want to grow your business with SaaS marketing. Your product has to be able to speak for itself. This way, marketing to your customers is so much easier as you can communicate your product’s already awesome features. When visitors respond to your marketing and decide to use your product, they should not be disappointed about its quality. If there are technical challenges or bugs in your product that would affect user experience, you should fix them before you start to market your SaaS. This stage also includes setting good structures in place like customer support so that if your customers run into any challenges, they would be resolved as soon as possible.
Identify your Target Audience
Your SaaS product is not for everyone and definitely not for every business. You would stand a higher chance of marketing success when you target the people who really need your product. Part of your marketing strategy should be to have a detailed understanding of who your target audience is, including their interests, pain points, and budget. You should also identify reasons they may be willing to switch from their current software provider to your business. This information helps you craft your marketing campaign message to communicate your company’s most attractive and compelling features.
Use Content to Your Advantage
When it comes to SaaS marketing, content should be your best friend. Understanding that you are not selling a tangible product, you have to take advantage of every opportunity to inform your customers about your product through content creation. This is strongly evident, especially in your web content and copy. When prospective or existing customers visit your page, they should be exposed to more than enough information about your product. This should include how your product works, how it can change their business or lives, why they should use your product now, and how it has helped others. If you have certifications and testimonials, you should show them off in your content. With the right content, you can establish your expertise in a field, win customers’ trust, and stand out in your industry. Companies and founders who have worked with Top Content Marketing Agency on their Web content and web copywriting needs have recorded massive growth in their businesses.
Offer Free Trials
Everybody likes a freebie, and if you run a SaaS company, you should be ready to kick off your marketing with free trial periods. By offering free trials, you give your customers the chance to take your product for a spin, fall in love with it, and eventually become paying customers. This strategy works great for many SaaS models, and if you are just starting your company, you should incorporate it. There are different ways you can offer free trial periods for your SaaS. You can choose to give a 30-day free trial with unlimited services or release your product for free for the first number of people to sign up for a limited time. You can also choose to work with a ‘freemium’ model where you offer the basic services of your SaaS for free, while subscribers have to pay to enjoy advanced features.
Focus on Customer Retention
For a SaaS company, a large part of your revenue would come from regular subscribers. As a result, you should place a lot of focus on ways to retain your customers after you have acquired them. You can do this by making sure your products maintain their good quality with helpful updates, offering excellent customer care, and giving customer loyalty benefits. If you can keep your customers satisfied, they are more likely to give positive reviews and recommend your services to others. More recommendations mean more customers, which means increased revenue.
Use Social Media to Connect with Customers
Many SaaS companies fall into the trap of losing the human touch in their marketing campaigns. Because SaaS deals with more tech-related products, you may be tempted to think you do not need social media as much. However, the truth is that your customers are active on social media and would be willing to relate with you across various platforms too. Depending on your target audience’s interests, your choice of social media platforms can vary. The hack is to get the platform where many of your customers and ideal customers are and establish your presence there. Your customers can engage with your content, communicate with you, and boost your content to others who could become potential customers.
Email Marketing Is Your Friend
When it comes to SaaS marketing, you can achieve so much more with email marketing. Email marketing is one of the most personal forms of marketing. This means that you can market directly to your customers by sending them emails. Email marketing provides a way for you to connect with your customers, grow with them and keep them up to date with your recent activities. You can also send promotional emails that encourage your customers to either make a purchase or subscribe to the best plan for their business.
Run Ads
Running paid advertisements has become an unavoidable element of any form of online marketing. By running paid ads, you can promote your product to a wider audience and gain more customers than you typically would with organic marketing. Paid ads can also speed up your marketing while cutting down on stress. Common platforms you can run ads on with expected high return on investments are google ads and Facebook ads. They already have a database of your ideal customers and can run ads targeted to the exact group of people you need.
Are you a SaaS startup founder in need of content and email marketing services to incorporate into your SaaS marketing strategy? Contact Top Content Marketing Agency to achieve your marketing goal with high-quality content and email marketing services.