March 26th, 2021
Comparing SaaS marketing to eCommerce (or pretty much any other market) is apples and oranges because SaaS marketing is all about long-term customers. As a SaaS company, you are looking to acquire and retain customers for the long haul – years at a time. Once you gain a customer, you are responsible for consistently communicating and marketing to them to prevent them from ending business ties with you. In other words, whereas a traditional company may treat a transaction as a one-time thing, SaaS companies are more committed to long-term retention. And this is where the challenge lies--but we're here to share with you some strategies that work.
Changing the registration process for purchasing your SaaS product can create a positive impact. Some of these ways could be creating a two-step checkout (the customer's name and email would be in the first step, and then the next page would be credit card details); using third-party authentication services like Google, Facebook or Twitter; and reducing the mandatory fields in the sign-up process.
The freemium model gives prospects limited access to your product for free for a lifetime. Then, if customers want to really get the most of your product, they will have to pay for it. Some of the 'freemium' models you can explore include Limited Features which restricts the features that a free user can use or put limits on the enhanced functionality of available features; Lowered Capacity Usage, which puts limits on storage or data quotas to restrict usage; and Reduced Support which gives more priority customer support to paying users.
A customer is more likely to purchase your product when they are assisted by a salesperson who helps them understand the potential benefits of what your brand brings. Allowing prospects to book sales or product demo calls instantly and conveniently helps your sales team connect with them right when they want it.
Inbound marketing, in essence, is publishing a valuable content so that your users can find them through a Google search. Meaning, you are connecting with users that are already looking for information about products and services that you can provide. That's an easy way of finding your qualified leads! While inbound marketing is a pretty broad subject on its own, you can start with strategies like using keyword planner tools to help you find topics that are relevant to your audiences; exploring a variety of media types like videos and white papers; and consistently tracking your content performance.
Instead of trying to impress with buzz concepts, try picking out more important elements for your messaging. These may include the SaaS benefits like having access to the software anytime and anywhere; reducing administrative burden; or having little or no capital investment. Remember to focus on ease, finding a solution, the difference you bring to the table, and what your whole brand is in a nutshell.
What marketing strategies have you already tried for your SaaS Company? How has it impacted your sales growth? What other strategies are you willing to do this year?