Marketing basics for your SaaS Business
As we all know, the popularity of SaaS knows no bounds lately and almost all businesses are trying to put their heads into this.
Because the recent acquisitions have sparked a lot of interest in SaaS like for example Microsoft purchasing LinkedIn for $26.2B back in 2016. Post that, there were more acquisitions and purchases that happened in the industry which henceforth attracted more businesses to this area.
Many business owners solely start a business with an intention to ultimately sell it. If you’re one of those, you need to have a proper business plan at a place and have an exit strategy ready.
And, before that happens, you’ll need to build an exceptional product or service, get it out there and get people to be comfortable with it and like it. A well-made and useful product is an utter waste if not marketed well. We have jotted down a few tips for you to market your SaaS Business and take a few strides towards success. Read on:
1. Identify problems and provide a solution to your potential customers
This is marketing 101: Customer is king.
Now you need to ask yourself these few questions before you even begin:
- Does your SaaS software solve any problem? If yes, list them.
- How is it of help to the customers?
- Which tasks or activities can be performed efficiently or effectively with the help of it?
Now, why did we highlight so much on customers and their needs? Because unless you know your customers well, nothing will make any difference, no matter how much-ever time you spend on conversion-rate optimization or A/B split testing.
Be it communicating with your customers, allowing file-sharing on a cloud, scheduling social media posts, you need to keep in mind to target solving problems with the help of your software. Additionally, make sure to keep performing constant market research to be updated with the ongoing problems and gaps which will help you work on providing the required solution.
2. Good content catches eyes
Content marketing is gaining momentum for all the right reasons. It plays a major role in generating leads and growing a business. Practicing SEO and targeting the right set of keywords will rank your content up in search-engines for related searches. The aim should be to drive as much organic traffic to the SaaS website.
This entire process needs mapping and evaluating customers’ issues which are pain points and require a solution. You can then focus on your content in form of blog posts, podcast, videos, audios etc.
You can consider emails, webinars, and e-books as forms of content marketing too. Providing relevant content at the right time is the key to effective content marketing. Additionally, segment your database, on the basis of interest. Leads are to be followed and nurtured in order to take them to the point of decision making.
3. Introduce referral and incentive programs
Word of mouth is the most trusting and effective marketing and one way of doing it could be through personal referrals from your customers. But to encourage them to refer your products and services, you need to offer something of value to your customers first. Like, take an example of Dropbox which provides free storage service to you when you refer it to your friend. This acted as a boost in the sales of the product.
A well-executed referral program can get your members and existing customers to automatically spread the word and onboard new people without any hassles. The key is to design your app in such a way that its simple, easy to understand and solves a problem. People will be happy to share it with their family, friends, and colleagues. Referral bonus will be like a cherry on top.
4. Free trials are lucrative
Offering free trials is a widely executed and effective strategies in the SaaS market. The purpose is to get the users hooked on the product or services during the trial so that they purchase that later and continue to use your functionality.
This doesn’t put a lot of resource or cost burden on you and also makes it easier for you to convert leads into paying customers at a better conversion rate. The conversion rate from free trial to paid ones goes up to 50% which is a great strategy, SaaS startup may apply instead of going for free.
The key here is to make your potential customers use and experience the benefits of your software. The right app will be recognized among the pool of other software and you will get much more paid subscribers.
Additionally, you can offer e-books, white papers, audio files, tutorials and anything of value for free to your audience which can bring more traffic and eventually sales to your business.
The best part about a SaaS business is that a combination of efficient product and service sells itself practically. You can always continue using content marketing, social media campaigns, and paid advertising to keep the pace going and drive more traffic.
We would like to take you back to the point we started at- Always begin forming your marketing strategy with your customers in mind. You need to add a value to your product so that the end users refer the same to colleagues and friends. Word of mouth can generate a lot of business for your product.
Finally, as an entrepreneur, you have all the power to derive your marketing style which suits the nature of your business and current needs. Make sure to be flexible to accommodate any new changes as the business keeps evolving although most of the SaaS marketing strategies have a lot in common with other business models. Since SaaS is a technology that is widely getting popular and upgraded, you need to stay updated with the current trends and practices. If you follow a balanced approach of following the basics along with welcoming new changes with open arms, your SaaS business can be taken to the entirely another level.
