What is SaaS?
Software as a Service, also known as SaaS, is a cloud-based service where instead of downloading software on your desktop PC or business network to run and update, you instead access an application via an internet browser. The software application could be anything from office software to unified communications among a wide range of other business apps that are available.
A few examples of SaaS:
BigCommerce, Google Apps, Salesforce, Dropbox, MailChimp, ZenDesk, DocuSign, Slack, Hubspot, Netflix, Byjus.
How about SaaS marketing?
Now, when it comes to crafting a SaaS marketing strategy, it can be tricky! There are N number of barriers in SaaS marketing. It’s challenging and different from routine marketing.
How do you promote something that is intangible or has no physical presence?
You need to market the product in a way that people understand its utility and are more accepting of it.
Companies invest a lot of money to achieve the optimal SaaS marketing strategies! Marketing comes at an enormous cost (investment) for any company. Hence, it’s important to use the funds effectively!
So here are a few pointers that you should know while making your marketing strategy for SaaS
1. Adding prices as part of your SaaS marketing strategies
Pricing will have a direct impact on your sales. It’s always better if you’re upfront about it. If we mention the pricing systematically (with all the options available) it helps your potential customers to decide faster. Therefore, saves the customer's time.
Have a look at the example below:
2. Tried PPC for SaaS yet?
A paid marketing tactic is always an excellent SaaS marketing strategy for lead generation. This campaign majorly works on the keywords that are being used by the company. The keywords used should have relevance and should be chosen after thorough research. Plus, you could always try a few variations of ad copy and analyse what works best for your brand. It is equally important to make your ad with the utmost clarity that attracts relevant target audiences. PPC campaigns may look expensive, but since it’s scalable, a lot of marketers go for it.Â
3. Go viral with free trials
We strongly recommend free trials for effective SaaS marketing. People must use your services and realize the benefits that you can offer before making a purchase decision. A lot of companies use free trials and if the service is good enough, they experience a lot of conversions. Don’t forget to give your target audience a trial for a long enough time so that they understand the value derived from your product.
4. SALE!!
People constantly look for discounts and sales while making any purchase. A good offer along with an excellent service shall always lead to increased conversions. This strategy primarily focuses on making the customer choose a longer plan by giving them huge discounts on long-term plans. The key is to highlight the cost savings along with the benefits of the service.Â
5. Heads up for sign-up
Hassle-free sign-ups are an important element of SaaS marketing strategy. Hence, you should always focus on making the process easier and shorter for your customers. It should be less time-consuming and to the point. Moreover, long sign-ups can irritate the customer and may decrease the rate of conversions. Here is Netflix making it complex for its users to select a plan with way too many options.
Here’s LinkedIn, doing an amazing job in keeping it simple hence, an example of a perfect sign-up.
6. Queue a few reviews!
For any product/service, it’s vital to have positive reviews and ratings, as most people look at the ratings and reviews before making a purchase. Particularly with software, since there is no tangible product, people do thorough research and compare it with similar products. To get more industry exposure for your product, try to get featured on as many consumer and business review websites. You can also reach out to several websites and send your product details for them to review and rate. This helps increase your credibility and acts like word-of-mouth for your product. Reviews should be an important part of your SaaS marketing strategies.
7. How about some awards and rewards?
In technical terms, this is called referral marketing! Rewarding customers for referrals is one of the most effective SaaS marketing strategies when it comes to lead generation. To make this strategy work, you need to provide customers with attractive incentives so that they’re motivated and find it referral-worthy. Make a strong enough award system so that it becomes a continuous process and people get excited to work for it. For example -
8. Improve customer experience
It’s a very famous saying in marketing: A satisfied customer is your walking billboard. Of all the SaaS marketing strategies, include advocation by the experts. Because, this has the most weightage. Additionally, it is eminent way to enhance the customer experience is by making it as personalized as possible. There are multiple ways to do so, for instance:
Live Chat Option
Vouchers for Birthday Month
Welcome Offers
9. Go to SEO as a part of your SaaS marketing strategies
Search Engine Optimization is one of the most effective SaaS marketing strategies. Use SEO to generate more leads as it is aimed at bringing more traffic to your website and making your website visible to the relevant audience. Plus, with the use of on-page SEO techniques, you can improve your website’s search rankings. However, multiple things need to be tracked when you’re running SEO, it’s highly recommended to have a technical team to assist you (Hire professionals if you don’t have one).
10. CTAs on point!
Clear call to action will certainly help you in increasing conversions. Call to action acts like an instruction and needs to be short and crisp. What exactly do you want your customers to do? Do you want them to sign-up for a free trial or make a purchase right away? It could be anything. Ensure that whatever you ask for has been presented with the most clarity and is followed by other CTAs as a roadmap.
These are a few things you should know! Other than that, here’s something I’d like you all to understand: SaaS is a newly coined term. Before it emerged, people were still making use of Google, Netflix, edtech, etc. All of us SaaS marketers should remember this: the current generation has welcomed technological advancement with open arms, all we have to do is just hit the right places, and boom!!! You’ll see the change.