The Software as a Service market is booming, and the competition thickens. The global SaaS market is predicted to grow at a CAGR of 11.7%, reaching 307.3 billion by 2026. Accordingly, to stand out among the crowd, you need to refine your marketing strategies.
SaaS marketing has its own rules because you’re promoting an intangible product. That being said, generally, the success lies in laying the strategic foundation for customer conversion and retention. Here are some great tips on how to market your SaaS business and get an edge over the growing competition.
Use Content Marketing
Providing valuable and shareable content that appeals to the target audience is a great way to nurture leads. To create an effective SaaS content strategy, you should understand where in the sales funnel customers are coming from and offer the most relevant content. For instance, potential buyers would want to land on a sales page, whereas those doing an informational search would like to see a relevant blog post.
Then, optimize the content you create for keywords and user intent to answer the queries your target audience is using, positioning as a thought leader on a specific topic. Keep the content varied and offer white papers, videos, industry reports, infographics, blogs, and case studies to engage prospective customers, offer them value, and convert them into customers.
Tap Into Instagram
Social media is the ultimate tool for promoting your business. Plus, social media platforms allow you to reach our target customers directly. Facebook and LinkedIn are the obvious choices. However, Instagram offers an unsaturated market for SaaS businesses and has a lot of untapped potential.
With the help of forefront tools and the right strategy, you can quickly get real Instagram followers who will actively engage and boost your brand credibility. For example, create innovative visuals to capture the audience’s interest. Provide interesting infographics, publish educational posts, go live, organize Q&A sessions, and craft engaging explainer videos about how to use your product or service.
Improve PPC Campaigns
PPC is an excellent marketing method for SaaS businesses. Paid advertising offers customized targeting, flexible budgeting, and transparent data tracing. Plus, it can help you boost qualified traffic and increase your sales.
The key is to scale and streamline the PPC campaigns by choosing the right keywords. Optimize your landing page, make it compelling, effective, and with a clear purpose. Finally, consider retargeting and nurture cross-channel alignment.
Offer Free Trial
Free trials can be an excellent asset for the SaaS sale funnel. They offer you an opportunity to showcase your product’s benefits and actual value to users who might convert to paying customers. The key is to find a model that works for your product. To do so, you need to think about the suitable limitations and duration of the free trial.
Moreover, you should set up a clean and efficient registration process that requires only the essential information. Finally, it might be smart to go with an opt-in trial because it’s more accessible than opt-out as it doesn’t collect any payment information.
Incentivize Referrals
Referrals are a powerful tool for reaching new customers in every type of marketing, and SaaS is no exception. You can easily create a SaaS referral program to engage existing customers and reward them for sharing the service with their friends. In the long run, a good SaaS referral program can save you customer acquisition costs, boost conversion rates, enhance customer loyalty, and increase customer retention and lifetime value.
First, decide what your referral program would be about. For example, you might offer tiered rewards, premium access to your product, a discount, or a free month of subscription. Then make the referral program as straightforward as possible and easy for users to share. Finally, promote the program across all channels and track ROI.
Create Urgency Through Exclusivity
Creating urgency is used in SaaS marketing to entice people to act quickly. When used right, it will prevent potential customers from thinking too hard and prompt them to take action. However, creating scarcity for SaaS takes more than merely displaying a countdown timer — you should make your potential customers believe they shouldn’t waste any time before buying your product.
A tried and tested tactic is to create a feeling of exclusivity by offering customers early, invite-only access to the platform. This is an excellent way to generate buzz and appeal to people’s fear of missing out (FOMO). To maximize its potential, capitalize on the core features of your product and highlight why your audience needs it to solve their problem. Highlight the biggest benefits, combine them with a compelling offer, and communicate your message with engaging visuals.
In Conclusion
These SaaS marketing strategies are designed to generate more quality leads and customers. That being said, SaaS is a high-churn industry, so you need to be on top of the marketing trends and focus on client engagement and customer experience to increase retention. Additionally, review your strategy to see what works and doesn’t and adapt your tactics accordingly.
