Software as a Service (SaaS) is changing how we think about software. More and more people are using SaaS solutions every year, with over 30,000 SaaS products available across many industries.
From simple email tools to big names like Salesforce and Netflix, people use SaaS every day. With so many options available, it’s important for SaaS businesses to promote their products to stand out from competitors and attract and keep customers. SaaS growth marketing can help with this.
This guide will show you some initial steps to take in growth marketing to help your SaaS business achieve impressive growth this year.
What Is A SaaS Growth Strategy?
Software as a service (SaaS) is a huge industry worth $167 billion that is expected to grow by 17% in the next year, but sadly, 9 out of 10 SaaS companies fail. This happens because companies need to follow rules and grow consistently to stay ahead, which is difficult in a competitive environment.
Companies need to attract and keep customers satisfied with their services, but this can be hard when there are many competitors offering similar products. Some SaaS companies still rely on outdated sales techniques, poor communication, and overly complicated pricing models, which only makes things worse. All in all, selling software as a service is not easy, and companies need to work hard and invest in product strategy to be successful.
SaaS Marketing Strategy in 10 Steps
If you want to stand out in the crowded and competitive SaaS industry, simply having an excellent product may not be enough. To win new users, it’s crucial to set yourself apart by implementing effective marketing strategies that position you as an industry leader. It’s easy to get lost in a sea of SaaS offerings, but by highlighting your unique strengths, you can capture the attention of potential customers and improve your brand visibility and reputation.
Of course, successful SaaS marketing requires a highly skilled and dedicated team, which may be challenging to assemble on your own. As such, it can be helpful to seek out the expertise of specialized SaaS marketing agencies who can help you ignite growth and gain momentum in your marketing efforts. Fortunately, tactics for effective SaaS marketing are readily available and can be found below.
If you’re ready to gain a competitive edge, now is the time to investigate the first steps of growth marketing in SaaS and find the right partners to help you succeed.
1. Understand Your Audience
Persona Creation: Develop detailed profiles of your ideal customers, including their pains, needs, and desires.
Survey Current Users: Understand why they chose you, and what might cause them to leave.
Competitive Analysis: Know your competition, and position your SaaS as the best solution.
2. Set Clear Goals
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs): Select measurable indicators that align with your business goals, e.g., Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR), Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC), or Churn Rate.
SMART Goals: Make sure your goals are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound.
3. Content Is King
Educational Content: Write informative blog posts, guides, and ebooks that solve your audience’s problems.
Webinars: Host engaging sessions to demonstrate your product’s capabilities.
Video Tutorials: Offer video guides for both beginners and advanced users.
4. Optimize For Conversion
Landing Pages: Ensure they’re clear, compelling, and focused on a singular action.
A/B Testing: Test different versions of pages or emails to see what resonates best.
User Feedback: Regularly ask for feedback and use it to refine your funnel.
5. Leverage Paid Advertising
Targeting: Use precise targeting on platforms like Google Ads or Facebook to reach your ideal customer.
Retargeting: Show ads to visitors who didn’t convert the first time.
Experiment: Start small, measure results, and optimize based on data.
6. Engage Through Email
Welcome Series: Introduce new subscribers to your product’s key benefits.
Segmentation: Personalize messages based on user behavior or demographics.
Automation: Utilize tools to send the right message at the right time.
7. Foster a Referral/Partner/Channel Program
Incentivize: Offer discounts or perks to customers who bring in new users.
Easy Sharing: Ensure your referral process is seamless.
Promote: Regularly remind users of the benefits of referring friends.
8. Monitor, Analyze, and Iterate
Data Analytics: Use tools like Google Analytics, Mixpanel, or Looker to dive deep into your performance metrics.
Regular Check-ins: Review your KPIs monthly, if not more frequently.
Pivot: If something isn’t working, don’t be afraid to change it up.
9. Nurture Customer Success
Support: Offer responsive and helpful customer service.
Onboarding: Guide new users to get the most from your product.
Community: Foster a user community where users can help each other and advocate for your brand.
10. Stay Updated
Industry Trends: Regularly read industry blogs, attend webinars, or participate in SaaS conferences.
Feedback Loop: Encourage users to provide feedback for continuous improvement.
Innovation: As tech evolves, so should your platform. Keep innovating!
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Amplify Your SaaS Growth Marketing Strategy
Product And Marketing Alignment
When it comes to a successful SaaS marketing strategy, the first step is aligning product and marketing goals. The truth is that a marketing strategy can only be successful if it supports the product itself. So, how do you go about aligning your product and marketing goals? The starting point is to identify needed specialists, which could include demand generation, marketing channels, lead nurturing and sales. These individuals can then participate in high-level tasks such as developing a marketing strategy and executing plans. It’s also important to invest in modern tools such as marketing automation software, CRM software and lead generation platforms to help your team work more effectively.
Your team should work together through brainstorming sessions and team meetings to create a well-organized marketing plan. This involves finding the perfect combination of marketing activities and channels to promote your SaaS product. To do this, it’s necessary to conduct competitor and market research, carry out A/B testing and experiment quickly. Finally, tracking metrics such as CLV, gross margin and customer acquisition cost will enable you to evaluate your SaaS marketing success.
SaaS Social Media Marketing
In today’s world, sharing social media posts periodically is just not enough to bring in significant results. If you want to succeed in your SaaS business, you need to think of social media as an essential growth strategy.
With social media channels, customers can interact with businesses, give their feedback, and get updates on the latest products and services. It is also an opportunity to engage with relevant audiences, promote your product, and gather crucial customer data to understand their behavior, needs, and preferences.
Beyond that, social media is incredibly useful in quickly informing customers of any product or service maintenance and keeping them in the loop.
To make the most of your social media marketing strategy, it’s important to consider specific activities like:
- building communities around your product
- collaborating with niche influencers
- direct selling
- experimenting with different content types
- distributing your blog content
- advertising—these will all impact your brand’s growth.
Having said that, it is crucial to allocate resources to social media activities appropriately, which we’ll discuss in more detail in the next step. In conclusion, social media marketing should be an essential part of your SaaS growth strategy.
SaaS SEO strategy
As a SaaS company, it is crucial to have a strong online presence to drive growth. A solid SEO strategy is imperative for success in this field.
Research shows that SEO and content marketing have a profound impact on SaaS products, with organic traffic being the most significant contributor to site traffic. Therefore, creating a well-structured SaaS SEO strategy can draw more organic traffic to your website.
Producing informative and keyword-rich content of high quality is a critical component of any successful SaaS SEO strategy, as search engines value high-quality content and prioritize websites with well-written blog posts.
Optimizing key pages, such as product pages and your homepage, is also crucial for increasing conversion rates. Another essential aspect is marketing analytics, which provides invaluable insights from raw data collected during growth marketing campaigns, customer behaviors, and various other experiments.
Experimenting with different growth marketing strategies, including podcasting, events, influencer marketing, can help you find the right mix of channels for your SaaS growth.
Remember: Growth marketing isn’t just about acquiring users; it’s about keeping them. Maintain a balance between acquisition and retention, and always aim for a stellar user experience. Keep it simple, keep it friendly, and watch your SaaS flourish. Cheers to your growth!
SaaS Growth Marketing Resources
Books:
- “Hacking Growth: How Today’s Fastest-Growing Companies Drive Breakout Success“ by Sean Ellis & Morgan Brown.
- “Traction: How Any Startup Can Achieve Explosive Customer Growth“ by Gabriel Weinberg & Justin Mares.
- “Contagious: How to Build Word of Mouth in the Digital Age“ by Jonah Berger.
- “Lean Analytics: Use Data to Build a Better Startup Faster“ by Alistair Croll & Benjamin Yoskovitz.
- “Subscription Marketing: Strategies for Nurturing Customers in a World of Churn“ by Anne Janzer.
- “The Lean Startup: How Today’s Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses“ by Eric Ries.
- “Invisible Engines: How Software Platforms Drive Innovation and Transform Industries“ by David S. Evans, Andrei Hagiu, and Richard Schmalensee.
- “Play Bigger: How Pirates, Dreamers, and Innovators Create and Dominate Markets“ by Al Ramadan, Dave Peterson, Christopher Lochhead, and Kevin Maney.
- “Predictable Revenue: Turn Your Business Into a Sales Machine with the $100 Million Best Practices of Salesforce.com“ by Aaron Ross & Marylou Tyler.
- “Building a Story Brand:Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen” by Donald Miller
- “Growth Hacker Marketing“ by Ryan Holiday
- “This Is Marketing: You Can’t Be Seen Until You Learn to See” by Seth Godin
- “Contagious: Why Things Catch On” by Jonah Berger
- “Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products” by Nir EyalÂ
- “Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion” by Dr. Robert Cialdini
- “Product-Led Growth: How to Build a Product That Sells Itself” By Wes Bush
- “Growth Hacking: Silicon Valley’s Best Kept Secret” By Raymond Fong and Chad Riddersen
“Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion” by  Robert Cialdini
Websites & Blogs:
- SaaStr – A community of SaaS entrepreneurs, founders, and executives with regular content on growth, scaling, and more.
- GrowthHackers
Communities: