A SaaS marketing strategy is very different from retail marketing strategy, especially as the times continue to change. 

Within the next three years, market forecasters have predicted the global SaaS market will grow more than $60 billion. Although, it’s hard to say how our current recession and a pandemic will affect market predictions, we can say one thing for certain: no matter what SaaS industry you’re targeting, the market will be more competitive. To keep up, SaaS businesses will need a better customer acquisition strategy.

SAAS Marketing Strategies

SaaS marketers face unique challenges in the marketing realm. It can seem that the product is intangible and the benefits could be  difficult to demonstrate. So, we’ve mapped out 12 easy ways a SaaS company can increase quality leads and win over new customers.

Show ‘em What You Got: Free Trials, Freemiums, or Demos

First, you could offer a free trial to let  customers get a feel for  your software before they make a big commitment and pay. Usually, customers are deciding between multiple different products they are on the hunt for specific features and ease of use. A free trial can help them get a grasp of your product having more incentive to convert after using the product for an allotted period of time.

Second, you could offer a Freemium product. Freemium is a basic SaaS product or service offered for free, with premium features available for an additional cost. Many companies use this method as it’s an effective way to let customers try the product for free, and see all the cool features they could be getting for a  low price.

For example, Mailchimp offers four levels of pricing, beginning with free. As you move up in price, each level also has more features.

Third, you could offer a demo. If offering a free trial or freemium SaaS product isn’t practical for you, the next best thing is hosting an entertaining and informative demo or podcast to walk Demos walk potential customers through your product showing them how it works and why it would be beneficial to their business. 

Offer a Discount – If They Act Now

Generally, customer retention is much easier than customer acquisition. However, to acquire hot leads and generate new customers, offering a big discount with a short deadline for sign up could increase your conversion rate. Advertising a short-term discount to your target audience is a great way to generate FOMO (fear of missing out). Remember, the real value is in the lifetime value of customer relationships. 

Make it Personal

Personalization is one of the most powerful lead conversion strategies available to marketers today. Almost every website on the web greets you by name when you return, and some websites, like Amazon, Google, and Netflix, offer deeply personal content – goods, services, and entertainment they think you’ll like based on data. The data comes from all kinds of sources such as, your search engine browsing history, buying habits, your social media, and even from other users with similar likes.We personalize your website with Experiences in a similar way, using aggregated data from your customer systems to put fresh content we know your customers want to see on each visit. 

Make it Easy

Make signing up as streamlined and easy as possible.

In a Manifest survey, 81% of respondents said they have abandoned an online form after starting it. Roughly 27% of them said form length was the reason.

For example, Pinterest makes it easy to sign up with social login buttons or short forms that ask for just a username and password, like the one above. 

Prove Your Worth

Social proof is a powerful psychological selling tool. It’s always reassuring that other people have bought the product you’re considering or read testimonials from satisfied customers, even if you don’t know them. 

Case studies are a very persuasive form of social proof. For example, the folks at Appcues are happy to tell you they increased demo signups by 39% with personalized social proof. The customer logos displayed are related to each customer who visits.

Catch Them in the Act

In the fast-moving landscape of online sales, responsiveness is everything. The faster you can communicate with a potential customer, the more likely you are to earn their business. You can improve your conversion rate by offering help at the exact moment they need answers with a website chat client.

Refine Your Call To Action (CTAs) 

Words matter. The words you choose for your CTAs can make a huge difference in how many people choose to click. A/B test your CTA button words, colors and placement on every landing page. 

To really drive your message home, take personalization to the next level with dynamic CTAs.   

Get Featured on Saas Review Sites

Potential customers depend on SaaS review sites to discover new software, compare features, and read unbiased reviews. Here are the most popular review sites online:

  • Capterra allows users to browse 700 categories of software to gain insight into the most popular B2B SaaS available. Matrix or side-by-side comparisons show top-rated software with features, pricing, value, customer support, and more. With more than 5 million business software buyers browsing the site each month, your potential exposure is huge. Choose a free account or a PPC plan for analytics, preferred placement, and other premium features.
  • GetApp allows users to narrow their search by features, size of company, geographic location, price, and more to find software that meets their selection criteria. GetApp, Capterra, and Software Advice are all owned by Gartner. Choose a plan and list your business here.
  • G2 Crowd offers more than a million reviews and ratings on the latest software. You can claim your listing for free to collect reviews, respond to comments, and identify leads. Or, you can choose a paid plan with additional digital marketing tools.
  • Product Hunt introduces new products to a tech audience and allows business owners to answer questions and comments from an interested audience. Before listing your product, be sure and build up some advance interest on social media. 
  • TrustRadius features 238,000 informative software reviews and ratings from verified users. A search for Hubspot, for example, found 1,571 reviews – most of them positive.
  • GoogleMyBusiness is not an SaaS review site, but Google is the first search engine people turn to. Take charge of your GoogleMyBusiness listing to update information and monitor reviews.

Encourage Referrals

Referral programs offer incentives for customers who get other people to sign up based on their personal recommendations. The most successful programs offer an incentive for the referral and for the new customer.

Constant Contact offers a generous $75 incentive for you and your friend, and you can refer an unlimited number of friends.

Optimize your PPC 

Pay-per-click advertising, or PPC, is one of the fastest ways to boost your conversion rate – if you hit your target audience. Poorly targeted PPC makes your CPC (cost per click) astronomical. 

To optimize your PCC, you’ll want to define your ideal customer, refine your ad copy, and find the marketing channel that makes the most sense. 

The type of customers you serve determines where your most effective PPC marketing campaigns will land. Traditional social media is great for grabbing the attention of freelancers who need an easy invoicing app, but SaaS business customers seeking enterprise fintech solutions aren’t necessarily going to be clicking Facebook ads. 

Professionals are more likely to check Linkedin, or you may be able to grab their attention using the Google Display Network and targeted keyword search triggers.

Gate the Good Stuff

Gated content is a great way to build and segment lists for your email campaigns. Put your most informative content behind an easy signup form. You’ll have their email and know their pain points, and if you’re keeping an eye on KPIs, you know whether your content was effective. 

Customers who spend time reading through or watching will be interested in more content that builds on the same area of interest, and you can provide it in all kinds of ways. We offer dynamic CTRs, for example, to identify what a visitor has already seen and determine what they are likely to be interested in next.

Here’s how that worked for ProfitWell.

Make Content Magic

Nothing can increase qualified leads better than excellent content. When people are searching for SaaS, they want information and authority. Your inbound marketing content can show your knowledge and show off your innovation. 

Mix it up with a variety of formats: blogging, white papers, webinars, case studies, graphics, and video. For inspiration, check out Scale or Die! 

Eric Siu, CEO at Single Grain, on the most effective content marketing strategies for crazy traffic:

Packing your website with quality content boosts your search engine ranking. It’s not easy to hit and maintain the top of the serps in a competitive market. Authoritative content and the linkbacks you generate organically as a result will boost your SEO value the right way. 

To boil it all down, effective SaaS marketing strategies lure people to your site with a combination of targeted outreach, enticing offers, and personalized landing pages. Informative content engages customers and potential customers alike.