The SaaS industry is highly dynamic and volatile. Traditional businesses can use conventional marketing tools for lead generation and selling their products. For SaaS companies, on the other hand, things are a bit different.
Customer acquisition and retention are essential for SaaS companies that run subscription models. Successful marketing strategies are essential for SaaS companies as competition is growing at a fast pace.
A recent study shows that the global cloud computing market is expected to reach $1 trillion by 2024. With that huge number, you can expect the competition to get tough.
Therefore, you need a SaaS marketing strategy that sets you apart from the competition and helps you acquire a larger market share through lead generation.
On that note, we have brought you seven proven SaaS marketing strategies from across the world that will help you with lead generation and customer retention.
Let’s get started:
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Integrate Automated Payments
In today’s digital world, SaaS companies cannot forgo the opportunities offered by subscription-based payment models. Over 62% of the US population has subscribed to at least one streaming service.
Consumers are willing to subscribe to gain monthly access to goods and services because of the ease of automated payments that require just a few clicks. However, to incorporate automated payments, SaaS companies need to introduce products or services that make customers keep coming back for more.
If SaaS businesses can successfully integrate automated payments, it will help convert leads and collect payments for monthly subscriptions. Other benefits include time-saving, improved cash flow, and a better experience for customers.
Another important consideration for SaaS businesses integrating automated payments is the involuntary churn rate. According to Hiroki Takeuchi, 30% of your total churn rate is due to involuntary or passive churn.
Involuntary churn happens when a subscription ends unintentionally. However, with automated payments, you can avoid that and increase lead generation.
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Turn your Customers into Fans
Another great SaaS marketing trend is turning your customers into fans by adopting a strategy that focuses on customer relationships and connecting with them on an emotional level.
Microsoft has achieved that by partnering with artists and popular brands to create an immersive experience for customers. This form of marketing is called “experiential marketing” that integrates culture with business.
Jeff Hansen, leader of Microsoft’s Brand Studio, says that,
“experiential marketing is hugely important, as it’s become harder to reach customers with traditional marketing.”
To convert your leads through experiential marketing, companies need to understand the importance of word-of-mouth and how to communicate with different customers on different levels.
With storytelling and experiential marketing, SaaS companies can turn customers into fans and also add authenticity to their brands. Partnerships and celebrity endorsement offer an excellent opportunity for storytelling and showcasing products in different lighting.
A great example of turning your customers into fans is Infiniti Retail Group’s Q60 YouTube video featuring Kit Harrington, aka Jon Snow from Game of Thrones.
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Develop Amazing Content
Content marketing is one of the best marketing strategies for lead marketing. With high-quality content on your online platforms, you can get more visitors to your website.
According to Semrush, 84% of the companies have a content marketing strategy. Content marketing is best for lead generation because it offers customers valuable information that traditional ads do not.
Some of the most common forms of content include:
- Blog posts
- Infographics
- Podcasts
- Guides and ebooks
- YouTube videos
Toyota is an excellent example of how companies can use YouTube videos to attract customers and provide them useful information in an interactive way.
They even launched their rap music video for its Sienna minivan called “Swagger Wagon” got so famous and had 1.7 million views when this article was written.
Content marketing allows SaaS companies in lead generation because informative content educates the customers and makes them buy your product. Also, content marketing attracts a large audience for free. When creating a content strategy for your business, pay attention to saas content marketing statistics.
Instead of running thousand dollars TV commercials, you can attract hundreds of customers online with one blog post. Another amazing thing about content marketing is that one piece of content lasts for the life of your business, giving you a lifetime return.
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Offer Product Trials
Another great marketing strategy for lead generation is to offer free trials to lure customers and give them an incentive to sign-up for your services. Almost 75% of SaaS companies offer free trials to their customers as part of their marketing strategy.
They use this strategy to get customers to use their products, ultimately helping them with customer acquisition. But, to do that, you first need to outline the benefits you can offer your customers. You need to offer them something they cannot refuse.
For example, Amazon Prime Video offers its users a 30-day free trial period for its new users. It is a great offer that customers just cannot refuse.
Limited free trials are amazing for lead generation as people can experience your product before purchasing, which helps them decide.
You may use website popups to speed up conversions. It has a 100% view rate and has a 2% higher click-through rate than any other ad. This ensures you have better chances of converting them into actual users.
Once you get them hooked on your services and products, they will be coming back for more.
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Focus on Referral Marketing
Another important SaaS marketing strategy for lead generation is to leverage referral marketing. This marketing strategy is used by big brands like Uber, PayPal, Airbnb, etc., to drive traffic to their websites and generate leads.
According to a survey, 80% of B2B marketers consider referrals as a key source for lead generation. For instance, Uber gives “Free Rides” to users that refer their services to their friends and families.
Referral marketing works wonders for lead generation because a study shows that 92% of the customers trust referrals from people they know. SaaS marketing companies can use the rewarding system for encouraging referrals. Rewards can be in the form of gift cards, free services, discount codes, and more.
Brands can also leverage influencer marketing for referrals and also encourage customers to write reviews online. Social media influencers have millions of followers. Therefore, brands can use their fan base and hire them for referrals.
Good read: 10+ Affiliate and Referral Programs Software For Your Business
Brands usually send their products to influencers and ask them to review them on various social media platforms. This is an excellent marketing strategy for small SaaS companies and start-ups.
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Create Co-marketing Campaigns
Another great SaaS marketing strategy for lead generation is running co-marketing campaigns. A co-marketing campaign refers to a collaboration between two brands for marketing.
This is also called partnership marketing. In this type of marketing, there is no need for both partners to be from the same industry.
One great example of a co-marketing campaign is HBO and Budweiser’s partnership in the 2019 Super Bowl. The ad got so famous that it even won the 2019 Super Clio award. The Wall Street Journal described this co-marketing campaign as “biggest and boldest marketing tie-ins in the AT&T Inc-owned cable network ever orchestrated.”
The ad below got so famous that it has over 7.6 million views at the time this article was written.
This marketing strategy is best for both small and large SaaS companies because it is not only cost-effective but also gives brand exposure to a large audience of your partner brand as well.
Therefore, it generates a lot of leads. So, choose your partner, set mutual goals, and get brainstorming to create amazing co-marketing content.
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Don’t Forget SEO
Digital marketing companies focus on SEO and for good reasons. As a SaaS marketer, you must be familiar with the importance of SEO and organic traffic for companies.
To give you an idea, Mike Sonders found out that organic search traffic is the biggest source of lead generation for top SaaS companies coming at around 77%.
There are a lot of different methods out there for lead generation, as discussed above, but SEO is still one of the biggest drivers of leads for SaaS companies. SaaS marketers can break down their SEO marketing strategy into two parts, i.e., On-page SEO and Off-page SEO.
On-page SEO is very vital for lead generation as it involves content creation, generating links, keyword targeting, UI, website performance, and more. The good thing is that all these things are in your control.
Off-page SEO, on the other hand, is more complicated than that, but it also offers a lot of opportunities. Some common off-page SEO techniques that you can include in your SaaS marketing are; social networking, broken link building, commenting, content marketing, guest posts, influencer marketing, and more.
Good read: 4 Best Marketing and SEO Tools to Crush Your Goals
Ready To Take Your Saas Marketing To The Next Level?
Now you must have many ideas to fine-tune your SaaS marketing strategy for maximum lead generation and business growth. These strategies discussed above can serve as a foundation of your digital marketing strategy for 2021, regardless of the industry you’re in and the audience you want to target.
Leverage these SaaS marketing strategies to enhance lead generation for your business.
There is no right or wrong when it comes to marketing, so go with your gut feeling, brainstorm for new ideas, and experiment. Don’t forget to let the analytics guide you and understand your customer’s needs and expectations.
Author Bio:
Shoaib provides ghostwriting and copywriting services. His educational background in the technical field and business studies helps him in tackling topics ranging from career and business productivity to web development and digital marketing. He occasionally writes articles for Dynamologic Solutions.
