According to the latest data, the US has the biggest concentration of SaaS (software as a service) companies, with 9,100 brands and a collective customer base of approximately 15 million.

These are staggering figures in terms of both, business opportunities and the level of competition each has to overcome to carve a market share.

So, what does this mean for you as a SaaS business? You need a way to improve your visibility, differentiate yourself, and get customers to sign up–fast.

In other words, you need a SaaS marketing strategy.

Not sure where to start? Book a discovery call with me, Nora Sudduth, and I’ll help you design a marketing strategy that generates leads, converts leads into customers, and boosts your bottom line. 

TL;DR – SaaS Marketing Strategies

For SaaS companies, the competition is fast-paced, dynamic, and sometimes even unforgiving, especially for startups that don’t know how to effectively position themselves in the market.

That’s why you need a SaaS marketing plan that gets your audience’s attention and inspires meaningful engagement with your business.

Explore these proven strategies for acquiring and retaining customers:

1. SEO and content marketing
2. Multi-channel approach
3. Affiliate marketing
4. Referral programs
5. Free trials
6. UX enhancement
7. Reviews and testimonials

Read the full article below, where I discuss each of these tactics in detail.

What is SaaS Marketing, and How is it Different from Traditional Marketing?

SaaS marketing is a type of promotional technique meant specifically for companies that sell software as a service. 

Examples of SaaS companies are Canva, Spotify, and Loom, which sell cloud-based services.

See how this marketing strategy varies from traditional marketing:

What is a SaaS Marketing Plan?

A SaaS marketing plan is a detailed strategy that serves as a roadmap for how a SaaS company will target the right audience, convert leads into paying customers, and nurture customer relationships.

Key elements of this plan include the following:

• Market assessment: Determines demand, competition, and opportunities.
• Target audience: Details your market’s challenges, needs, and behavior.
• Unique value proposition: Defines your product’s competitive edge and unique selling points.
• SaaS messaging framework: Central to your marketing plan, it highlights the value of your product and how it can improve the lives of your target audience.

What is a SaaS Marketing Funnel?

Before converting into paying customers, your target audience goes through various stages. Take those stages together, and you have a picture of your customer journey – also called a SaaS marketing funnel.

Here are the typical stages of a SaaS marketing funnel:

• Awareness: Your audience becomes aware of a problem that you can solve.
• Consideration: Your audience has shown interest, and it’s time to persuade them to choose your products.
• Conversion: Using compelling product messaging to convert leads into paying customers.
• Retention: Keeping subscribers engaged with post-sales support and sequential messaging.
• Advocacy: Incentivizing happy customers that spread the word about your brand.

7 SaaS Marketing Strategies

An effective SaaS marketing strategy focuses on acquiring new customers, ensuring they’re in for the long haul, and retaining existing customers. 

This means two things:

• Making sure your market is aware of your brand and what you provide.
• Creating a positive and engaging customer experience.

How do you achieve that? Below are seven marketing strategies that will propel your SaaS company to success:

1. SEO and Content Marketing

Search engine optimization (SEO) techniques enhance your brand’s visibility by improving your rankings in search results. Best practices include targeting high-intent keywords, website optimization, and building quality backlinks.

Related to a good SEO strategy, content marketing also helps drive organic traffic to your website, educate your audience on the solutions you provide, and position your brand as the answer to their pain points.

2. Multi-Channel Approach

Capture a wider audience with a multi-channel customer acquisition strategy. This entails creating brand awareness on as many platforms as are relevant to your brand.

You can target different market segments on various platforms like social media, email, and paid ads.

However, staying consistent in your messaging can be a challenge when adapting to various platforms. The solution lies in establishing a clear brand identity and implementing a messaging matrix.

3. Affiliate Marketing and Partnerships

You can tap into a wider audience by collaborating with other companies, influencers, and content creators whose associations and audience following are similar to yours. 

This way, you effectively increase your chances of getting noticed and capturing a share of the market. If you’re running a startup, partnerships are also an incredible way to take your first step towards sucess.

Make it a profitable situation for both sides by giving commissions to affiliates every time you make a sale from their promotions.

4. Referral Programs

Do you have happy customers? Help them become brand advocates by running referral programs. 

Happy customers make the most natural brand advocates because it’s human nature to tell others about positive experiences. 

Referral programs bank on that and incentivize positive word of mouth so that more people are encouraged to talk about your brand. 

5. Free Trials

Free trials and “freemium” models (offering a premium service for free for a limited time) are some of the most effective tactics for increasing conversions.

They lure potential customers in by allowing them to experience your product themselves without any immediate charges.

Once they know how productive or efficient they can be using your products, they are much more likely to continue with the service.

6. UX Enhancement

Maintaining a pleasant customer experience is crucial for keeping your customers happy. 

That means investing in these key areas:

• Addressing customer roadblocks: Gather data on user behavior and patterns to understand problems that prevent potential customers from signing up or reasons why users cancel their subscriptions. 
• Excellent customer support: 83% of customers feel more loyal to brands that resolve complaints and issues quickly.
• Efficient user onboarding: Make it easy for new subscribers to get the hang of your SaaS product.

7. Reviews and Testimonials

Feature user-generated content, like reviews, testimonials, and comments, that shows potential customers how useful others have found your product.

You can also publish case studies and success stories on your website and other relevant platforms like social media.

Here are some pointers on how to make this word-of-mouth strategy even more effective:

• Highlight figures: Numbers are objective and clearly paint a picture of your brand’s achievements.
• Showcase expert recommendations: Let your audience know what the experts say about your SaaS product. The more known or recognized they are in the industry, the more people trust what they say.

Have you implemented these strategies, and yet your funnels aren’t performing as you expected? You may need to tighten some loose ends. 

Get expert eyes on your marketing with ConversionRX — our comprehensive assessment program that pinpoints why your funnels aren’t working and offers tactics for improving conversions and sales.

SaaS Marketing Metrics to Prioritize

Now that you have a marketing strategy in place, the next step is to monitor your campaign’s performance.

It’s important to focus your attention on key performance areas that directly contribute to your goals. For example, if you want to improve brand awareness, you should examine metrics like direct traffic and your backlink profile.

But there are specific metrics that are crucial for the health and growth of every SaaS enterprise. These are:

• Customer churn: This is the number of users who cancel their subscriptions over a certain period. The average churn rate for a SaaS company is around 5%. Anything higher suggests you should revisit your onboarding process, customer service, or market fit.
• Monthly recurring revenue (MRR): This is the total revenue you can reasonably expect to come in each month. Measuring this metric allows you to gauge the financial health of your SaaS business.
• Customer acquisition cost (CAC): How much do you spend to acquire each new customer? That’s your CAC. Ideally, your CAC should be around or less than a quarter of your Customer Lifetime Value (LTV).
• Customer lifetime value (LTV): The amount of revenue that each customer brings in throughout their relationship with your brand is your LTV. For SaaS companies, a CAC to LTV ratio of 1:3 is considered healthy.
• Conversion rate: A thriving SaaS business typically has an organic free trial to paid customer conversion rate of 18.2%. High conversion rates are an indicator that your messaging strategy is working.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Have more questions about SaaS marketing strategy? Read the FAQs below:

What is a SaaS Platform Strategy?

A SaaS platform strategy is the master plan that details how a SaaS company will create, launch, and host applications on the same cloud-based platform. 

Central to this strategy is brand messaging that delivers your brand value and unique selling points to the right audience.

Some examples of SaaS platforms are Google Workspace, Salesforce, and Hubspot.

What is SaaS Product Marketing?

SaaS product marketing is a technique that involves the promotion of a software-as-a-service product. 

Unlike traditional marketing, SaaS marketing follows a longer sales cycle and relies heavily on nurturing customer relationships to ensure that existing subscribers continue with or upgrade their plan.

Because SaaS products are more complex and challenging to market, it’s best to consult a brand messaging consultant who understands how to “sell” your SaaS product.

What are the Success Metrics of a SaaS Marketing Campaign?

Some essential metrics in a successful SaaS marketing campaign are:

• Lower customer Churn Rate
• Higher Monthly Recurring Revenue 
• Lower Customer Acquisition Cost 
• Higher Customer Lifetime Value 
• Higher Conversion Rate

What are the Common Challenges Faced in SaaS Marketing?

When promoting your SaaS product, you will likely encounter the following challenges:

• Extremely stiff competition: It can be tough to sell in a highly crowded market. In the US alone, there are over 9,000 SaaS companies, which means that to successfully promote a SaaS product, you need to get creative in your messaging strategy.
• Complex concepts: Explaining how an application or software works may involve technical language that not many people understand. You need to demonstrate how your SaaS product works without overwhelming your audience with jargon.
• Multiple decision-makers to target: The sales cycle of most SaaS companies is lengthy and involves targeting various decision-makers with varying needs and preferences. Make sure to understand what each marketing funnel requires to shape messaging that resonates with every decision-maker in the sales cycle.

Conclusion

Get more people to notice you by implementing a multi-faceted marketing strategy that captures a wider audience and instantly boosts your conversions. Some examples are SEO and content marketing, running free trials, and leveraging customer success stories.

Unsure what works for your business?

I can help you design a marketing strategy that generates quality leads, converts those leads into paying customers, and boosts your sales. Find out how by scheduling a discovery call with me today.