So, you’re in the SaaS industry and looking for advice on improving your marketing efforts and generating higher ROI? Digital marketing for SaaS can help you identify the marketing blind spots that your business might be missing out on and make the most efficient use of the marketing spend.
In this guide, we have compiled 27 digital marketing strategies for SaaS that help you scale lead generation, customer acquisition, engagement, and retention. It includes SEO, content, email, and other marketing tactics you can implement today and start seeing an increase in product signups, eBook downloads, and sales.
1. What Is a SaaS Marketing Strategy?
In today’s competitive SaaS industry, it is more challenging to encourage someone to purchase an intangible product. A SaaS marketing strategy is a tactic that motivates the client to buy your SaaS products and maintain a long-term relationship with them. You must have a proven technique to convince your target audience and boost conversion rates. A powerful SaaS marketing strategy focuses on selling products through digital channels such as organic search optimization, content marketing, paid advertising, and more. Today, the biggest SaaS companies like HubSpot, Adobe, Salesforce, and Dropbox have put tremendous effort into creating marketing strategies and tried various experiments that proved their relevance.
2. What Are the Benefits of Digital Marketing for SaaS?
- Organic Growth
With digital marketing for SaaS, you use natural, authentic, and value-based tactics that generate awareness and drive traffic. It enables you to market your products/services to ensure scalable growth constantly.
- Boost Sales
It helps you create your brand image, optimize your budget, minimize investments, and generate higher ROI. It involves data-driven decision-making based on current trends, data analytics, target audience, and preferences.
- Omnichannel Engagement
Selecting the right channel to market your products and services to potential customers is imperative. Digital marketing for SaaS helps you create a seamless experience across channels that bind your customers and keep them engaged in the tightly engaged sales funnel.
- Client retention
Digital marketing for SaaS helps you acquire new clients and retain them long-term. Using the technology’s finest SaaS marketing tools, you can engage your customers and build long-term relationships. You can ask your customers to share feedback to influence new customers.
3. How Is SaaS Marketing Different From Other Marketing?
Digital marketing for SaaS is tricky. Unlike marketing a physical product, you’re selling something that is intangible and changes with every update. On top of that, you ask your customers to pay monthly instead of a one-time payment. The SaaS subscription models are pretty sophisticated because the buyers make purchases differently.
So, how do you convince your customers about something they can’t touch or see?
Contrary to other industries, SaaS buyers are very particular about their needs, and the solution you provide should convince them and meet their needs. According to Forrester, 74% of B2B buyers do online research before contacting the sales representative. SaaS’s traits differ from other domains, and so are the marketing strategies. It needs more input, effort, and brainstorming than any other service pro product.
When marketing other products or services, you don’t expect the same person to repurchase the same product. However, in SaaS, you will sell the same product or service to the same buyer, constantly evolving. As a result, people will not want to commit to a subscription and look for a product they can buy with a one-time payment.
Besides, SaaS buyers face unique challenges such as – implementation complexity, privacy concern, and pricing model compared to non-SaaS buyers. To address these concerns, your SaaS digital marketing strategy should ensure that the buyers have the right content to educate them about their problems and decide if your product is the best fit.
Taking into account all these considerations, SaaS companies use a specialized funnel called pirate funnel or AAARRR funnel (Awareness, Acquisition, Activation, Retention, Referral, and Revenue) that focuses on the entire lifecycle of the lead.
4. A Step-By-Step Guide on Digital Marketing for SaaS to Boost Sales
4.1 Define a Perfect SaaS Marketing Strategy
- Know the Target Audience
The first step in developing a B2B SaaS marketing strategy is understanding the target audience to ensure your product fulfills their requirements. You need to know your primary audience to increase trials and paid conversions. Your chances of conversion are very low if you target everyone – without understanding their preferences. Here are a few considerations that will help you find your target audience –
- Who is your target audience, and where are they located?
- How do they describe your services?
- How do they compare different SaaS products?
- What problem are they looking to solve?
You can find the target audience through primary and secondary market research that includes – online groups, interviews, surveys, polls, and questionnaires.
- Build a Marketing Funnel
To successfully market your product and drive conversions, it’s not enough to have a website. You need a website found by major search engines like – Google, Yahoo, and Bing, not by your products/services – but by the problems they solve.
Every potential prospect goes through online resources for further research about your company, products, and services. You need compelling content that engages and nurtures the prospects at different stages of their journey. It should tell your brand story and how it brought success to other users.
Some popular forms of content for products are – how-to-guides, blog posts, explainer videos, and lead magnets. You can also fill the sales funnel through online advertising to drive sales and boost conversions.
- Engage Customers
With the rise of the digital realm and social media channels, SaaS brands need to move beyond just conveying messages. They need to build a unique experience for their customers by using personalized messages to push the prospects through the sales funnel.
Customer engagement not only helps improve sales but helps build relations. According to a source, the probability of selling to an existing customer is 70%, while for new leads, it is 5-20%. Therefore, making your customer feel connected with your brand will increase future revenue.
Sprout Social, Optimizely, AdEspresso, and Aimtell are some of the best SaaS marketing tools to boost customer engagement.
4.2 Inbound Marketing Strategies That Drive Organic Traffic
Inbound marketing for SaaS is a strategy that attracts searchers to your website/landing page/social media profile who are actively searching for your or similar products.
- SEO for SaaS
If you look at the growth of most of the SaaS companies like – Canva, Dropbox, Salesforce, and HubSpot, it is clear that their SEO strategy is one of the key drivers behind their success.
Typically, SEO for SaaS is the process of increasing the website’s organic traffic by earning top rankings on SERPs. It involves putting your website in front of customers searching for your software, wanting to purchase software like yours, or looking for some information on similar products.
When developing an SEO strategy for SaaS, your competitors can be a great source to understand how your company stacks against them. It involves researching their keywords, links, and content to incorporate the successful data into your SEO strategy. Use SEMrush organic research tool to understand your competitor’s top pages. keywords, and backlinks.
While there are some differences between SaaS SEO and B2C SEO, the main ranking factors of Google remain the same, some of which are – content (on-page SEO) and backlinks (off-page SEO), and technical SEO. Although SEO strategies are powered by content, you should not ignore the importance of technical and off-page SEO. Use the Site Audit Tool to find opportunities to improve the performance of your website.
Your content will struggle to rank without relevant backlinks. Put a solid backlink strategy that earns you relevant backlinks to your website. SaaS companies can focus on digital PR, brand mentions, broken link building, guest posting, and resource link building.
Monitor the SEO KPIs that help track how well the implemented changes translate into growth. From organic traffic to conversions and revenue – you will get something to benchmark against your progress over time. For instance, the domain authority will help you understand how well your backlinks work.
To read more about SEO strategy for SaaS, read our full article here.
- Content Marketing for SaaS
To succeed with content marketing for Saas, you should focus on content-led strategies that bring more traffic to your website. SaaS giants like SEMrush and Pipedrive have adopted this strategy for growth.
You can start creating value-added content that targets a group of keywords, which can then be promoted to earn links. Build a keyword comparison strategy and create better content than your competitors. Make sure your content answers the search queries of the user more than every other result on SERP.
Focus on top-of-the-funnel keywords that make the highest volume of searches and clicks. Include those keywords in blog content to attract the right audience. Some examples of top-of-the-funnel keywords include the process, sales management process, sales follow-up, etc.
When the prospect knows the solution exists but hasn’t yet started exploring options – you should use middle-of-the-funnel keywords. For example, in the product or feature landing pages, you can use keywords like – sales CRM, sales software, sales management software, etc., to push the prospects towards the bottom of the funnel.
Once the prospect reaches the bottom of the funnel, you should provide solutions to their problems. For instance, use keywords like – salesforce pricing, salesforce reviews, salesforce integration, etc., to convince the prospect that your solution is best suited for their needs.
For effective content marketing for SaaS, you should improve your content with power pages, which are long-form, detailed, quality content designed comprehensively on a particular topic. When implemented, they not only boost organic traffic but help generate lots of backlinking as authoritative content on any specific topic. They are usually between 2,000 – 5,000 words and strive to be more in-depth and informative than similar posts on the topic.
To know more about our Content Marketing Services, click here.
4.3 Outbound Marketing Strategies To Maximize Leads
Outbound marketing for SaaS helps you reach the target segments that fit your customer profile. Even though they have low conversion rates, they are highly profitable.
- Google Advertising for SaaS
Google ads for SaaS help you attract customers at the top of the funnel and take them on a smooth journey towards sales. You will have to spend a reasonable amount of time pushing them through the sales funnel. Use analytics programs to understand where the customers are dropping off to improve the sales funnel.
To build awareness for your SaaS product, you can place keyword bids on the name of your competitors. It helps you reach the customers searching for reputed collusion offered by your competitor. Sometimes, competitors’ keywords are cheaper, as only a few people bid on them.
Regarding B2B SaaS marketing, an in-market audience helps you connect with people looking for services on partner sites of YouTube or Google Display Network. You can seamlessly connect with audiences in the buying stage and nurture them to drive conversions.
Reaching more than 90% of internet users worldwide, Google Display Network is considered the #1 ad network. Therefore, you need to use managed placements, which allows you to choose where your ads are displayed. Being a SaaS company, it is imperative to target a niche audience.
If you are starting your paid ad campaign, you should consider choosing manual biddings over automated bidding strategies. If you already have a good number of conversions, automated bidding won’t be able to give you the desired results. Instead, you will have to pay high CPC and CPA for irrelevant traffic.
Use retargeting strategy to show targeted or paid ads to users who visited your website and didn’t complete a conversion, such as – a subscription, filling out the form, or downloading an ebook. Retargeting methods on social platforms are a great way to continue a user journey.
To know more about Google Ads for SaaS, read our full article here.
- ABM Marketing for SaaS
Account-based Marketing (ABM) for SaaS is a focused growth strategy focused on designing personalized and targeted campaigns to engage high-value prospect accounts.
As a part of account-based marketing, you should create customer personas and then build a list of people to contact. Next, you can purchase data from services like LinkedIn Sales Navigator or Leadfeeder to identify the audience that matches your persona.
You must ensure you send the right message as they travel through different sales funnel stages. Your messages should form a path for potential customers or prospects from awareness to interest and conversion.
You can also remarket your product to prospects who have visited your website but haven’t made purchases. Use ad services of Google and Facebook pixels to track the sites they visit and show them your ads – wherever they go. It keeps your solution on top of their minds, and they will likely become your customers over a period.
To know more about ABM for SaaS, read our full article here.
- Email Marketing for SaaS
Email marketing for SaaS is promoting your products through an email platform. With an open rate of 21%, SaaS email campaigns help you reach your target audience via cold emails.
As part of your email marketing strategy for SaaS, you should create lead nurturing campaigns at different customer journey stages. It should start by creating awareness, then through comparison, consideration, and finally, the conversion stage.
Welcome email, account activation email, upgrade email, product chances email, milestone email, trial reminder email, and user reactivation email are the different types of emails used by SaaS companies.
Besides, drip emails or campaigns help you establish credibility in the market. Drip campaigns are emails sent at set times to increase user engagement and convert leads to customers at a low cost. Typically, they are activated after a particular action and are entirely automated. For instance, Netflix uses a drip format to encourage people to re-join.
You can use power words in subject lines to evoke an emotional response from the readers. They can also be used in the email content to grab attention instantly and boost open or click-through rates. You can use them to create anticipation or arouse curiosity to drive results.
To know more about Email Marketing for SaaS, read our full article here.
4.4 Social Media Marketing To Promote Your Brand
When it comes to enterprise SaaS marketing, we often hear people saying, “social media is for B2C”. The truth is, with thousands of businesses shifting their marketing efforts online, social media has become an important means to advertise and promote B2B brands.
- Facebook Advertising for SaaS
Facebook advertising is an intelligent way to reach a wider audience and grow your B2B brand. It can be tricky for SaaS marketers to improve their customer acquisition on Facebook, as the target audience is based on age, demographics, location, and interest.
For effective Facebook advertising, you should create ads for different marketing funnel stages. For instance, you can promote blogs or case studies in the awareness stage. Then, you can promote product demos or gated content in the prospect stage. Finally, you can use Facebook ad tactics to nurture the leads and drive conversions.
One of the essential things with Facebook advertising for SaaS is that everything happens online, be it the leads, conversion, or sales. Set up Facebook pixels on your website to build a future audience for retargeting, track the results from Facebook ads, and optimize the ads.
It may be a good idea to offer one-to-one sales demos, demo videos, or live discussions through Facebook advertising. You can even use lead generation forms that enable users to signup for free demos without leaving the platform.
To know more about Facebook Advertising for SaaS, read our full article here.
- Instagram Marketing for SaaS
Instagram is one of the best social media platforms for SaaS for storytelling and engagement. Creating compelling content and a well-planned feed on your Instagram profile can make your brand feel more professional and deliver a consistent message to your customers.
SaaS companies should use Instagram for visual feeds and IG stories. They are great for building narratives over multiple posts and increasing brand awareness. You can even create an album that appears below the bio of your Insta page.
Show off your brand’s industry knowledge by creating content highlighting your expertise. As a part of Instagram marketing for SaaS, you can leverage the power of videos that delve into complex issues affecting your customer base. As a result, you can build your company as a reliable partner with solutions to industry-specific problems.
To know more about Instagram Marketing for SaaS, read our full article here.
- LinkedIn Advertising for SaaS
Linkedin ads for SaaS can be more effective and help you generate qualified leads. The ads on LinkedIn are usually built around assets such as – blogs, eBooks, webinars, Live discussions, and demo requests. 94% of marketers consider LinkedIn a content distribution platform, while 77% use Facebook.
With different types of ad formats, such as – message ads, text ads, and sponsored content – you can start a campaign that supports your marketing efforts. You can use LinkedIn lead generation forms to gather data and contact details of prospects who wish to download ebooks or signup for webinars or newsletters. You can seamlessly convert your audience in your LinkedIn feed using pre-filled forms with relevant information.
Companies can use individual landing pages as an essential B2B SaaS marketing strategy. It is vital to move your target audience to your website to generate sales. Create different landing pages and do A/B testing to know whether it works for your new audience or followers.
It is crucial to ensure your LinkedIn ads are optimized for small devices like tablets and smartphones, as the majority of traffic on LinkedIn comes from mobile phones. You can add subtitles to videos, improve the load speed and add catchy titles to make linked advertising for saaS work for you.
To read more about Linkedin Advertising for SaaS, read our full article here.
4.5 Analytics to Measure Marketing Results
Enterprise SaaS marketing analytics is the practice of measuring marketing efforts by extracting action-driven insights from data. The scope of analytics includes measuring traffic and transitioning this traffic into leads, qualified leads, conversions, and sales.
- Track the Performance
SaaS companies use different metrics to measure the success of their marketing efforts. The focus will be on lead acquisition, user engagement, customer retention, and lead nurturing.
Google Analytics is a powerful tool that provides insights into valuable data points on your website. Some of the KPIs that help you measure the performance of your SaaS digital marketing strategy include – new leads via organic/PPC campaigns, conversion rate by channel, active users, cost per lead, customer acquisition cost, return on marketing investment, and customer lifetime value.
- Optimize the Campaigns
Once you establish a standard for measuring the performance of the marketing efforts, you should start optimizing the campaigns. It is vital to increase the click-through-rate (CTR) before other improvements.
To feed the sales team with new leads, it is imperative to do the marketing job constantly. It can be achieved by optimizing your website, managing the PPC bidding strategy, optimizing the ad campaigns for relevant keywords, promoting downloadable assets/webinars, etc.
5. FAQS
- How Do You Market Your SaaS Product?
Digital marketing is one of the effective ways to market your SaaS product. You can leverage SEO, PPC campaigns, referral programs, content marketing, online reviews, and more to attract the target audience.
- Why Is SaaS Marketing Different?
SaaS marketing relies heavily on marketing, sales, and support. The scope of SaaS products is complex, as the industry continually innovates new products according to customers’ changing needs. The essential way to market your SaaS product is first to build awareness and position the product in the market.
- What Are SaaS Marketing Channels?
SaaS marketing channels can be categorized into earned media, paid media, and owned media. In addition, there are dozens of marketing channels that are a good fit for your SaaS company, some of which include – brand marketing, content marketing, conversational marketing, account-based marketing, direct mail marketing, email marketing, growth marketing, inbound marketing, influencer marketing, partnership marketing, and so on.
About Growth Ganik
Growth Ganik is a rapidly evolving digital marketing agency in Sydney, Australia, specializing in SEO, content marketing, marketing strategy, and lead generation. We work with clients from leading brands and industries such as B2B SaaS, nonprofits, and more to develop profitable digital marketing solutions that are data-driven to support all kinds of business goals from widening user bases, gaining more traction for online engagement, increasing conversion, and helping businesses scale up. For creative & tailor-made digital solutions and sustainable growth insights, get in touch with us!
