Today, businesses cannot operate properly without SaaS.
It’s estimated that the compound annual growth rate of the SaaS market will equal 21.2% in the period between 2018-2023, showing just how significant SaaS organizations are.
The problem, however, is that the competition here is fierce, and it’s proven to be much more difficult to sell software as a service than your everyday products that can be seen and touched.
It requires organizations to be creative and smart when coming up with their marketing strategies, especially while working on their lead generation strategies. As always, this is easier said than done.
If you want to improve your lead generation, you’ll probably need all the help you can get. So, take a look at the following marketing strategies that will make this whole process a breeze.
Free Trials Are a Must
When buying a new car, most people like to take it for a test drive, just as everyone likes trying on a nice pair of shoes before buying them. People follow the same exact principle when buying software as a service as well.
If you don’t offer free trials, your prospects have no reason to do business with you. They aren’t familiar with your product, and they have no guarantee that their money won’t be wasted.
A free trial will pique their interest, as they have nothing to lose, and much to gain. Once they’ve tested out your service, your Product Qualified Leads (PQL) will know how beneficial it can be to them.
Offer Great Deals
If your PQLs still aren’t converting to loyal customers, you can lure them in with excellent deals on certain services.
Typically, this is done by offering discounts on longer-term plans.
The only way this strategy will work, however, is if you prominently display the potential savings, so make sure you highlight exactly how much they’ll save if they opt for a long-term plan.
And, don’t forget about the importance of word-of-mouth marketing. Over 92% of consumers trust the recommendations from friends and family, so encourage your loyal clients to refer you to others.
The best way to encourage them is to offer great deals in the form of discounts or special offers.
Don’t Hide the Cost
The fastest way to lose qualified leads is by hiding the price of your services.
You need to have a dedicated pricing page that is clear and easy to understand so that your website visitors can know whether they can afford your services before they contact you.
Most of the companies that don’t display their prices are those that offer customized plans, and this is completely understandable.
However, to improve your lead generation, you’ll want to at least offer your audience an estimated price range of your services.
Too Many Choices Cause Too Many Problems
Your audience can easily get confused and abandon your website if you’re offering too many vastly different plans. This phenomenon is known as the choice overload, and you can lose many qualified leads this way.
To prevent this from happening, you’re better off presenting your leads with just a few different variants of your services.
It’s important to note that when you do this, you should state clearly the different features and prices associated with different plans.
If you want to offer more choices, opt for a few standard plans, plus one that can be customized.
Nothing Can Replace Great Customer Experience
The best SaaS marketing strategy is providing your leads with excellent customer experience. Many things can improve the overall customer experience, but personalization is key.
Simple things such as sending personalized welcome emails to new clients or offering live chat that’s available 24/7 can work wonders.
Customer support plays a huge part in the overall experience.
You can use LMS software to create a guide of your products and services and ensure that your new clients encounter as few glitches as possible.
LMS software can also help you introduce new features that you develop so that all your customers can familiarize themselves with the changes. Go for a quiz maker and create interactive quizzes that your customers would love to take & share. Quizzes will also give you a chance to seek valuable customer insights.
Gain Exposure Through SaaS Review Sites
Around 93% of consumers say that online reviews have an impact on their purchasing decision.
This is especially important when it comes to SaaS, as it isn’t a tangible product and makes many people more sceptical.
Reading positive reviews will bring many qualified leads to your website, and you’ll gain more exposure and appear more trustworthy.
Reach out to SaaS review sites, and offer them details about your services. You can also ask your loyal customers to provide you with reviews based on their own experiences with your company.
Content Marketing Is Excellent for Lead Generation
Content marketing can be a great tool that will help you expand your reach and generate more leads. Regularly posting high-quality content that offers value to your target audience will quickly show results.
It’s important to analyze what your target audience wants to read about and to improve your SEO if you want your business to stand out.
You can also create both freely available and gated content.
Freely available content will draw the audience in, and you can generate leads by offering the gated content that’s even more valuable in exchange for their email address.
Use Social Media to Your Advantage
With over 3.4 billion active social media users, it’s obvious what a wide reach your SaaS company can have through some of the most popular platforms.
Finding out where your audience is on the internet, and creating a business social media account allows you to engage directly with your followers.
This way, you can form a stronger relationship with them, promote your brand, and generate more leads.
Simple things such as answering questions on Quora, quizzes, or engaging with your followers in the comment section can have a great impact on your business.
Just remember to stay active on your accounts, and post regularly. Otherwise, you’ll seem disinterested and unprofessional.
Quizzes as a Perfect Lead Generation Tactic
Quizzes are among the most shareable content on social media, and they can be used for a variety of different purposes.
To generate leads through them, you can offer quiz results in exchange for email addresses, or offer access to more content if people choose to sign up.
You can use LMS software to create quizzes that are just pure fun for your audiences or those that can teach people more about your brand and the services that you provide.
Conclusion
There isn’t a “one size fits all” when it comes to developing effective SaaS marketing strategies to improve lead generation.
It takes time, effort, and creativity to find the most effective tactics.
For your SaaS company to generate more leads, you’ll need to use a combination of the strategies mentioned, if not all of them.
So, remember to:
- Offer free trials
- Give discounts
- Clearly, show the price of your services
- Limit your plans to just a few different variations
- Ensure excellent customer experience
- Use SaaS review sites
- Rely on content marketing
- Use social media
- Rely on LMS software to create lead generation quizzes
Following these SaaS marketing strategies is of utmost importance, as it will help you expand your business and grow your client base.