The SaaS industry is always extremely competitive, not just from local competition but also from global companies. High customer acquisition costs and rapidly changing technology make it difficult to gain market share. SaaS marketing is not an option for most companies but an absolute necessity.
Striking a balance between acquiring clients and retaining them is a constant battle. Continuously generating qualified leads is crucial to lowering acquisition costs. Effective customer engagement is also a constant struggle, as SaaS companies are always battling subscription churn.
Trying desperately to add to a leaky bucket in the hope that you will fill it is a futile exercise. With the right digital marketing tools, you can start to plug those holes while also filling them more cost-efficiently.
It all lies in a balanced approach that utilizes the multiple channels available through digital marketing. If these channels are used effectively, you will see increased brand awareness, more targeted leads and sales, and a lowering of subscription churn.
The most challenging part is constantly acquiring new customers. Once you have them, there are several ways to retain them. Through search engine optimization (SEO) and pay-per-click advertising (PPC), you can add interested prospects to your sales funnel and help fill that bucket.
SEO is the best thing you can do for your business in the medium and long term. It rarely has a big impact in the short term as its worth builds up over time and consistent quality optimization of a site. If done correctly, you will see regular increases in traffic to your site from Google and other search engines. This will continue to increase at a steady pace even though you would be investing in it at the same rate.
PPC, which runs through search engines and social media networks, allows you to gain short-term results. However, the overall costs are higher, especially in competitive markets like SaaS. If managed efficiently, it can be done profitably and allow you to scale your business.
However, using both in combination is the best option. The data gathered through these two channels enables you to make informed decisions about optimizing both. For example, you would use data from PPC to optimize SEO, and vice versa.
The best way to retain clients is to make sure they understand how to use what you offer effectively. If your SaaS product becomes a tool they can’t go without, the churn of subscribers will also go down. Training each subscriber, though, on how to use all of the features will not be profitable on a 1-to-1 basis. However, through the above-mentioned channels, it can be done en masse.
Through all three of these channels, you would be able to train customers through text, images, infographics and videos on how to use different features. This constant reminder of why they signed up and become more proficient will have them sticking around, and your LTV numbers will continue to increase.
As a SaaS business grows, its need for digital marketing will increase. It will enable them to get in front of the right audiences and acquire new customers. It will also help to retain more customers and turn more of them into your ambassadors.
The best part is that it is all trackable. If you are doing digital marketing for your SaaS business, you want to know what works and what doesn’t. Digital marketing gives you that. This valuable data will enable you to grow your business based on facts rather than gut feelings.
It just makes sense.
