You can’t market a SaaS product the same way as you market a physical product. That’s because the pricing structures for SaaS products are unique. Unlike consumer or retail goods, your profitability is dependent on customer retention instead of acquisition.
When you take into account the various costs—marketing, onboarding, customer support, and others—you realize selling a 500 6-month plan isn’t as profitable as selling 125 24-month plans. That’s because in the case of SaaS products, profitability is governed by how well your customers integrate your product into their routine—not by whether they buy it or not. The more your consumers use your product, the less their chances of ever leaving you and greater is your revenue.
So, how do you get your clients to use your products more often? The answer is by optimizing your SaaS marketing funnel from top to bottom.
To get a better understanding of what data to track at each stage, divide the marketing funnel into five key stages. This, in turn, will help you reach out to customers at different touch points on their way to a purchase.
In this post, you’ll learn the five main stages of SaaS marketing funnel and how you can optimize each stage to generate more profits.
Funnel Stage 1: Awareness
As the name suggests, this is the stage where you make people aware of your brand and convince them to visit your website.
Two of the most effective ways to spread brand awareness online are:
- Paid Media: Both digital display advertising and sponsoring marketing messages on popular social platforms can give you impressive and almost instant results. However, as the name implies, you’ll have to pump in money to run a paid media campaign. That said, if done correctly, you can generate huge ROI.
- Search Engine Optimization (SEO): SEO helps you target consumers who are actively looking for information related to your industry, products, and services. As such, doing SEO the right way can produce impressive results.
However, unlike paid media, SEO takes time to produce results. But, the upside is that through good SEO practices, you can create a continuous source of traffic. That is, your site’s flow of visitors wouldn’t suddenly stop when you stop paying for SEO or after a specific period.
Which begs the question, how can you leverage SEO to your fullest advantage?
There are many top SaaS marketing agencies that can help you drive more quality traffic to your website, which is why it’s strongly advisable to hire one.
Or you can use certain SaaS services to boost your reach and get clients for your products. Reaching a wider audience during the initial stages can be challenging but not impossible. Companies like Sumatosoft develop customized marketing solutions for startups, such as AdTech solutions that you can use for your business. These companies provide services that help you ramp up your business.
Funnel Stage 2: Consideration
More website traffic doesn’t mean more customers. To turn site visitors into loyal customers, you first need to get them to share their contact information with you.
Here are two top SaaS marketing strategies that can be immensely useful.
- Retargeting Ads: Retargeting in digital marketing parlance means following the users around after they move away from your website. This helps you keep your brand in front of users who visited your site but left it without making a purchase.
- Content Marketing: Providing relevant information to your viewers in the format they prefer, like informative blog posts, explainer videos, downloadable eBooks, can help you engage effectively with your viewers.
Funnel Stage 3: Decision
At this stage, you convert a visitor into a paid customer. Here are some tips to optimize this funnel stage:
- Free Trial: A free trial is a win-win situation for both you and your consumer. You can showcase to them the value of your product while they get to try it before opening their wallets.
- Cross Browser Testing: The last thing you want when a customer is purchasing your product is a poorly designed Contact Us form on your website. For this reason, you must do cross browser testing. That is, check if your website is functioning as per expectations on different devices, operating systems, and browsers.
Funnel Stage 4: Retention
Getting new customers is just half the battle. The other half is to keep your customers in the fold.
Offering different benefits, such as early renewal discount and early access to new features, and providing excellent customer service are two of the most effective ways to retain your customers.
Funnel Stage 5: Advocacy
What’s even better than a happy customer? A brand evangelist. Enthrall your customers so much that they actively start referring your brand to others.
Because referrals usually have a shorter sale cycle and are cheaper to acquire than other customers, make sure you have a good referral program in place. Consider offering rebates or price breaks to both the referee and the referral.
Final Words
SaaS products require a different marketing strategy than consumer goods. That’s because their success is measured by how often consumers use the product, not by how many people buy it. Use the tips shared in the post to optimize your SaaS marketing funnel and boost profits.