Why is SaaS Marketing Different? How to do it well?

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SaaS products differ from most. Also, its marketing is difficult. With the exponential growth of the SaaS industry, comes immense competition. So what puts you apart from your competitors? Your marketing. Almost every sale you make will come directly from your marketing. So that brings about the next question. How do you set your Saas marketing strategy apart from others? Let’s first start with why SaaS marketing is different to understand how you can perform well.

Here are a few factors that set SaaS marketing apart from others:

No tangible product

Technology has dramatically progressed in the past few decades. It has changed how we process data, see the world and how we interact with the same. Technology has also developed how we use medicine, provide education, and how a business runs. However, humans are hyper-aware of change and may sometimes resist it. And this resistance has carried on to digital products.

There is a reason for this. And thanks to a series of experiments by Carey Morewedge and Ozgun Atasoy, we know why. People do not have a sense of ownership of digital products since they can not feel it. That is why people would rather spend more on buying physical products. However, this does not hold for rental products. People would spend the same amount of money on physical or digital products if they are renting them. Which is good news for Netflix, digital textbook rentals, and your SaaS business.

Complex and niche applications

SaaS businesses create solutions that are tailored to specific industries and businesses. This means that SaaS solutions are technical and complex. SaaS solutions differ in features and execution. And jargon and industry buzz-words surround the software since it is designed for a specific niche.

Short sales cycles

SaaS products are notorious for having short sales cycles, except for a few enterprise solutions. Such cycles are in place due to new features being added frequently. Short sales cycles mean that you have a short time to convert a customer. A short time to provide customers with a lot of information to help them decide. In the SaaS business, customers expect everything to happen quickly. Therefore, customers expect information to be provided promptly, purchases to be made, and access to be given.

The constant need to be updated

SaaS solutions have a technical aspect that can make them difficult to understand. A short sales cycle makes it even more difficult to market the product. All of this leads to this: you need to educate yourself constantly on new features and updates in SaaS products and then your clients. Many channels create educational content on SaaS solutions in any industry or vertical. But it’s still tiresome to educate yourselves regularly.

Here are a few steps to perform well in SaaS marketing:

Brand storytelling

All the big brands like Nike, Apple, and Airbnb have brand storytelling as a big part of their marketing strategy. SaaS businesses should use storytelling in their marketing strategy. Including brand storytelling in your SaaS marketing strategy is one of the best ways to attract your target demographic. It also converts customers and builds relationships. Additionally, it sets you apart from other SaaS businesses.

Here are a few numbers to support storytelling in SaaS Marketing:

Storytelling boosts sales by 30% (source)
People can remember facts up to 22x better if they are a part of a story (source)
89% of shoppers will stay loyal to a brand if it shares their values (source)
Around 61% of consumers prefer companies that create unique content (source)
You can increase revenue by 33% with a consistent brand presentation. (source)

Create educational content

Most SaaS businesses create content to educate and inform. This is because SaaS products are technical and complex. Creating educational content allows SaaS businesses to provide high-value content to their consumers. And it also allows SaaS businesses to help customers understand their products and new features. Providing educational content such as guides, tutorials, etc. means that your customer understands the product before they purchase it. This helps you attract your target audiences and also helps build up trust and a community. Additionally, you can use such content to engage customers and audiences. With the correct CTA (call to action) you can have your target audience to comment, save and share your content.

Customer acquisition and retention in SaaS marketing

Customer acquisition is imperative to expanding a business. And that is why bringing new customers is important. It takes about 8 touch points on average to convert. Therefore, try to be in your customer’s sight as much as possible. This includes social media interactions, email marketing, and retargeting.

Customer retention is crucial for the sustainability of a business. It is much easier to keep a customer than to acquire one. This is because loyal customers bring more to the table than new customers. Additionally, it’s about 25x cheaper to keep an existing customer than to get a new one. Because your existing customers are more likely to buy new products, leave reviews and advocate for you.

Freebies/freemium and price evaluation

The best way to convert a user is to give them a taste of the actual product with free trials or freemium. It is hard to give out free trials/freemium for tangible products. However, free trials are one advantage SaaS businesses enjoy having over traditional businesses. Free trials or freemium with limitations lets the customer use and understand the product. Plus, it serves as a try-out period. Users can determine the value the SaaS solution can bring to them before they decide to purchase. This is an excellent way to acquire customers, since you are promising them additional value before investing.