How Marketing SaaS Companies Is Different

How do you market something that has no physical presence? That’s the challenge that SaaS marketers face daily. With such a new, lucrative industry there’s still plenty to learn about marketing SaaS companies. What we have learned thus far is that there are four unique differences in marketing SaaS companies:

• The Free Trial

• Short Sales Cycle

• Lifelong Customers

• Selling a Service, Not a Product

While there are many similarities between SaaS marketing, B2B marketing, and marketing in general, these four qualities are our current formula to successfully marketing SaaS companies. 

The Free Trial

Plenty of industries offer free samples. Walk into any grocery store and you’ll probably find a table of toothpick-stuck sausage samples. SaaS is unique because rather than giving a taste, they give you the whole thing. For a limited time, of course. 

Free trial, trial-to-paid, trial with or without credit card info, and freemium models are all variations of the same strategy. “Free,” is the fuel of SaaS marketing. In SaaS, it’s highly encouraged to give the product away for free. As long as you have a strategy going forward. 

Short Sales Cycle

Unlike other B2B marketing tactics, SaaS doesn’t involve schmoozing, golf outings, or expensive lunches with prospective clients. Instead, the sales process is usually much faster, and much simpler. 

“When [SaaS customers] need a solution, they do some online research, maybe ask a colleague, try the solution or watch a demo, and then buy.

“The whole process might take a few days, maybe a few hours. There are no long, drawn-out sales engagements…

“Customers find it, they see it, they buy it. Done.” – Peter Cohen, managing partner of SaaS Marketing Strategy Advisors

Lifelong Customers

According to Gartner, 80% of all future revenue for SaaS companies will come from 20% of your current customers. If you increase your customer retention by just 5%, you can increase your business profitability by 75%, according to researchers at Bain & Co. 

Customer retention is imperative to the long-term success of the SaaS industry. Moreso than others. Most of your revenue will come from existing customers. A significant portion of SaaS clientele “churn,” or quit. This could be for a number of reasons – they don’t like the service, they’ve found another, they’ve changed their mind – the point is that they will quit. 

That’s why it’s absolutely critical to find customers that will continuously use your service. And to keep them happy. 

Selling a Service, Not a Product

The clue is in the name, software as a service. While, yes, you are selling a product (transcription software, unlimited graphic design, and so on), it’s the service that you’re really selling. No question that the software you’re selling must be reliable, powerful, and lit af. But it’s the service that will keep your customers happy. 

“When creating your SaaS marketing plan, you must understand that your business model of choice is a fully-integrated architecture where all aspects of the business – product, support, revenue model, and marketing – are tightly coupled.” – Lincoln Murphy

When it comes to marketing SaaS companies, the emphasis needs to be placed on the service you offer. How quickly does customer support respond? Are they polite? Are they helpful? Do they communicate effectively? If something goes wrong, does your customer feel as though they’ve been listened to? All of these things matter. 

Marketing SaaS Companies – Getting To Work

Ultimately, your goal is to get the SaaS to sell itself. Great products with a strong support team to back them up are the key to successfully marketing your SaaS company. It truly does begin to sell itself once you’ve established a strategy and worked out all of the kinks. 

How you choose to market your service is ultimately up to you. The best way, however, is probably web-based. Not only is it incredibly popular and lucrative, but it also fits perfectly within the concept of SaaS companies. They are inherently cloud-based. Why not market within that same space? 

Marketing for SaaS companies is still in its early stages. Focusing on these concepts and methods is, for now, the correct way to go about it.