Sales & marketing Tips for SaaS & Software Companies

The Perfect marketing for your SaaS starts with fusing logic to creativity

I love SaaS because it marries science to artistry - just like inbound marketing, and just like Hubspot.

Yes, Hubspot is also a SaaS, so, it almost goes without saying, HOWEVER, no two SaaS' are the same, and this particular app will save you from making a lot of misguided investments for yours.

Looking for digital solutions that cater to your needs for organic web traffic that you can turn into customers in perpetuity?

I have seen it time and time again... SaaS businesses looking to grow, spending all of their expansion resources on outbound marketing strategies in favor of immediate results. - Immediate results that are expensive (see why HERE) and inseparably dependent on your level of monetary investment AND your abilities to speak the language of your buying markets.

It is a vicious cycle, because it does yield some immediately gratifying results found in your traffic reports and possibly even sales if your copy is up to scratch and you have an app that needs very little explanation, but it's not creating natural momentum no matter how you spin it, and it's likely missing major opportunities to convert more clients through marketing automation (see how we do it at Orange Pegs).

That's a big deal when you're looking for the best bang for your buck and have long-term, big-picture objectives in mind. So, I've compiled an extensive list of marketing tips that will help you increase your SaaS' sales for years to come with marketing you own.

How relevant is YOUR sales process to the solutions your SaaS provides?

If the purpose of your b2b SaaS could be summed up in generic terms, it should be that it's here to make life better, more productive, and increase profitability.

Right? Your app solves efficiency challenges that people are experiencing, because if it didn't, I don't think you'd end up with very many interested customers, but this is nothing new.

So, what does this have to do with your sales and marketing processes? Besides everything, you mean?

Blogs are apart of the equation for so many reasons

Your SaaS solves problems. Your SaaS is innovative. It helps people save money, time, mistakes, or all of the above.

The question is - do they get that? Your potential customers... do they really understand what your app does before they sign up for that trial, or are they just haphazardly kicking the tires? 

(Set YOUR smart marketing objectives @ www.orangepegs.com)

Maybe you'd like to increase your number of leads coming from your website or boost engagement, and maybe what you really need is to start blogging.

Your SaaS is a carefully tuned machine designed to help, and the digital marketing services you choose to promote it should exemplify that notion.

I love talking about SaaS, because it is such a great industry for inbound marketing, but so widely misguided when it comes to finding new business. You're still using purchased lists, spamming your contacts, and generally disrupting your prospects' days when making your introductions.

The worst part is that when you DO have their attention, you often let them slip away before giving them the chance to engage with your platform.

But there are tools and marketing tactics that you can start deploying today that will change all of that - tools and tactics that are totally cohesive and complimentary to your mission - that will validate your value proposition, and engage prospects through the sales and onboarding process.

Digital marketing services of all kinds are knockin' on your door.

You know you need them, but what do you do when there are so many options, ideas, methodologies, and conflicting opinions?

If you're shopping for help from a digital marketing agency, you likely have many questions. The answers, while broadly applicable to your SaaS or just about any B2B business and many B2C businesses, can be a bit confusing, because there are so many different choices and varying definitions of the same choices. For example, I've seen the term "inbound marketing" used and abused more ways than you can imagine, but there are very specific requirements that something inbound or not.

We're also going to need to look at where your business is in its life cycle. 

We're Brothers & Sisters from Different Mothers & Misters:

As the owner and business development voice of a growing digital marketing agency, I am often asked the question of which are the most important parts of the inbound equation. This is typically posed by folks in start-up mode or businesses looking to trim their marketing costs while increasing its overall impact.

The latter seems a little strange, but it's actually not too far from what's possible. I find that a lot of businesses are still spending their marketing budget with the mindset of an outbounder, because that's what we've grown accustomed to over the last couple of decades.

But a lot has changed in 20 years, hasn't it? Electric cars are sexy. Tivo has come and gone... And broadcast advertising on the internet is flat out flatlining.

Okay, so back to task at hand - how do we carve out the important parts and JUST focus on those?

Here it is - your list of the 5 most important b2b inbound marketing services your company can't live without.

~ MORE LIKE THIS: How to Use Blogs Within Your SaaS' Marketing Strategy ~

I know this is going to twist you up a bit - thinking about SEO this way...

... but there is no other way around it. SEO belongs with marketing. It deals with algorigthms and rankings and all sorts of logic-driven coding, but none of that changes the fact that it doesn't work well in the hands of a programmer.

It's about content. It's about telling stories. It's about connecting with your audience and understanding the core of their emotional troubles tied to the problems that you solve... the problems that your platform solves.

I've worked with many SaaS companies in the past, and SEO is a common topic in our preliminary discussions. There are a lot of changes occurring with this particular subject, and what worked best 5 years ago is actually now getting people into a lot of trouble.

Times are changing. The internet is maturing. And the language and methods people use to find answers are changing right along with it. There are clear cut rules that must be followed in order to gain favor with the search engines, and they go far beyond technical requirements. This is why a professional SEO service is likely your best bet at getting it right.

Here are 6 things your SEO marketing experts will do for you to help you get more clients for your SaaS. 

Your Software exists to make our lives easier and better:

The software you developed came from the notion that there is something lacking in our professional lives. It solves common problems, creates extra space and time, and it's fun and easy to use.

Now, how do you transplant all of that knowledge into the brains of your target audience? How, indeed.

Have you tried pop-up ads or robo-dialers for your sales teams? What about straight up cold calling? Maybe a little bit of everything? I don't have to tell YOU this, but it's expensive, isn't it?... And exhausting, and it just feels stressful... something that you're trying to minimize for your subscribers.

But what about blogging? No, I don't mean posting a couple of ads or case studies. I don't even mean unleashing your stream of consciousness on the rest of us... I mean, what about implementing a blog campaign that finds your audience through white-hat SEO techniques, engages them with value-driven content (not ads), and leads them down the path of becoming a lead... and eventually a customer? 

All that and then some... Your SaaS marketing strategy is lacking big-time if you're not blogging, so here's how to get it going in 8 steps: