Building a SaaS business from scratch is not an easy process. Even coming up with a kick-ass idea that offers unique value to your audience can be time-consuming. But once you’ve got the idea and you’ve set the foundations, you want to see your business grow. Well, not so fast!
The competition is the SaaS industry is becoming really fierce. According to Statista, the SaaS market surpassed the $100 billion figure in 2019 and in 2020, it’s expected to reach over $150 billion!
What does this mean for you? It means that if you want to see growth, you need to work for it!
Here are 6 tips that will help you grow your SaaS business.
Table of Contents
1. Create High-Quality Content
When it comes to SaaS, you can’t just publish a piece of content once and then disappear for a whole year. Your SaaS marketing plan needs you to be committed and dedicate yourself to building continuous interactions with your customers. Your content should also be of the highest quality. It should educate your customers about your product, help them overcome any challenges, and guide them toward making a purchase.
It sounds daunting, it’s true, especially if you’re not an expert in writing. However, creating content is one of the most effective ways to set yourself apart from the crowd and establish yourself as an expert in your industry.
2. Use E-Mail Marketing
You’ve put the effort into getting your subscribers on your mailing list, it’s time to work on getting some conversions.
The first step is to work on your email’s content. Why? Because, according to Mailchimp, cold emails from the software industry have an open rate of 21.6%. This means nearly 80% of the emails sent by SaaS go unread. In other words, most SaaS emails suck! That’s why you need to make sure yours are different.
The three keys to creating effective cold SaaS emails are personalization, relevancy, and trust. The best way to find what works best is to split test various email templates.
If you decide to go with email marketing, make sure to use an automation tool to save time and money. By setting up services like GMass or Zapier to handle basic tasks such as data entry and triggering your process checklists, you’ll have more time to focus on more important tasks.
3. Leverage the Power of Social Media
Content and email marketing are great tools to connect with your audience, but they’re not the only effective ways.
When it comes to communicating with B2C audiences, social media (Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram) is incredibly powerful. The same applies to B2B, but with two major differences: First, B2B customers prefer another social platform – LinkedIn. Second, social media marketing for B2B should be approached differently than social media marketing for B2C.
Although LinkedIn is a professional network, it’s still social. When interacting with your audience, try not to focus on your service or your achievements. Instead, share information, comment on people’s posts, and offer your help to anyone that needs it.
4. Give Something Away
People love freebies, so offering a free test drive is a great way to convince them to use your service. But while free trials are great, they aren’t the only option you have.
When PayPal started, they awarded $10 for each referral. As a result, the company saw a huge growth (because who refuses cash, right?) Dropbox did something similar – it offered extra storage in exchange for referrals, which turned out to be a great growth strategy.
Use these two examples from big SaaS players as an inspiration. Think about what you can give away? What is relevant to what your business offers? And while at it, can you get people to market your business for you?
5. Make Exclusive Offering
It’s in people’s nature to want to be included, not left out. Take advantage of this fact and use exclusive offers to create a reason for people to sing up to your service.
Google achieved exclusivity with Gmail – people had to get an invitation in order to get their personal inbox. LinkedIn, on the other hand, did it by branding itself as a network exclusively for professionals.
6. Offer Outstanding Customer Support
A large number of simple customers’ questions isn’t necessarily a reason to panic as they can be easily solved with a good FAQ page or explanatory videos. But if your help desk and email are constantly overflown with complex, technical questions that require lots of time to answer, buyers will be less likely to go through with the sale.
Customer support can make or break your SaaS business. So, take some time to figure out if your functions the way it should. Is the software you are using to manage customers’ questions working for you? What’s your average response time? What’s about your average resolution rate? Is your customer support team well-trained? Are your customers happy with your service?
Are You Thinking About Selling Your SaaS Business?
Once your SaaS has grown and started generating profit, you might want to consider selling it. This will give you an opportunity to move on to a new venture or just take a break and relax.
However, you should be aware that selling a SaaS business can be a complex process. From going through a SaaS valuation to getting your finances in order, it can all quickly become overwhelming, especially if you don’t have any experience.
That’s why you need to consider hiring an advisor. An advisor will be able to answer all of your questions regarding the sale and ensure that everything goes smoothly. He’ll steer you in the right direction from the very beginning and help you avoid lots of confusion. An experienced advisor also has a network and can help you find a buyer, assist you during negotiations, and keep both parties informed throughout the entire process.
