With the Covid-19 pandemic forcing firms to allow more home and remote working, SaaS offerings are seeing large subscription increases. Recent figures reported by market research company Technavio suggests the global SaaS market could grow to over $60 billion in 2023.

So what happens when a working vaccine becomes available – which according to recent media reports is on the horizon – and people can resume their normal working routine at the office? How can SaaS firms ‘seize the day’ and build on the fortuitous boost they’ve been given?

Good content marketing speaks volumes

The standard content marketing strategy goes like this: more people are online; our audience is bigger – so we should hit them with more content. Wrong! That’s what the rest of the market is doing. The key to attracting web traffic is not to create lots of content – just blockbuster content. This sounds incredibly cheesy, but you need your online content to hit users between the eyes, rather than churning out average fluff.

So put some money behind your content, get expert consultants working on it, make sure it’s punchy, tight, well written and back up what you’re saying with relevant data. Add a great PR agency, give it away for free, and it will stand out and position you as a thought leader in that sector – that’s blockbuster content.

What blockbuster content says is, “let us give you some significant information about your sector, together with some action points.” Firms can really do something based on the back of your content, and when they’re in that mindset to purchase, your name will be in their head, and chances are they’ll come knocking at your door.

Boost your business’s online discoverability with good SEO and CRO

SEO and CRO (conversion rate optimisation) are site optimisers which make your business stand out online, but neither has any media spend attached, so they’re low spend strategies.

With the SEO side of that strategy you’re trying to get ranked as high as possible when users key into search engines. The most important thing is identifying the right page to rank for particular keywords. A lot of firms will try and get the home page to rank really high for lots of keywords. But the home page isn’t necessarily the best page to rank. Home pages are quite general, more directories to specific pages, so you don’t want to rank the home page for someone who’s got a very clear idea of what they’re looking for. Say they’ve keyed in ‘business recording multiple person meetings video chat’ – a very specific query – direct them to the relevant page which clearly answers that request.

With CRO we’re trying to get them to buy once they’re on the site or become a lead. Look at the landing page you’re trying to optimise, adjust it slightly and test by checking the number of page clicks versus those for the original page. Let’s say your conversion rate is one per cent, if it increases just one per cent more you’re doubling the amount of leads. You don’t need a big percentage increase to make really big revenue gains.

Customer lifetime value (LTV) is core to your digital marketing strategy

Because a lot of SaaS firms use a subscription model, they can guarantee a certain amount of income per month. Multiply the average income per month by the average number of months that you retain a client for, and you get the LTV. That LTV figure allows firms to factor in their total costs, predict revenues and hence profits. So, calculating LTV is a longer-term strategy, and since it allows you to know the income you can identify exactly how much budget you can put into the customer acquisition part of the process – at the ‘top of the funnel’.

Since SaaS firms generally have quite long lead-to-sale times, it can be six months before a lead actually becomes a customer. It’s important to remarket during this time. Remarketing is key to SaaS firms, especially during the early stage of converting clients from a lead to a sale. Past the sales point you won’t necessarily need remarketing – unlike other fast-moving consumer goods firms, where remarketing past the first sale is a must. You can attract clients with blockbuster content on a landing page, capture all the hits as data, then remarket through display ads on Google and LinkedIn. You can also remarket through the various search engine platforms.

Use LinkedIn to market your business

LinkedIn is much more B2B than other social networks. It’s a professional community people use specifically to make new connections – whether its partnerships, finding clients, customers, or suppliers. Unlike other social networks, there’s a certain level of intent on the platform.

LinkedIn is great for narrow targeting, and tight budgets as you can target exact companies by name. Furthermore, you can then layer this with precise titles and job functions within those named companies to target specific individuals with ads and remarketing. This means not a single penny is wasted on people who are not in your target market.

Top tips for SaaS companies when it comes to their digital marketing strategy

• Make sure your site is packed with blockbuster content – create content that sets you apart from your competitors and resonates with your target audience
• Forecast your lifetime value (LTV) – consider your profit and revenue and ensure that your marketing works with your commercial goals
• Remarket to stay at the forefront of your target audience’s minds throughout the decision making process
• Use an omni-channel strategy utilising all online channels including low spend strategies like SEO and CRO
• Consider using LinkedIn as a turbo B2B marketing tool for specific targeting

Remember when Skype was the go-to video call software? Now Zoom is the king of the video conferencing world. Why? Because it listened to what its audience wanted, remained agile and, most importantly, communicated this clearly. The thriving businesses are the ones that are listening to their audience’s needs and acting on them.

Photo by Campaign Creators on Unsplash

Interested in hearing industry leaders discuss subjects like this and sharing their experiences and use-cases? Attend the Cyber Security & Cloud Expo World Series with upcoming events in Silicon Valley, London and Amsterdam to learn more.