11 Best SaaS Marketing Strategies For Success In 2024

SaaS marketing strategies are crucial because the SaaS landscape is packed with competition. In fact, the global SaaS market is expected to reach $278 billion by 2024. So, how do you gain a foothold in this market and grow your business? With effective SaaS marketing strategies, of course. 

Without a solid marketing strategy in place, your SaaS business will struggle to reach its target audience and communicate the value of its solutions. Simply put – your ideal customers won’t know about you, or won’t know why they should choose you. But don’t worry! In this article, we’ll cover effective strategies to help you build your brand and nurture prospects in the sea of competitors.

In fact, we’ll explain the following topics:

• What is a SaaS marketing strategy?
• How do I create a SaaS marketing plan?
• The 11 best SaaS marketing strategies to try in 2024

By the end, you’ll discover the latest trends and tactics in SaaS marketing to help you achieve your business goals, such as increasing customer acquisition rate and boosting revenue in the ever-evolving SaaS landscape. 

So, let’s begin.

What is a SaaS marketing strategy?

First, let’s get a solid grasp of what it means. SaaS marketing strategy refers to the tactics and techniques you use to attract and engage customers for your cloud-based software. 

You can think of it as a roadmap that centers around a customer’s journey and helps you achieve your marketing goals. This can include a plan on how to reach the right audience and build trust with potential customers. It can even include ways to improve the value proposition of your SaaS services through effective marketing materials to stand out and increase conversions. 

All in all, an effective marketing strategy will help you generate more outstanding leads. The best part? Targeting the right audience can help you reduce customer churn rates. According to a recent study, utilizing a marketing channel to acquire a new customer can be 5 times more expensive than retaining an existing one. 

This means you need to focus on keeping your current customers happy to save money and increase revenue.

Now that you have a grasp of the basics of a SaaS marketing strategy. It’s time to take action and create a plan to deliver real results.

How do I create a SaaS marketing plan?

Crafting a business plan is a straightforward process if you follow a few key steps. However, keep in mind your marketing budget while making the plan. It will assist you in determining the amount you can invest in marketing initiatives and setting practical budgets for each one.

• Define your target audience: Conducting a thorough business assessment can help you identify your ideal customer. Start by analyzing your potential customers' demographics, pain points, and needs in your business model.
• Conduct market research: To understand your industry, research your competitors to see what they offer, how they market themselves, and where they fall short.
• Define your unique value proposition: Your value proposition is what helps you stand out from your competitors. Make sure that your UVP is clear and easy for your customers to understand.
• Set marketing goals and KPIs: Your marketing objectives should be measurable and aligned with your business objectives. Imagine your goal is to get more traffic flowing to your site. In that case, you can track important metrics like website visits, bounce rate, and time spent to measure your progress.
• Develop your messaging and positioning: Your messaging and positioning should be aligned with your UVP and target customers. This includes your brand messaging, tone of voice, and visual identity. For instance, if your objective is to increase website traffic, your KPIs could comprise website visits, bounce rate, and time spent on the site.
• Measure and optimize: Use various analytics tools like Google Analytics, Mixpanel, or Kissmetrics to gain valuable insights and track your website traffic and conversion rate. You now have a better grasp of creating a successful marketing plan. But why stop there? Let's take it up a notch and dive into different types of SaaS marketing strategies that you can take to boost your marketing efforts.

11 best SaaS marketing strategies to try

With so many different digital marketing strategies to choose from. How do you find one that works best for your company?  We’ll discuss the types of marketing strategies in detail and how you can leverage them to stand out and grow your unique cloud-based software solutions.

The best SaaS marketing strategies to try are:

1. Content Marketing
2. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
3. Influencer Marketing
4. Pay-per-click Advertising
5. Email Marketing
6. Testimonials & Customer Reviews
7. Improve User Experience
8. Social Media Marketing
9. Video Marketing
10. Referral Marketing
11. Co-marketing

1. Content Marketing

Content marketing is an effective customer acquisition strategy that involves creating and distributing relevant content to attract and engage your target audience.

The SaaS industry has many types of content forms that you can leverage, like blog posts, whitepapers, case studies, and videos, to boost website traffic. When executed well, content marketing will attract and retain loyal customers, increase brand awareness, and establish your business as a thought leader in the industry.

Luckily, creating a successful content marketing strategy is quite simple. All you need to do is focus on delivering real value through your content. Take the time to research your customer base and understand their pain points and needs to craft content that directly speaks to them. 

2. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Ideally, you want your brand to appear first on Google search results. This helps to ensure that your company is visible to prospective customers. While optimization helps bring in more traffic to your website - you need to do it right to sustain growth. Here are the 2 most effective SaaS SEO strategies: 

2.1 Conduct Keyword Research Identifying the keywords your target market is searching for early on will help you create content that they will discover easily. Start by generating a list of seed keywords related to your SaaS product or service.  Use tools like Google Keyword Planner or Ahrefs to find relevant keywords with high search volume and low competition. This will help you craft content that resonates with your audience, leading to a better chance of ranking.

2.2 Optimize Your Website Include relevant keywords in your page titles, meta descriptions, and header tags. It’s also important that your website is mobile-friendly and loads quickly, as these factors can impact your search engine rankings.  The website MedicalAlertBuyersGuide does an excellent job of keyword research and optimization. Their homepage features keywords such as “medical alert systems” and “independent reviews,” both highly targeting their intended audience.

2.3 Create High-Quality Content Content is king when it comes to SEO. Create high-quality, informative content that targets your audience's pain points and includes relevant keywords. Remember also to use a mix of formats like videos and infographics to keep your content new and engaging.

3. Influencer Marketing

To promote your brand and its services, you can partner with influencers – people on social media who have a substantial social media influence over their followers. 

Partnering with influencers who have a dedicated following lets you reach a wider audience than paying for expensive advertising campaigns. 

To make the most of this marketing tactic, consider these points:  

• Define clear goals and expectations for the influencer campaign.
• Choose influencers who align with your brand values and target audience.
• Ensure that influencer content is authentic and aligns with your brand messaging.
• Measure the campaign's success through metrics such as engagement, conversion rates, and ROI

4. Pay-per-click Advertising

There are many choices for potential customers to choose from when it comes to software and technology solutions. Fortunately, PPC gets your business in front of people who are looking for your products or services. 

What differentiates this from standard advertisement is that you only pay when someone clicks on your ad. 

To create an effective PPC advertising campaign, utilize your target audience research and the keywords they use when searching for your products or services. This will help you choose the right keywords to bid on for your ads.

For example, let's say you're in the HVAC industry and want to advertise your brand. You might choose keywords related to HVAC services and products like “HVAC repair” or “air conditioning reinstallation” to target potential customers who are searching for these solutions.

To make your HVAC advertising campaign stand out, you can create ad copy that catches the eye of your target audience and entices them to visit your website. In this case, you can highlight the unique benefits of your business, like fast response times or expert technicians, to differentiate yourself from competitors.

5. Email Marketing

Email is effective, but you need a solid email marketing strategy to do it right. The goal is to improve your email’s open rate and drive those leads into customers. But how do you do that? 

5.1 Build A Quality Email List Make sure you’re targeting the right people in your SaaS email marketing campaign to make the most of your marketing efforts. Offer lead magnets, like an eBook or white paper, in exchange for someone's business email address. 

5.2 Make Your Content Valuable When creating your email campaigns, provide value to your audience. Don't just send out promotional emails. Provide helpful advice or information related to your product or service. This will keep your subscribers engaged and more likely to convert.

To simplify the process, you can use marketing templates as a guide when creating your emails. These templates will give you a framework to follow and ensure that you deliver valuable content to your audience while promoting your brand effectively.

6. Testimonials & Customer Reviews

Potential users looking for SaaS solutions often look for feedback and reviews before making a purchasing decision. Hence, your website and social media platform should include customer testimonials and positive comments to help build this trust and credibility. 

Our favorite example of this is the website Gili. Gili Sports is a company that specializes in manufacturing paddle boards. Its website features a section where customers can leave reviews of the paddle boards they purchased. 

Gili Sports incorporates customer reviews on its website by featuring them prominently on each product page. When you visit the product page for an inflatable paddleboard, you will see a section labeled “Customer Reviews”. It gives you a quick summary of the product's overall rating, and you can also read individual reviews from people who've actually bought and used the product. 

Gili Sports also allows customers to filter reviews by different criteria, like the rating, the level of experience of the reviewer, and the features of the various inflatable paddle boards. By doing so, customers can easily find reviews that are most relevant to their needs and preferences. 

Of course, this is just one of many examples that you can draw inspiration from. Actively encourage your customers to leave reviews, respond to their feedback promptly and honestly, and showcase positive feedback on your website and social media channels to make the most out of this SaaS strategy.

7. Improve User Experience

‍73% of all people point to customer experience as an essential factor in their purchasing decisions, and 42% would pay more for a friendly, welcoming experience.  In a competitive market, providing a positive user experience is foremost to drive customer satisfaction. After all, without a user-friendly and efficient interface, helpful features, and functions, how can you expect to attract and retain customers and drive long-term success?  

One example of a website with a remarkable user interface is GoAura, as shown below, which provides services for FBA sellers to maximize their sales and profits on Amazon. 

They have a clean and intuitive design, with clear calls to action that make it easy for users to navigate and use their services. Plus, they use high-quality photos and a minimalist color scheme to be visually appealing and promote a user-friendly experience. 

So, how can you improve your SaaS company's website user interface and increase conversions at checkout? Consider the following:

• Focus on simplicity: Like GoAura, a clean and minimalist design can help users easily navigate your website and find what they need.
• Use high-quality visuals: The use of eye-catching visuals like photos or videos to draw users in and create a positive first impression.
• Provide clear calls to action: Make it easy for users to take action, whether signing up for a free trial or purchasing your product.
• Optimize for mobile: With more people accessing the internet on their mobile devices, ensure your website is optimized for mobile users.

8. Social Media Marketing

Social media has billions of active users, making it a valuable tool for you to expand your reach and build brand awareness . But is just creating content enough to drive customer lifetime success with social media marketing? The answer is no. Engagement is key.

Social media is a two-way conversation, and you must actively engage with your audience to build brand loyalty and credibility. You can respond to comments, direct messages, and other interactions. 

Here is some expert advice to make the most of your social media presence:  To begin, understand your target audience and determine which social media platforms they are most active on. Next, create a content strategy that focuses on providing value to your audience. Share industry insights and tricks and showcase how your product can solve their problems.

Don't limit yourself to text-based content. Try experimenting with visuals like infographics and videos, and be sure to use relevant hashtags to increase your visibility on social media. It's worth noting that social media is not immune to catfishing. Unfortunately, some people create fake identities to deceive others. Implementing verification processes, educating your audience on how to spot catfishing attempts, and promptly responding to any reported incidents can go a long way in building trust and credibility with your audience.

9. Video Marketing

Now more than ever, marketing agencies recognize video's power as a marketing tool. Videos can be great ways to connect with your audience and convey your product information in an easily digestible format. Get creative and use various formats to increase brand awareness, such as:

• Webinars
• How-to videos
• Product demos
• Explainer videos
• Customer success stories

10. Referral Marketing

One effective way to attract new customers is to ask your current ones to refer their friends, family, or colleagues to try out your products. This effective marketing strategy helps you build trust and credibility with potential customers. The idea is that happy customers are more likely to recommend the business they know and are also likely to trust the recommendation.

You can offer incentives such as discounts, free trials, or other rewards to customers who refer new users. Incorporating referral software into this strategy simplifies the process, making it easier for your customers to make referrals and for you to track and manage the incentives offered. This way, you can increase your revenue and generate greater sales. 

11. Co-marketing

With the power of partnership, you can amplify your message and create a more compelling user experience. 

For instance, one standout success story is the partnership between HubSpot and LinkedIn. HubSpot is a leading provider of inbound marketing and sales software, while LinkedIn is the world's biggest professional networking platform. Together, they created a powerful collaboration that yielded impressive results.

The partnership was focused on integrating LinkedIn's advertising capabilities into HubSpot's platform, allowing HubSpot customers to target their LinkedIn ads to specific audiences based on demographic and firmographic criteria. The integration helped HubSpot's customers to reach a highly targeted audience on LinkedIn, while also increasing LinkedIn's advertising revenue.

Conclusion

In 2023, SaaS companies have many growth strategies at their disposal to thrive in the highly competitive market. With the right practices, you can enhance your user experience and keep your customers happy.

Once the sales get rolling, many companies can get confused about how sales tax works for SaaS products. Tax compliance can become a major headache for SaaS companies! That’s why Quaderno offers a comprehensive tax compliance solution to automate tax calculations, invoices, and payments. By giving Quaderno a try, you can simplify your tax compliance processes, reduce errors, and save time and money. 

So, what are you waiting for? Choose the best type of marketing strategies for your SaaS business and implement them today. With the right marketing approach and automation tools at your disposal, your SaaS company and marketing teams can achieve its goals and thrive in 2023 and beyond. ‍ Thanks to Burkhard Berge founder of Novum™ for sharing his expertise and writing this article for us!