Why Is SaaS Important in Marketing?

Marketing is one of those concepts that can be explored in either exceptionally simple or complex terms. It really depends on a number of unique factors, including the product or service being marketed and the customer segments being targeted. In simple terms, marketing is simply getting the word out and building value so that you can generate leads, qualify them, and welcome them to your customer base.

In many cases, understanding the ROI of an organization’s marketing spend can be fairly straightforward: 

• “With a marketing budget of $10,000, we reached 300 customers, and turned 100 into qualified leads. And 70% of those leads became customers, generating $58,000 in revenue.”

While that may oversimplify things a bit, the general point stands—money goes into the marketing budget, and leads come as a result.

B2B software-as-a-service (SaaS) marketing, on the other hand, presents unique challenges that can frustrate even experienced marketing pros. With the right SaaS marketing mix, though, the pieces will fall into place.

In this post, we’re going to:

• Cover the main differences between B2B SaaS marketing and conventional marketing.
• Define the main components of an effective SaaS marketing strategy.

Let’s jump right in with the first question.

What Is SaaS Marketing, and Why Is SaaS Marketing Different?

When it comes to the question of how SaaS marketing is different from every other type of marketing, there are two major differences to understand before plotting your own B2B SaaS marketing strategy. 

So, what makes SaaS marketing unique—and why is it so hard? The two biggest differences are that SaaS marketing doesn’t offer a physical product and that the sales cycle tends to have multiple touchpoints.

No Physical Product

A substantial difference between B2B SaaS marketing and traditional marketing is the nature of what’s being marketed. With a physical product, one-time service, or software application purchased to own, it’s easy to demonstrate the value of the product or service. The customer can see exactly what they’re purchasing, how to use it, and what it can do for them. With B2B SaaS, there’s more nuance and complexity involved in understanding how the solution works, what happens behind the scenes, and what the recurring payments are actually paying for.

The easiest way for B2B SaaS marketers to succeed is by focusing on the benefits of SaaS vs on-premise solutions and demonstrating clear, ROI-driven value. This often means letting the prospective customer experience certain aspects of the product or service on a free trial basis. This is an easy way to show value and utility, with the idea being that once the product or service is taken for a spin around the block, the prospect will see exactly what sales and marketing have been trying to introduce to their business.

Multiple Touchpoints, Longer-Term Customers

When a potential customer needs a B2B SaaS solution for their business, they may have a short or long sales cycle. Either way, it’s an experience with multiple touchpoints, each offering a chance to build trust and prove value. In addition to sales touchpoints, they’re likely to do some online research on their own, read reviews, maybe engage with a free trial, and then they’ll pull the trigger on their chosen solution. 

That being said, the average customer relationship with a given SaaS solution tends to last as long as the product or service meets their needs. Once they’ve invested in a particular solution and are seeing results, they’ll generally continue to renew their subscription as long as they’re not encountering any problems or limitations.

The Vital Importance of High-Quality Data

For the two reasons explained above, high-quality, accessible data is absolutely essential for B2B SaaS marketing. At a foundational level, having robust prospect and customer data enables better customer segmentation and targeting, among other benefits. 

High-quality data can also be leveraged in the form of case studies, which outline real-world scenarios where customers have seen success come from their campaigns. SaaS marketers should always be trying to build value—not through generalizations and “marketing speak” but through concrete outcomes. The more SaaS marketers can learn about specific customers or customer segments, the better-positioned they are to outline how the SaaS solution has been able to drive positive results for customers like them. 

SaaS marketing presents unique challenges for B2B marketers. That being said, challenges are meant to be overcome—and that’s where Statwax comes in. Keep reading for a quick guide to our four pillar strategy for SaaS marketing.

How To Market Software as a Service

There’s some trial and error involved in developing the perfect B2B SaaS marketing strategy. Luckily, we have experience. We’ve seen what works, and we’re students of data. Here’s how we build the best B2B SaaS marketing campaigns in the biz.

The Statwax Approach to B2B SaaS Marketing

Four distinct pillars make up the Statwax approach to B2B SaaS marketing:

• Persona-Based Targeting: Predictive and statistical models translate hard data into accurate buyer personas and actionable insights to better understand (and respond to) customer behavior, pain points, and goals.
• Paid Digital Marketing Channels: Selecting the right B2B SaaS marketing channels to target the right customers at the right time helps ensure that the moves you make provide clear ROI.
• Predictive Modeling: Through the analysis of historical and current data, predictive models deliver timely insights to better identify and leverage predictable and repeatable revenue streams, forecasting potential lead volume as well as cost-per-lead figures.
• Lead Quality Optimization: Efficient and effective SaaS marketing is more about turning highly-qualified leads into paying customers than casting a wide net and trying to qualify along the way. Through the integration of paid marketing channels and core CRM functions, we’re able to deliver high-quality leads.

Ready to Learn More?

By now, you should have an understanding of the unique challenges B2B SaaS marketers face—if you didn’t already. To see how we have delivered timely and provable ROI for customers across a number of industries, head over to our website. There, you’ll find over a dozen in-depth case studies or connect with us directly for any inquiries you may have.