What Is SaaS Marketing?

SaaS marketing is the practice of promoting software as a service (SaaS), which is usually subscription-based. It is a cloud-based service available on the internet or through apps. 

SaaS marketers are selling a service instead of a physical product. To succeed, marketers identify their target audience, explain how the software can help, entice prospects to try it, and eventually convert them to subscribers.  

Free trials often play a big role in SaaS marketing. Providing potential users an opportunity to try the software allows them to assess its compatibility with their daily tasks and discover its benefits. Continue reading to gain a deeper insight into SaaS marketing and its applications. 

Who uses SaaS marketing?

Companies that sell software as a service use SaaS marketing. You likely use SaaS yourself. If you use email, shareable calendars, or office suites like Microsoft Office, you use SaaS products. Additional SaaS brands include:

• Zoom, a video conferencing platform

• Monday.com, a project management platform

• Toggl Track, a time-tracking tool

All of the mentioned software is on-demand and marketed by a SaaS marketer or team.  

Pros of SaaS marketing

Marketers often lean on free trials to promote SaaS. This technique not only incentivizes customers to try it but also allows them to see how it can help their company. From a customer’s perspective, a free trial reduces the risk of making a bad purchase. 

SaaS brands usually have monthly subscriptions. Brands sometimes prefer monthly fees, which users can adjust depending on needs instead of paying higher upfront costs.   

Read more: IaaS vs. PaaS vs. SaaS: Intro to Cloud Computing

Cons of SaaS marketing

SaaS marketers face stiff competition. Research by software company Vendr shows that 58 percent of companies increased spending on SaaS between 2020 and 2022 [1]. While companies are willing to spend more on digital solutions, experts believe more software solutions will enter the market, making it even harder for current SaaS brands to stand out. 

SaaS tends to target a specific niche. SaaS has a smaller user pool than commonly used products like toilet paper or pillows. As a result, SaaS marketers need to define their audience and generate leads that fit within that segment. 

Read more: Marketing Strategy: What It Is and How to Create One

The importance of SaaS marketing

SaaS marketers educate customers and promote software solutions. Furthermore, they play a vital role in the company's success by undertaking the following responsibilities: 

• Generating brand awareness

• Identifying niche audiences that can benefit from SaaS

• Guiding leads through a specified sales funnel

• Creating engagement for prospects throughout various stages of interest

• Defining and measuring metrics to assess marketing effectiveness

• Utilizing diverse marketing channels to reach a target audience

To succeed in fulfilling the aforementioned job goals, SaaS marketers direct their attention to three core areas: search engine optimization (SEO), defining a target audience, and conducting competitive analysis.

Search engine optimization (SEO)

As a cloud-based solution, it's crucial for SaaS brands to create a strong online presence. To help prospective clients learn about a company, SaaS marketers leverage SEO. SEO elevates search rankings and organically grows website traffic by using relevant keywords. 

Read more: SEO Marketing: What It Is and How to Get Started

Target audience

Hyper-targeted promotion is a key aspect of SaaS marketing. However, prior to crafting any collateral, a clear understanding of the target audience is vital. SaaS marketers acquire this understanding by collecting customer data, which helps in constructing buyer personas that delve into the shared characteristics of the customer base. Traits of these buyer personas can include: 

• Values

• Wants

• Needs 

• Goals

• Lifestyle choices

• Profession

• Personality traits

• Pain points

• Buying behaviors

Read more: What Is a Target Market? And How to Define Yours

Competitive market analysis

SaaS marketing teams often need to conduct competitive market analysis to propel promotional efforts. To do so, marketers engage with customers to learn how they use the product, identify problem areas, and learn more about individual users. 

SaaS marketers also conduct focus groups, hold one-on-one interviews, or launch customer satisfaction surveys, all in an effort to refine their marketing tactics.  

How to implement SaaS marketing

Implementing a SaaS strategy takes some forethought. You may want to consider these three steps to get started: 

1. Develop a strategy.

Every good marketing strategy needs a plan. Get the team together and consider how you'll reach your audience and what campaigns you'll create. More specifically, you can do the following:

• Identify your target audience.

• Set goals and identify key performance indicators (KPIs) you plan to track. 

• Choose marketing channels.

2. Analyze the data.

Aim to build a strategy based on data rather than assumptions. During your planning phase, identify KPIs you'll track and check during and after the campaign. Refer to your metrics for campaign guidance. If you don't achieve your goal, adjust your next campaign.

Metrics that usually play a role in this kind of marketing include:

• Customer retention

• Sign up rates

• Number of upgrades

• Leads generated

• Conversions

3. Target your content.

Create content that's tailored to your audience and its needs at various stages. Your content plan  may include:

• Owned media: Content that you create, like blogs, newsletters, and downloads

• Paid media: Any kind of content you pay for, such as social ads or sponsored content

• Earned media: Content hosted by others, like guest blogs or an interview on a podcast

Each piece of content should not only target your audience but also cater to different phases of your sales funnel. For instance, a customer who visits your website for the first time has different needs than a customer who just wrapped up a free week-long demo. Explore your sales funnel and make sure your brand offers content for each step in the customer journey.  

SaaS marketing vs. traditional marketing

With SaaS marketing, you're promoting software as a solution, which means you'll likely rely on free trials to attract customers. In traditional marketing, giveaways aren't common.  

SaaS marketers build long-term relationships. Since service is a part of a SaaS brand, customers stick around after an initial sale and, as a result, require ongoing attention and nurturing. Traditional marketers typically focus on driving immediate sales.

Marketers in the SaaS niche tend to rely on content marketing to help educate customers. They work to create a variety of assets that not only offer brand awareness but also relevant information that helps position the brand as an industry leader. 

Getting started with Coursera

SaaS marketing promotes subscription-based software solutions, often using free trials to attract customers. Marketers focus on educating potential customers, building long-term relationships, and utilizing content marketing to position their brand as an industry leader. They target specific audiences and leverage SEO to reach them online.

Learn more about SaaS marketing through the Cloud Computing Primer: Software as a Service (SaaS) course by Codio on Coursera. If you're new to marketing, you can elevate your skills through online courses like Introduction to Marketing. In this flexible, online class, you can build your subject matter expertise and gain a foundational understanding of the niche.