New ideas, technologies, and business models are introduced annually in the Software as a Service (SaaS) sector, which is undergoing fast evolution. Adopting and putting into practice efficient growth strategies is essential for SaaS companies to maintain their competitiveness and experience sustained development. This article explores ten tried-and-true growth techniques that SaaS companies may use in 2024 to improve their market share, retain more customers, and boost sales.
A SaaS company’s survival rate is 92% if it grows only at 20% annually. This is unacceptable, and growth hacking is a method used by SaaS marketers to boost cloud signups and sales. Despite high stakes and fierce competition, growth hacking offers hope for the industry to grow beyond the 20% limit. A well-planned and executed strategy is crucial for SaaS businesses to overcome competition and achieve success. This article provides a comprehensive guide on growth hacking strategies, including definitions, frameworks, strategies, examples, and tools.
What Do SaaS Growth Hacking Techniques Entail?
Certain methods that aid in the effective and quick expansion of a company or product are referred to as “growth hacking.” These growth hacking techniques are frequently linked to software as a service (SaaS) because of how much they depend on:
- User Acquisition
- Retention
- Engagement
Growth Hacking Strategies Vs. Traditional Marketing Strategies
Growth hacking tactics are not the same as traditional marketing in a few respects. A few of them are listed below:
- Scope: Traditional marketing uses large-scale campaigns like TV Ads, Billboards, and Print Ads, while growth hacking strategies focus on low-cost, quick-testing methods.
- Cost: Traditional marketing methods are costly and can strain small businesses’ or startups’ budgets. Growth hacking, on the other hand, focuses on low-cost strategies like SEO, social media marketing, content marketing, and email marketing, which can be executed with minimal investments.
- Speed: While growth hacking tactics emphasize rapid testing and implementation to determine what works best, traditional marketing might take a long time to conceptualize and implement.
- Approach: Success in traditional marketing is sometimes harder to gauge as it depends more on presumptions and gut feelings. Conversely, growth hacking is data-driven, which makes it simpler to monitor each strategy’s effectiveness and adjust performance as necessary.
- Agility: Conventional marketing efforts are riskier and less future-proof since they are inherently more inflexible and less flexible. Growth hacking tactics, on the other hand, are more flexible and adaptive. SaaS firms may quickly grow their user base by testing and refining various techniques.
10 Proven SaaS Growth Strategies Worth Trying
The environment for business is evolving. There is fierce rivalry for new clients as more and more SaaS businesses open up shop every day. Because of this, it’s crucial to have a growth strategy in place before launching your product or service. We’ll talk about a few SaaS growth tactics in this blog article that can aid in expanding your business.
Simplify the registration process
Creating an easy Signup process is crucial for SaaS growth and can showcase unique creativity. Most signup forms require too much basic information, making it complicated and tiresome for users. To avoid this, make the signup process accessible and cut it into small chunks. This will make it easier for users to navigate and grow their user base.
Airbnb’s platform has a great example of a simple signup page with only two fields, and it can be accessed through social media. Implementing a welcome message and providing a simple tool guide can also be beneficial. Other factors to consider include creating a user-friendly platform, implementing a welcoming message, and ensuring a user-friendly experience.
Attract Users With Your Visual Appeal
Beauty in the eyes of the beholder is often lacking in SaaS products, as many businesses struggle to present their products effectively. To overcome this, businesses can use gamification, a strategy that includes enjoyment-focused design elements from day-to-day events. This approach can make products more engaging and attract new members to the platform. Implementing gamification elements can benefit different platforms, not just the direct sales department, as it attracts users to consume products and make the product more appealing to users. With the growing use of AI design tools, compelling UI is essential for businesses to succeed.
Discord is another example; it employs clever load-in messages for every event, such as welcome or update messages.
Thus, even in the event of a Discord program failure, the pop-up notification cheers you up and acts as though it’s not a huge concern. This strategy is well-thought-out as it gives you a sense of belonging to the family. There are almost zero restrictions when it comes to graphic design, so keep in mind that visual innovations and improvement options are only limited by the content creator’s capacity to provide.
Formulate a Complete Pricing Plan
Pricing strategy is a crucial aspect for SaaS businesses seeking sustainable growth. Underpricing can lead to financial instability while overpricing can result in missed opportunities. Slack, a popular team collaboration SaaS tool, addresses this by offering a multi-tiered pricing strategy. They offer a free plan for basic use and more advanced features in paid plans for larger businesses. This approach allows Slack to attract a wide range of customers without compromising financial stability. Implementing a comprehensive pricing strategy with different tiers can attract different users and increase revenue. Offering monthly, quarterly, or annual pricing can also benefit businesses.
Use SEO to Increase SaaS Leads and Conversions
SaaS businesses often struggle to establish their brand in a saturated niche, creating generic content that fails to engage their target audience, leading to missed opportunities and stagnant growth.
You should concentrate on high-intent content, such as the following, to address this problem and produce content that converts:
- Alternative-based articles,
- Comparison-based articles,
- Listicle articles,
- Review articles, and so on.
Moz, a SaaS company, uses native content to present its SEO software solution, empowering users to make data-driven decisions. This approach improves content relevance and positions the product as the ideal solution, driving organic growth and conversions. Research natively including your product within content to educate readers.
Implement referral programs that reward current customers
For your SaaS, implementing a referral program helps accelerate conversions. It also lowers the expenses associated with bringing in new clients and increases brand recognition. Customers who are currently using the product can urge friends and family to join them by using a referral scheme. When they recommend others to utilize the same service they do, they are rewarded with points or credits.
According to Dropbox CEO and founder Drew Houston, recommendations increased signups by 60%. only because a user’s buddies joined Dropbox and the site provided them with a significant amount of additional storage space.
Influencer Partnerships
People are trustworthy, especially those they see as authorities or influential figures. Influencer marketing excels in SaaS marketing initiatives at this point. A few key elements are necessary for an influencer marketing strategy to be successful:
- Identify the proper influencers: Determine whether influential people in the business have an audience similar to the target market. Look for influencers who are regularly involved in your sector and make sure they have the same values as your company.
- Establish a rapport: Don’t immediately dive into joint ventures! First, establish sincere connections with these influencers.
- Working together rather than pushing: Look at methods you two can produce good content. It may be testimonials highlighting the benefits of your SaaS product or behind-the-scenes looks at how people utilize it. Co-created educational and entertaining content may also be a part of it.
You may capitalize on the audience and credibility of these sincere influencer partnerships by highlighting them. Through influencer marketing, you may reach a larger audience whose opinions you already trust. This can increase qualified leads for your SaaS product and raise brand recognition.
Create Your Social Network
Famous brands like Nike, Ikea, and McDonald’s often neglect their social networks, risking losing customers. To stay relevant, businesses should create personalized content that connects with their audience on a personal level. Buffer, a SaaS platform, addresses this issue by regularly sharing informative articles, engaging with their community, and actively seeking user feedback.
Buffer’s approach to building a strong online community addresses disconnected content, increasing brand visibility, and fostering a loyal user base. To develop a successful social network, set up a creative concept, research audience needs, and create a recognizable social media presence. For SaaS businesses, prioritize meaningful engagement and community-building to drive growth strategies.
Use Skyscraper Technique to Always Be in the Top
The Skyscraper technique is a strategic approach to SaaS growth, focusing on countering competitive content, creating superior content, and reaching out to the right sites to link to your site, aiming to publish comprehensive content on a specific subject.
To create comprehensive content, focus on topics relevant to your brand and target audience. Check for missing information by comparing your content to similar posts and identifying areas for improvement. Create content that is appealing, easy to consume, and provides more value to readers. This mindset will lead to the best content on the internet, positively impacting SEO and attracting backlinks to your website.
Before purchasing a strategy, try it first.
Your product must provide something special if you are an entrepreneur trying to break into the software industry. There is a lot more rivalry for people’s attention and money since so many entrepreneurs are launching their ideas into the market. To win over these customers, make sure they are aware of the benefits of your product in advance. You can do this by outlining features or discussing the time savings that would result from using them in interviews or online reviews.
One such program that lets customers test-drive a website is Rafflecopter. The finest aspect? Users do not need to register to use what they offer.
Work on Your Retention Rate
Many SaaS businesses overlook the importance of retaining existing users, leading to higher churn rates and hindering their growth potential. The biggest challenge is to keep customers purchasing and renewing subscriptions. Salesforce, a global leader in customer relationship management software, exemplifies this strategy by emphasizing customer success through continuous support and education. Salesforce offers training resources, an active user community, and personalized assistance, ensuring customers receive the most value from their platform.
Salesforce maintains a low churn rate and fosters a loyal user community by prioritizing its customers. To maintain users, Salesforce can reduce conversion risk by providing a taste of what to expect before purchasing. Offering discounts and free stuff to active users can also help. By tracking usage behavior and activity, Salesforce can send targeted messages to clients. Creating educational materials and staying up-to-date with the customer base can help customers improve their performance. Regular reminders for renewal, updates, and tracking inactive leads can help maintain customer loyalty. Focusing on nurturing and retaining existing customers is a cost-effective and sustainable approach to achieving long-term growth.
The state of SaaS will continue to change in 2024, bringing with it possibilities and difficulties for companies. SaaS firms may improve their product offerings, increase their market presence, and promote sustainable growth by using these ten tried-and-true growth techniques. These tactics offer a thorough road map for success in the cutthroat SaaS market, from customer-centric product development and utilizing data analytics to clever pricing models and successful marketing campaigns. Adopt these tactics, maintain your flexibility, and never stop innovating to prosper in the fast-paced SaaS industry.
