When it comes to any SaaS company, SaaS lead nurturing should be an integral part of the company’s success strategy. If not, then it is virtually impossible to build customer relationships across multiple channels any other way. SaaS companies, especially, wrestle with the reality that customers do not materialize overnight.

Customers must feel a level of trust, and that takes time. The SaaS marketing manager is tasked with communicating with customers at every step along the way. You must never forget the looming gap in time between when a person first interacts, and when they are ready to make a purchase.

As an SaaS marketer, you are going to be challenged with creating an SaaS lead nurturing strategy. You will be nurturing leads across channels, segmenting a lead database and choosing the right content for your audience. You will have to measure and explain the overall/hopeful return on investment, and more.

Pay Closer Attention to Your Signup Page

Boosting revenue and paying attention to how many people are paying for your service may require a little extra attention on your website and signup page. However, these two elements are only a piece of the puzzle. Just keep in mind that your entire customer funnel needs to be optimized continually.

Are paid signups increasing over time?

Does offering free trials increase your churn rate?

Some marketers jump the gun and start offering more free trials when their real problem is buried somewhere in the sales funnel. Lead nurturing is the key—not necessarily lead acquisition at the cost of everything else.

Boosting revenue and paying attention to how many people are paying for your service may require a little extra attention on your website and signup page.

SaaS Lead Nurturing and Its Psychology

It is a hard fact to swallow, but between 40-60 percent of free trial users will never return to buy your software after their sign up! Ouch. That hurts. There is a lot of “hope” going around these days that users will magically reappear.

Replace “hope” with an SaaS lead nurturing program that allows you to automatically engage with customers. It is all about staying in touch with people, even if they do leave. This means your nurturing will not have been in vain. It allows you to remain in control of things.

Find ways to keep them informed, educated, involved, validated, converted, and to keep them alive and on fire with your product.

A personal profile allows you to place your audience in a bucket and run campaigns based on behaviors and actions. Your present user base may lend some insights, or, you could conduct interviews with those users.

• Demography – Reveals age, location, salary, and designation.
• Challenges/goals – Target campaigns through career goals and common challenges your users face.
• Know where your customers are hanging out. Their hangout is where they happen to consume information.

Segment Your User Base

This segmentation should be based on behaviors and interests. Such efforts can increase leads and improve your lead-nurturing program. Knowing such things helps you to craft the right message. In short, your efforts will map content to the correct life cycle stage.

Create a Workflow of Communications

As an SaaS guru, you are already aware that your first email should be followed by a second, third, and fourth etc. You are not going to convice customers to buy products with the first email sent. It is all about enabling customers to make a decision to buy through a definite series of touch points (locations where you can reach a particular customer).

Where Is Your Lead Nurturing Calendar?

Your SaaS lead nurturing calendar can remind you and everyone else there is a campaign taking place. It could also serve as a reminder not to overlap emails sent.

If you do not have a nurturing calendar, you may as well not even consider running a campaign. Your calendar can remind you and everyone else there is a campaign taking place. It could also serve as a reminder not to overlap emails sent.

It allows you to, see at a glance, which emails will be sent, when they will be sent, and who might be responsible for their construction and design.

Why Not Improve Your Copywriting?

Content will continue to play an important role in helping establish relationships. This is because it will always be about establishing relationships and trust.

Consider the following campaigns.

Newsletters

Newsletters are known to be effective if interesting and relevant content can be provided on a regular basis. Think of a newsletter as a legitimate channel for clients to read content that is not necessarily created by you. Consider white papers, blog posts, videos, webinars, infographics, and popular industry news. This can help establish your organization as a company that is in step with the industry. Why not become the industry expert? Step out front with a tool that allows you to communicate with your customers on a regular and relevant basis. Also, keep in mind, that newsletters do not always have to be so academic. They can also provide news and events on a lighter note.

Event Campaigns

There is no reason not to engage company leads with online events that educate users about your product or service. Especially if it solves a problem. This will mean that a clear process for subscribing should be provided. Make any agenda points crystal clear.

Feature Focused/Product Campaign

Whenever there is a benefit to be gained from your product, users should know immediately. Continually educate customers about the benefits of using your product and features that separate it from competitors. You may even decide to send a series of emails over a specific period of time. Each email identifies a problem and offers solutions. This way, you get your customers used to receiving up-to-date information from you.

Onboarding Campaign

Never forget that you will always have customers who are onboarding. Be sure to make the process as simple as possible. Also be sure to explain the process where customers will absolutely get it. If extra training or understanding about some part of your product is needed, be proactive in providing it to customers. You can use articles, videos, FAQs, and anything that will enable their learning experience.

Promotional Discount Campaign

A discount may be just what you need to get a lead to make a purchase. Specials discounts and coupons can work. However, just make sure that you are not discounting too many things, too often. Your product or offering should speak for itself. As you know, people are always willing to pay for a superior product.

Testimonial Campaign

It is always a good idea to reinforce the fact that your company is, and always be, the correct choice. Share accomplishments and awards with your customers. Be sure and let them know it could have never happened without their support. If there are helpful press releases or industry reports, share this as well. This is called “social proof” and can go a long way in helping customers make a decision to buy.

Re-Engagement Campaign

This is a good idea for clients that have not responded to an email in weeks, or months. If they were once a customer, they can become a customer again.

Follow Up Campaign

You may well seal the deal with a follow up campaign. If you have been out of sight, you are out of the customer’s mind. That does not mean rejection from the customer. It may mean that your customer moved on or forgot about you. The customer may still be willing to buy if you have a good product or offer. Why not nudge the customer and let them know you have not heard from them in quite some time. Who knows, they might be happy to hear from you.

SaaS is a constant grind. To stay on top of your game, you have to probe, test, and brainstorm new ideas. Maybe what separates the winners from others is that they refuse to give up. They are like a bulldog. They will sink their teeth into a problem and will not let go until they find the solution.