A Comprehensive Demand Generation Playbook for SaaS Startups | StartUP MQL
The SaaS industry is one that thrives on transformation and radical new solutions to old problems. As a result, companies in this space often find themselves at the forefront of change- which can be both wonderful and also poses some unique challenges as well! One major task leaders must take on when running a SaaS startup or even an established SaaS company is generating demand for SaaS services/products customers might not yet realize they need.
This is why SaaS demand generation goes beyond simply generating leads. SaaS demand generation is the process of sculpting and defining a new niche and making your target audience aware of a problem they face and positioning your SaaS products as the solutions. | StartUP MLQ
StartUP MQL realized that there were many different challenges SaaS Startups face when trying to launch their company. So, we created a SaaS demand generation and B2B Lead Generation solution to address their pain points, then asked SaaS Companies if creating 500 six-figure enterprise SaaS deals per year in their sales pipeline by defining and sculpting a new niche to their target audience would be beneficial for them--this way the right customers got right solution from our business!
A comprehensive SaaS Marketing playbook to acquiring B2B leads through effective Demand Generation
Contents:
Lead Generation | Demand Generation
Educate customers to become aware of the problem
Line-up your SaaS product as the solution
Target the perfect B2B audience
Provide a SaaS knowledge base
Identify as the authority in your space
Build partnerships into the right audience
What are the variances between demand generation and lead generation?
Demand generation and lead generation appear to be interchangeable and often confused with one another, however they have completely different actions and results associated between them. Let’s review how demand generation is different from lead generation:
Demand generation is a rich data-driven marketing strategy leveraging the inbound systematic process to establish awareness and drive interest throughout the entire customer lifecycle. There is a hyper focus on generating high quality leads from account based marketing, combined with business and personal data, intent, firmographics, demographics, and technographics to develop extremely accurate target audiences. Demand generation strategies include some of the following: SEO, blogging, PR campaigns, downloadable content, partnership marketing, webinars, videos, podcast, and SEM.
Lead Generation is mostly an outbound effort, it is a way to engage with potential customers who might not know about your SaaS product or service and it builds visibility, trust and credibility during the process. Typically, lead generation works by a business development representative (BDR) sending outbound communications to targeted contacts. Generally the outbound methods used with lead generation to cultivate qualified SaaS leads are direct email, cold calling, social selling, direct mail, linkedIn outreach and email drip campaigns.
Educate customers to become aware of the problem
SaaS companies, there is regularly a divide in the market between your SaaS solution and your customers understanding they are facing a problem.
SaaS founders have learned you can't just build a bridge and expect people to cross. You need an incentive for them, or they won’t do it!
Too often, SaaS products come onto the market before customers are aware or have identified a problem. This is an example of being “too early”, but SaaS companies should take this as an opportunity to educate customers about problems they are or will face. With some out of the box creativity and understanding your customer's current processes/pain points, you can educate them on how your SaaS solution will solve a problem they are actively running into, and how your solution will prevent future instances of the same problem recurring.
You need to frame your solution in context of your customers’ current processes. For example, when we created StartUP MQL we knew that the current pain point of our potential customers, venture funded SaaS startups, was not having the resources to generate six-figure enterprise leads from account based marketing (ABM), demand generation and lead generation. Though StartUP MQL's demand gen and lead gen services are much more than a lead company, we act as the fractional Head of Demand Generation. For us, It is important to use the context of our potential customers who are starting to sell their Enterprise SaaS products to companies, but currently without a marketing and demand generation strategist in house to effectively drive awareness and demand. It has been important to communicate our solution to SaaS startups early with their SaaS growth.
That's why StartUP MQL creates content that explains how our solution helps SaaS startups communicate more effectively to their B2B audience using today’s modern marketing and communication technologies. We also share insights into all the problems deep-rooted within current and legacy inbound and outbound marketing systems and strategies. This challenge was done through blog posts on topics like "Top 10 APIS For A More Efficient Pipeline Generation Strategy 10X” and "How Workflow Automation Improves SaaS Demand Generation, Lead Generation and SaaS MQLs for SaaS Startups” or articles sharing the “Top 6 Workflow Automation Software for 20022”—anything really; there were so many potential angles we could take given our target audience...
Line-up your SaaS product as the solution for your buyers:
Positioning your SaaS product as "the best solution" is important because it allows you to position yourself in front of customers who are seeking a better, more comprehensive set of tools.This means that if someone has looked at all the other products available and they still aren't satisfied with what's out there for their needs - YOU could be just what this person walks away needing!
Your market positioning should be clear and concise, telling people exactly what problem you’re solving. It will help generate demand from the right customers by giving them an idea of how their pain point might benefit from buying your SaaS product instead of some other competing one that doesn't target it specifically enough with tailored solutions- which means they'll feel more committed to supporting yours in return!
Your SaaS product market positioning is key to success. Find the right enterprise customers and you'll be able to surpass your competition in terms of sales volume, customer happiness (and loyalty), as well as ease-of-use for end users; too broadly targeting a generic audience will only result with mediocre results at best!
For many niche products, it's difficult to compete with larger competing brands that have more capability and offer a wider range of services. But if you focus on solving the major pain points for your specific customer base like "Automated API Testing for Telecom," then create features which address those problems specifically as they pertain only towards this group or industry - without compromising quality in any way! This will help position your SaaS product effectively at first glance by offering an ideal solution right off-the bat through outstanding content marketing strategies.
Target the perfect B2B audience:
The demand generation process is not one-size fits all. It's important to find your own niche and position yourself as an authority in that space so you can attract leads from organic traffic or paid advertising campaigns, depending on what works best for the product/service offerings of yours! There are two main approaches. One way is by sourcing and attracting leads which will enable your SaaS startup to grow in the right direction with adequate resources at hand - this includes both paid traffic as well as organic content from influential personalities on social media platforms like LinkedIn or Twitter who might have an audience large enough for you to want access too! The second approach would involve removing obstacles between potential customers & their awareness about what you offer through various marketing channels.
The goal of SEO is to make your website appear in Google search results when individuals enter certain keywords. This will generate traffic organically and allow you the opportunity for leads; however, there are many factors that go into generating this kind or web-based lead generation such as buyer personas (ideal customers), where they're online etc. When it comes to generating traffic and leads, knowing who your customer is a must. Without this knowledge you cannot hope for success in the long run with SEO or content strategy so being aware of what they're searching for on Google will ensure the perfect audience to place your product in front of.
Paid traffic strategies are important for achieving high conversions, but it's not enough to just have them. Understanding where your audience is online and using the right messaging will help you convert better- which means that once they're on your site, find creative ways of capturing contact information like in exchange gated whitepaper or eBooks. This will help re-engage your audience with informative content in order keep prospects engaged during the sales process.
Provide a SaaS knowledge base: (Support, Resources, Documentation)
Customers and prospects need to be educated on problems they face and how to overcome challenges and providing them with support content and resources is a big part in generating demand for SaaS products.
It goes without question that the majority of professionals purchasing a SaaS product start with research-oriented customers who search for information about how SaaS solutions solves their problems or improves their processes before making any purchase decisions. Innately you can expect your same customers to visit your competitor’s knowledge base section on your website to review and compare support documentation like, “Getting Started,” “API Documentation,” and “How to Videos.” If you provide helpful resources and help position your company as an expert in this space then you’ll be able to assist prospects from the research and discovery phase to the customer buying stage.
When it comes to building trust and authority, easy to consume documentation, case studies, guides, and customer video testimonies are your best bet. They provide valuable information that can be used by customers in deciding whether or not they want a SaaS product from you while also qualifying your competitors products! Case studies do an especially good job at this because many times companies will look at how other companies benefited using your SaaS product, while comparing similar problems they’re experiencing before making their buying decision. Offering examples of “customer success stories" could make all of the difference between closing deals quickly vs losing an almost gained customer to a competitor with similar product or service.
Identify as the authority in your space:
When you’re creating a new niche and solving a company's problem, it is critical to establish your authority in the space to gain customer trust in both your SaaS product, but also leadership. It will become difficult to share your added value proposition without proper resources or documentation. It’s crucial to engage an audience who trusts what your leadership has produced- and how it will alleviate their problems and challenges. The key lies within positioning your company as the authority software solution companies and professionals trust.
Trust is built through content development and providing expert resources. Your company can become authoritative in a new space by becoming an authority on its topic, which will ultimately lead to more trust from potential customers because you're solving their problems through organic channels. Your company can become the natural solution to a customer's problem by developing content that provides authoritative information, leveraging expertise of team members, sharing insightful data and coming out first with expert resources around your niche.
These companies have created comprehensive learning centers for customers to better understand their products. HubSpot offers an entire section on the website with tutorials, guides and data that can be used by anyone looking into automating their sales and marketing process or simply managing it more efficiently. Shopify provides plenty of case studies showcasing businesses who've successfully built an ecommerce site of their website builder platform!
Build partnerships into the right audience
While it can take years to build your organic traffic and find the right ad strategy, there are ways that you could be generating B2B leads in the meantime. One way is by leveraging existing partnerships and networks which have gained trust and earned their audiences attention. There is a tremendous amount of value your company benefits from when a partner positions your SaaS solution to their own customers, your audience through their own blogs, social media posts, podcasts, and newsletters. Not only does your company gain instant awareness of your brand, but it also supports your SEO efforts due to added backlinks from high domain ranking sites!
Generating demand for SaaS products is all about being a leader in your space and seeing a clear path forward while being the authority. This opportunity only comes with being able to create new niches, understanding your customer's pain points, end goals, and how your SaaS solution will enable them to overcome their problems. Once those needs have been established then consider how these same capabilities could benefit other companies who may not currently be aware of your SaaS solution to their problem - let's call these Newly Identified Users (NUNS)- which can result into increased revenue streams due to product adoption.
