Is Your B2B SaaS Startup Ready to Launch an SEM Campaign?

Implement proven SEM strategies to reduce the “trial and error” phase before deploying SEM campaigns.

Many startups will assume once they have built a functional SaaS product they can rely on SEM and SEO to support all of their SaaS MQLs, (Marketing Qualified Leads) however, this could be a costly mistake. SEM is expensive and can quickly cost tens-of-thousands-of-dollars in marketing spend per week, and if the demand generation foundation has not been properly defined before launching an SEM campaign, then the traffic being generated from the SEM ads may not convert due to poor landing pages, poor supporting content, or just completely missing the mark with your targeted personas. Startup entrepreneurs may say this is part of the “growing pains” a young SaaS startup must face as they enter the market, and to a small degree this might be true. (but it doesn’t have to be)

When leveraging a company like StartUP MQL you’re bypassing the initial “growing pain” phase, as we eliminate trial-and-error. StartUP MQL develops a well-thought-through demand generation strategy, covering inbound SEM traffic and internal workflow automation before launching an SEM campaign. Our goal is to have your B2B SaaS Startup spend marketing dollars smartly, not blindly.  

SEM is a proven marketing channel for most companies, and a well-thought-out process will convert unknown traffic into known users and marketing qualified leads. Are you taking the right actions before you launch a full-scale SEM campaign? The actions you take before launching a SEM campaign will have a direct impact on the success of the campaign. For example: are the SEM ads being deployed with the right messaging, are the landing pages custom for each persona, is there strong supporting content for each persona interested in your product, is the call-to-action (CTA) strong enough to convert unknown users to known leads, are unknown user being asked to fill out a long form or short form, do they have instant access to the platform or is access gated? These are only a few steps to address before launching an SEM campaign.

Once the front facing efforts have been addressed, then designing an internal workflow comes next. A smart process will require workflow automation to ensure new users are being sent timely follow-up emails with personalized documentation, the CRM is capturing pertinent and searchable information, the sales team is informed of all new leads, and actionable task are automatically generated. If you haven’t automated these processes and a prospect clicks on your SEM ad, took the time to review your SaaS product, filled out a form on your landing page to gather additional information to help their evaluation, and it takes many hours or days before they receive communication from your startup, then converting leads into a win will become much more difficult and will increase the sales cycle. It is important to automate these necessary steps to guarantee the rate of speed in which follow up communications are sent, and to keep the sales team informed of all new opportunities in real time.

Only after a strategic SEM strategy has been defined, content requirements for each persona have been written, supporting content readily available, and after defining your internal and external workflows should a SEM campaign go into deployment to start generating SaaS Leads.

Please contact StartUP MQL if you would like to have a discussion on how to properly define an SEM go to market strategy for your B2B SaaS Startup. Schedule your call now.