How To Build A Killer B2B SaaS Marketing Strategy

Did you know that business-to-business (B2B) spending on SaaS products is expected to increase by up to 241%?

Not only that. The global SaaS market size is forecasted to reach $716.52 billion from 2022 to 2027.

There is no denying the opportunity that awaits a B2B SaaS company today. But with the increasing competition, it is getting harder to break through the noise.

However, with the right approach to B2B SaaS marketing, your SaaS company can get more noticed and land more customers. You can get ahead of the competition.

In this article, we will talk about how you can build a killer B2B SaaS marketing strategy to do just that.

Let’s dive right in.

1) Define Your Goals

The first step in any marketing plan is to define your goals.

What do you want to achieve with your marketing efforts?

Do you want to increase brand awareness? Generate leads? Convert leads into paying customers?

Your goals will shape the rest of your marketing strategy, so it’s important to take the time to think about what you want to accomplish.

2) Know Your Target Audience

Who are you marketing to?

It is important to have a clear understanding of who your target audience is. What are their needs and pain points? What are their demographics? Where do they hang out online?

The better you know your target audience, the easier it will be to reach them with your marketing campaign.

Now, to gain a deeper understanding of your target audience, you need to create two things: your ideal customer profile and buyer persona.

Ideal Customer Profile (ICP)

Basically, your ICP is a description of a customer that would be a perfect fit for your SaaS platform.

It includes different firmographic information about your ideal customer, such as:

• Industry
• Company size
• Annual revenue
• Legal status (privately owned, LLC, subsidiary, etc.)
• Location

Creating an ICP can help you focus your marketing campaign on the right type of companies.

Buyer Persona

A buyer persona is a fictional representation of your ideal customer. It takes into account factors such as demographics, behavior patterns, motivations, and challenges.

You may create multiple buyer personas within a company.

For example, let’s say your ICP is a small business with 10 to 50 employees. You could create separate buyer personas for the CEO, manager, or employees.

Knowing the specific type of people you are targeting will help you create marketing messages that will actually resonate with them.

3) Establish Your Brand Identity

Your SaaS brand identity is one of the most important aspects of your digital marketing strategy. After all, it will heavily influence how your prospective customers will perceive your SaaS company.

Some factors to consider when establishing your brand identity include the following:

Visuals

This includes your logo, color scheme, fonts, and overall design.

Your visuals should be consistent across all of your B2B SaaS marketing channels (website, social media, email, etc.). This will help people recognize your brand more easily.

Positioning

This is how you want your brand to be perceived by your target market. It is the main message you want to communicate about your company.

The main statements that establish your positioning include your value proposition and unique selling proposition (USP).

Your value proposition is a statement that explains what benefit your SaaS product provides and how it solves your target customer’s problem.

Your USP, on the other hand, is what makes your product unique and differentiates it from your competitors.

You need both of these statements to clearly communicate what your SaaS platform is all about.

Messaging & Tone of Voice

Your message should be in line with your positioning. It should be clear, concise, and easy to understand.

But most importantly, your tone of voice should be consistent across all marketing materials. If a casual tone appeals to your target audience, you should stick to that tone in all of your marketing assets.

This includes everything from website copy to social media posts.

4) Choose Your Marketing Strategy

In order to achieve your B2B SaaS marketing goals, you need to select marketing methods that would best serve your target audience.

There are three main marketing methodologies you can consider:

• Inbound Marketing
• Outbound marketing
• Account-based marketing

Let’s talk about them one by one.

Inbound Marketing

Inbound marketing is probably the most effective digital marketing methodology for any B2B SaaS company.

It’s a long-term and cost-effective approach that focuses on attracting prospects and turning them into leads, customers, and promoters of your brand.

The main channels and strategies used in inbound marketing are:

• Content marketing (blog posts, videos, infographics, etc.)
• Search engine optimization (SEO)
• Social media marketing
• Email marketing
• Paid inbound marketing efforts (PPC ads, influencer marketing, affiliate marketing, etc.)

Outbound Marketing

Outbound marketing is the opposite of inbound marketing.

This is a more aggressive approach that involves proactively reaching out to people who may be interested in your product.

The main channels used in outbound marketing include the following:

• Cold calling
• Cold emailing
• Some types of paid advertising
• Events and webinars

Account Based Marketing (ABM)

Account based marketing is sort of a mix between outbound and inbound marketing.

With this approach, you focus your marketing efforts on specific accounts that are more likely to convert.

As a result, the marketing materials in ABM are usually highly personalized for the specific accounts they are targeting.

Some of the channels used in ABM include:

• Personalized emails
• Targeted content
• Targeted ads

5) Offer A Free Version Of Your SaaS Product

The most effective way to get a potential customer to buy your SaaS product is to give them a first-hand experience of its features and benefits.

The best way to do this is to offer a free trial or a freemium version of your SaaS product.

This will allow them to explore all the different aspects of your SaaS platform and see for themselves how it can help solve their problem.

6) Map Out Your Customer Journey

Before you start creating any marketing materials, it’s important to map out your SaaS customer journey.

This will give you a clear idea of what content and messages you need to create for each stage of the buyer’s journey.

It will also help you build your content marketing funnel and SaaS sales funnel.

The main stages of the SaaS buyer’s journey are:

• Awareness
• Consideration
• Decision
• Delight
• Advocacy

Awareness Stage

At this stage, your potential customer is just becoming aware of their pain point. They don’t yet know that your SaaS product exists.

Your goal at this stage is to educate them about their problem and build trust with them.

The main content marketing strategies you can use at this stage are:

• Educational blog posts and videos
• Social media posts
• Infographics

Consideration Stage

At this stage, your potential customer already knows they have a problem. And they’re actively searching for a solution.

This is where they start comparing different options and considering which one is the best fit for their needs.

Your goal at this stage is to position your SaaS product as the best solution to their problem.

The main B2B marketing strategies you can use at this stage are:

• Product comparisons
• Case studies and customer testimonials
• Demo videos
• Free trials and freemium accounts

Decision Stage

At this stage, your potential customer has made up their mind about buying your SaaS product.

Your goal at this stage is to guide them through the final steps of the purchase process and answer any questions they may have.

The main marketing strategies you can use at this stage are:

• Product walkthroughs and how-to guides
• Webinars
• FAQs

Delight Stage

At this stage, your new customer has successfully implemented your SaaS product and is reaping the benefits.

Your goal at this stage is customer retention. You need to keep them subscribed to your SaaS product for as long as possible.

You can do that by continuing to provide them with valuable content that will help them get the most out of your product.

You may also want to have a SaaS upsell strategy in place. Based on their usage of your SaaS product, you can time and personalize your offer for them to upgrade their subscriptions to higher tiers.

Advocacy Stage

You can also take it further and turn your customers into advocates. This is a great way to foster word-of-mouth marketing for your brand.

The following strategies may work here:

• Offering incentives for customers to give user reviews
• Gathering your customers in a SaaS community
• Involving your customers in a case study

7) List Your Company On Popular SaaS Review Sites

If you want to get in front of more potential customers, you need to be visible on popular SaaS review sites.

Most B2B buyers research a SaaS product on these platforms before making a purchasing decision.

So it’s important to have a presence on them.

Some of the most popular SaaS review sites are:

• G2 (formerly G2Crowd)
• TrustRadius
• Capterra
• FinancesOnline

8) Track The Right B2B SaaS Marketing Metrics

If you want to measure the success of your B2B saas marketing strategy, you need to track the right KPIs.

There are a lot of possible marketing KPIs that can go with your various digital marketing channels and strategies.

But here are some of the most essential B2B SaaS marketing metrics you should be tracking:

• Website traffic
• Lead velocity rate
• Conversion rate
• Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)
• Customer Lifetime Value (LTV)
• LTV CAC ratio
• Monthly recurring revenue (MRR)
• Annual recurring revenue (ARR)
• Churn rate
• Net Promoter Score (NPS)

Final Thoughts About Creating Your B2B SaaS Marketing Strategy

Every business is different. And what strategy works for one company may not necessarily work for another.

That’s why, when it comes to creating a marketing plan, it’s always important to do your homework.

You need to deeply understand what you’re selling, who you’re selling to, and how you’re selling it.

Only then can you create a B2B SaaS marketing strategy that actually works for your business.

Looking for more guides to help you grow your SaaS company? Visit our blog here.