SaaS companies know the value of customer engagement when it comes to closing leads. Far too often, a customer will sign up for a free trial only to end up not actually using the platform and therefore not purchasing it. On the other hand, a customer’s high level of engagement with a product during a free trial is a good indicator that they understand the value of the product well enough that they will subscribe upon the completion of the free trial. This is exactly the kind of lead SaaS marketers want to attract and nurture.
So how can you optimize your SaaS marketing strategy to attract high-quality leads that will engage with your product and ultimately become paying customers? See our 4 tips below:
Know Your Ideal Customer
You can increase your likelihood of attracting highly engaged potential customers to your free trial simply by making sure that your marketing efforts are targeting your ideal customers . But to be able to better target these customers, first you have to understand who they are and how to position your offer to them.
To do this, you’ll need to create buyer personas, or generalized representations of your ideal customers, by piecing together the trends that emerge from data you’ve gathered through interviewing and researching your target audience. Combine the trends you’ve discovered to create a comprehensive image of your buyer persona that you and your team can use to better tap into the minds of your ideal customers. Knowing your ideal customer inside and out using buyer personas will help you better tailor your marketing strategies to attract them to your service.
Create Content that Your Customers Need
Once you know your ideal customer, help them find you by creating engaging content that is relevant to what they’re searching for. Use your blog posts to educate your customers and show them what makes your product cool and unique. Answering your customers’ frequently asked questions and making them more informed buyers through your content will help position your company as an industry expert, and showing them what makes your product exceptional will entice them to try it out. Create content that your potential customers want to see and they will reward you with their trust and increased engagement with your brand and product.
Create behavior-triggered lead nurturing email campaigns
Oftentimes, the reason for lack of engagement with your product during a free trial may be that your potential customer doesn’t know how to proceed, and they are likely to stop using your service altogether. You can combat this with behavior-triggered lead nurturing email campaigns that activate when a customer is exhibiting certain signs that they are not engaged. Such signs include:
- Short session lengths
- Not logging in after a certain period of time
- Spending too much time on one task (which indicates the customer may not understand how to do a specific function and is likely frustrated)
Provide your potential customers with a series of emails containing useful content that will ultimately help them understand the benefits of using your product, or offer a live demo where a company rep guides users through the software. This will reinvigorate their desire to test your product, and help them move down the funnel towards becoming customers.
Provide an unparalleled customer experience
To see increased customer engagement with your product, you should constantly be monitoring and optimizing the experience that your prospects and customers have with your company and while using your product. Your customer’s success with your software will lead to your success in selling it to them and other potential customers, so take stock of your current customer experience strategies (from first contact to following up post-purchase) to see where you can make improvements. Here are tips you can use to enhance your customers’ experience:
- Create user guides for your product that help navigate customers through the platform and teach them how to use your tools
- Use social media to engage with customers, respond to their concerns, and monitor mentions of your brand for feedback
- Delight your customers with rewards and surprise discounts and upgrades
- Create a thorough and memorable onboarding experience for prospects who become customers
We hope these 4 tips will help you fine-tune your SaaS marketing strategy for increased customer engagement with your product, and ultimately, more conversions.
