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SaaS companies rely on a recurring revenue model, making customer satisfaction and retention vital for long-term success. In order to achieve your desired goals, you should move past basic marketing methods and gain an in-depth understanding of your customers (what they need and how they make decisions). This is where customer personas come into play.

Customer personas are fictional, yet data-driven representations of your ideal customers. They provide a detailed snapshot of various customer types within your target market, encapsulating their demographics, behaviors, motivations, and pain points. With these personas, SaaS companies can make better marketing plans, tailor their products, and form closer bonds with customers.

In this guide, we will shed light on the process of creating and utilizing SaaS customer personas to enhance your targeting efforts. We’ll explore the steps involved in gathering and analyzing customer data, identifying key segments, and developing detailed persona profiles. You will also understand how you can use these personas in your marketing and other aspects of your business (content creation, product development, and so on).

Steps to Create Effective SaaS Customer Personas

#1. Conduct Thorough Research

Creating effective SaaS customer personas begins with a deep and comprehensive understanding of your existing and potential customers. For this, you need to do thorough research to gather and analyze data from various sources to fully understand your customers (who they are, what they need, and how they behave).

You can create surveys that cover a range of topics including demographics, job roles, goals, challenges, product usage, and satisfaction levels. Use a mix of open-ended and multiple-choice questions to gather diverse insights.

Try to schedule one-on-one interviews with a representative sample of your customers. Use these interviews to dive deeper into their experiences, preferences, and pain points. Personal anecdotes and detailed feedback can provide invaluable insights that surveys might miss.

It is advisable to use tools like Google Analytics to find out how people behave on your website. You can get details regarding how many pages they look at, how long they stay, and the paths they take (conversion paths)  to find out how they’re interacting with your site. You should also analyze how people use your product. Identify which features are most popular, which ones are rarely used, and any common usage patterns. This data can reveal what customers value most and where they may encounter issues.

It is highly recommended that you organize regular meetings with your support and sales teams to gather their insights. Ask them to share common questions, complaints, and feedback they receive from customers. You should definitely check the data in your CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system to see how customers interact with your business and how sales develop over time.

You should look into industry reports and studies to understand current market trends, upcoming technologies, and common challenges that companies similar to yours face. Analyze your competitors to understand their customer base, product features, and marketing strategies. This can help you identify gaps and opportunities in the market.

You should monitor social media data, platforms and online communities where your potential customers are active. This can provide real-time insights into their interests, concerns, and discussions. Use social listening tools to track mentions of your brand, competitors, and relevant industry keywords on social media platforms. Participate in forums, groups, and communities related to your industry. Pay attention to the questions being asked, the topics being discussed, and the feedback being shared.

#2. Identify Key Segments

After gathering comprehensive data through thorough research, the next crucial step in creating effective SaaS customer personas is to identify key segments within your customer base. This involves analyzing the data to uncover patterns and group customers who share similar characteristics and behaviors. These segments form the basis of your personas, enabling you to target and tailor your strategies more precisely.

You should examine the demographic information collected during your research to identify common traits among your customers. This includes age, gender, location, education level, job title, and industry. Use cluster analysis techniques to group customers with similar demographic profiles. 

For B2B SaaS companies, firmographic data is essential. This includes information about the companies your customers work for, such as company size, revenue, and industry sector. Identify if your customers are primarily from small, medium, or large enterprises. Group customers based on the industries they operate in to tailor industry-specific solutions.

It’s crucial to understand behavioral data because it shows you how customers use and engage with your products and services. This includes usage patterns, feature preferences, purchase history, and support interactions. You should identify heavy users versus casual users, and see if certain features are more popular among specific groups. Try to look for common issues or frequent requests from different segments to understand their pain points and needs.

Understanding what drives your customers and their primary goals is crucial for effective segmentation. To find out why customers use your product and what they aim to accomplish with it, listen carefully to their feedback (what they say in interviews). This helps you find out common goals like making things work better, spending less money, or making customers happier. Group customers based on their motivations, such as early adopters seeking innovation versus cost-conscious buyers looking for value.

Different customer segments may face unique challenges (and pain points). Identifying these can help you create personas that address specific issues and needs. Categorize pain points by their nature, such as technical difficulties, usability issues, or lack of certain features.

Different segments may prefer different communication channels for receiving information and support. Understanding these preferences helps in tailoring your outreach effort. Survey data helps you identify the preferred channels (email, social media, or phone). Analyze engagement metrics from different channels to see where each segment is most active.

#3. Develop Persona Profiles

Once you’ve identified your key segments, create detailed profiles for each. Each persona should include a name, demographic details, job title, company information, goals, challenges, and preferred communication channels. Adding a photo or illustration can help humanize the persona and make it more relatable.

Example Persona:

Name: Sarah, the Savvy Marketer

Age: 34

Job Title: Marketing Manager

Company: Mid-sized SaaS company

Goals: Increase lead generation, improve brand visibility

Challenges: Limited budget, need for marketing automation

Preferred Channels: Email, LinkedIn, industry blogs

By systematically identifying key segments within your customer base, you can create detailed and relevant personas that reflect the diversity of your audience.

#4. Tailor Your Messaging and Content

We mentioned in one of our previous sections that each persona has unique needs, goals, and challenges. Your messaging should directly address these elements to demonstrate that you understand and can solve their specific problems. Make sure to use language and terminology that resonates with each persona’s industry, job role, and expertise level.

Create content that speaks directly to each persona’s interests and needs. This ensures that your content is relevant and engaging, increasing the likelihood of capturing their attention and driving action. Write blog posts and articles that address the specific challenges and goals of each persona. Use case studies and testimonials from customers that match each persona. This provides social proof and shows how similar customers have benefited from your product.

Email marketing remains a powerful tool for engaging customers. Segment your email lists based on your personas to send targeted and relevant messages. Craft subject lines that speak directly to the persona’s interests or pain points. Ensure that the content of your emails is relevant to the specific needs and challenges of the persona receiving it. Include personalized recommendations and offers, utilizing cloud content management to store and retrieve dynamic content effortlessly.

Design landing pages that cater to each persona’s specific needs and motivations. Tailored landing pages can significantly improve conversion rates by providing a more relevant and persuasive experience. Highlight the benefits and features of your product that are most relevant to each persona. Use CTAs that align with the goals and interests of each persona. For instance, you can use a “Request a Demo” CTA for a tech-savvy user and a “Download our Budgeting Guide” CTA for a finance-focused persona.

Different personas may prefer different social media platforms and content types. Tailor your social media strategy to match these preferences. Choose the social media platforms that are most popular among each persona. For example, LinkedIn for B2B personas and Twitter for tech-savvy users. Use the content formats that each persona prefers, such as video tutorials for hands-on users or infographics for busy executives.

#5. Align Your Product Development

Creating and utilizing SaaS customer personas is not just about enhancing your marketing efforts; it’s also crucial for guiding your product development. When you design your product to match what your customer personas want and like, you make sure it meets their exact needs. This makes customers happier and more likely to use and like your product.

You should actively seek feedback from your personas during the product development process to ensure that the features and improvements you’re working on truly address their needs. Involve representatives from each persona group in beta testing phases. Gather their feedback on new features and usability. Conduct surveys and interviews with your personas to understand their reactions to new features and gather suggestions for further improvements.

Different personas may have varying levels of technical expertise and preferences for how they interact with your product. Tailor your user interface (UI) to accommodate these differences. For personas with less technical expertise, focus on creating a user-friendly and intuitive interface with clear instructions and minimal complexity. For more tech-savvy personas, provide advanced features and customization options that allow them to leverage the full power of your product.

The onboarding process is critical for user adoption and retention. Design onboarding experiences that cater to the specific needs and challenges of each persona. Create onboarding tutorials and guides that address the specific use cases and goals of each persona. For example, a step-by-step setup guide for new users or advanced configuration tips for experienced users. Offer personalized onboarding support, such as one-on-one training sessions or dedicated customer success managers, to ensure each persona group can get the most out of your product.

#6. Measure and Refine

Creating SaaS customer personas is an ongoing process that requires continuous measurement and refinement to ensure their accuracy and effectiveness. Keep your customer profiles up to date by regularly reviewing and adding new information. This helps ensure that your marketing and product development always meet their changing needs.

Monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) to assess the effectiveness of your personas in driving engagement, satisfaction, and growth.

  • Engagement Metrics: Track metrics such as website visits, content downloads, email open rates, and social media interactions to see how well your personas are engaging with your marketing efforts.
  • Conversion Rates: Measure conversion rates for different personas to determine how effectively your targeted campaigns are driving desired actions, such as trial sign-ups, demo requests, and purchases.
  • Customer Retention: Monitor retention rates and customer lifetime value (CLV) for each persona to evaluate how well your product and engagement strategies are meeting their needs.

Always analyze your data to find patterns and trends that might show shifts in how customers behave or new opportunities to group them differently. Use analytics tools to track how customers from different personas are using your product and engaging with your content. Look for changes in usage patterns, feature preferences, and engagement levels. Re-evaluate your segmentation criteria periodically to ensure they still accurately reflect your customer base. Consider whether new segments have emerged or if existing segments need to be adjusted.

Based on the insights gathered from tracking metrics, collecting feedback, and analyzing data, update your persona profiles to reflect the latest information. Update demographic information, goals, challenges, and behavior patterns in your persona profiles as needed. Ensure that each persona remains accurate and relevant. Create new personas if your analysis reveals distinct groups of customers that were previously unrecognized. Ensure these new personas are fully integrated into your marketing and product strategies.

Continuously test and optimize your messaging, content, and strategies to ensure they resonate with your updated personas. Conduct A/B testing on different messages, content formats, and CTAs to determine which variations perform best with each persona. 

Final Thoughts

Developing detailed SaaS customer personas is a powerful way to enhance your targeting efforts. Once you discover what various customer groups need and the challenges they encounter, you can adjust your marketing, product ideas, and overall plans more effectively to meet their needs. This makes customers happier and helps your SaaS business grow successfully.

It is crucial to measure and refine your SaaS customer personas on a regular basis. This ongoing commitment to understanding and meeting your customers’ evolving needs will drive greater satisfaction, loyalty, and growth for your SaaS business.

Keeping your edge in the world of SaaS is all about understanding the numbers that truly matter. Let’s face it, numbers tell the real story. By tracking the right SaaS sales metrics, you get a close-up view of what your sales process is nailing, where it could use a boost, and the overall health of your business. 

This article dives into the essential SaaS sales metrics, and how they can inform robust sales strategies. The following metrics are the cheat codes to navigating the SaaS game:

Contents

  1. Why You Need to Track Sales Metrics
  2. Metrics Every SaaS Business Needs to Track
    1. Average Deal Size
    2. Customer Lifetime Value (LTV)
    3. Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)
    4. Churn
    5. Conversion Rates
    6. Win Rate
  3. Metrics You Shouldn’t Track
  4. Using a CRM to Track Metrics
  5. Conclusion
  6. FAQs: Tracking Sales Metrics

Why You Need to Track Sales Metrics

Having worked with over 250 SaaS companies on their business strategies, I’ve come to realize how important tracking the right metrics can be. Everyone knows they should track sales metrics, but not everyone knows why. 

Tracking sales metrics for your SaaS business is indispensable. It aids in sustained success. When you track them properly, sales metrics offer invaluable insights into the health and performance of your sales efforts. They reveal what’s working well and where improvements are needed. 

Performance Evaluation

Tracking SaaS sales metrics is crucial for evaluating the performance of your SaaS business. They provide insights into how well the sales team is performing and whether or not the strategy you have in place is actually working. Analyzing performance metrics help identify strengths and weaknesses, and allow for targeted improvements. 

Revenue Forecasting

By analyzing historical sales data, SaaS businesses can identify trends, patterns, and seasonality that impact revenue. Accurate revenue forecasts are essential for budgeting, financial planning, and making strategic decisions to ensure sustainable growth.

Data-Driven Approach

Adopting a data-drive approach is hugely important when growing a SaaS business. Using real-time data helps make informed decisions and adapt quickly to changing market conditions. Data-driven insights help optimize sales strategies, manage the success of your Go-To-Market strategy, refine targeting approaches, and allow you to stay ahead in a competitive market.

Based on the data, you’ll identify your GTM sales and marketing choke points, diagnose them properly, and iterate on the target market, messaging, and sales activities.

Aligning Sales and Marketing

SaaS sales metrics play a large role in aligning sales and marketing efforts. This alignment ensures that marketing initiatives are targeted towards generating high-value leads, and sales efforts are focused on converting those leads into revenue.

Optimizing Resource Allocation

Understanding which channels, campaigns, and sales reps are most effective helps you allocate your resources more effectively. This leads to a better return on investment (ROI) as resources are directed towards strategies and activities that work and yield the best results.

Metrics Every SaaS Business Needs to Track

The following are the key SaaS sales metrics every sales team and SaaS business needs to track. Tracking these specific metrics will allow you to make informed decisions, optimize sales processes, align strategies with market demand, and build a robust sales pipeline. 

1. Average Deal Size

Average Deal Size is the average value of deals closed within a specific period. It is calculated by dividing the total revenue generated by the number of deals closed. Tracking this metric provides valuable insights into the financial performance of your SaaS business and the effectiveness of your sales strategy. A rising average deal size indicates your business is successfully securing larger contracts, contributing to increased revenue and profitability. 

This metric is essential for strategic planning, helping you tailor your sales approach and optimize pricing strategies to maximize revenue. When you understand the dynamics of deal sizes, you can refine your product offerings and sales process to attract and close deals with higher financial impact, ultimately driving sustainable growth and success.

2. Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)

Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) measures the cost of acquiring a new customer, including marketing and sales expenses. Keeping CAC in check is crucial for ensuring the cost of acquiring customers is sustainable, and does not exceed the revenue generated per customer over time. In SaaS customer acquisition, maintaining a low CAC is vital for achieving profitability and scaling effectively.

3. Lifetime Value (LTV)

Lifetime Value (LTV) represents the total revenue a business can expect from a customer throughout their entire relationship. By comparing LTV to CAC, companies can assess the long-term profitability of their customer base. A high LTV:CAC ratio indicates a healthy and sustainable SaaS business.

4. Conversion Rates

Tracking conversion rates at various stages of the sales funnel helps identify bottlenecks and areas for improvement in the sales process. Improving these conversion rates can lead to increased revenue and more efficient use of resources.

  • Lead to Opportunity
  • Opportunity to Application
  • Application to Customer

5. Win Rate

The win rate stands out as a key indicator of your company’s sales success. This metric represents the percentage of deals or opportunities that your sales team successfully converts into closed deals. Tracking this percentage will help you understand the efficiency of your sales process and help you capitalize on more sales opportunities.

A high win rate indicates a strong sales strategy and effective engagement with potential customers. A lower win rate may signal for areas of improvement in your sales approach. By monitoring this rate over time, you can refine your sales tactics, enhance customer interactions, and ultimately boost overall revenue and success.

6. Pipeline Coverage

Pipeline coverage is one of the most important SaaS sales metrics to track. This metric shows whether your sales pipeline is sufficient enough to consistently meet your revenue goals. It’s the ratio between the total dollar value of your opportunities and your revenue targets. Your sales pipeline coverage quantifies the amount of opportunities that are needed to align with your sales objectives. 

To calculate your pipeline coverage, take your target revenue number and divide it with your current win rate. The number you get is how much pipeline coverage you actually need to meet your revenue goals. Most SaaS businesses fail to realize that you actually need five times pipeline coverage to reach your revenue goals. 

Metrics You Shouldn’t Track

There isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach to what you shouldn’t track. The relevance of metrics may vary based on specific business goals and strategies. However, it is generally advisable to avoid tracking overly granular or irrelevant metrics that don’t contribute to meaningful insights or decision-making.

Vanity Metrics

Vanity metrics may look impressive, but they lack actionable insights and don’t contribute directly to your business’ bottom line. These metrics can be misleading and could create a false sense of success. Common examples of vanity metrics include:

  • Number of Leads:
    • While having a high number of leads seems positive, the quality of those leads is more important. Focusing solely on the quantity without considering lead quality can misdirect your sales process.
  • Social Media Engagement:
    • Social media presence is extremely important for brand visibility and building your pipeline, but the number of likes and followers don’t directly translate to revenue. It’s more valuable to track conversions from social media efforts.
  • Email Open Rates
    • While open rates can provide insights, they don’t necessarily indicate the effectiveness of the email driving conversions or revenue. Click-through rates and conversion rates are more meaningful metrics to evaluate.
  • Website Traffic
    • High website traffic is important, but it’s more crucial to analyze the quality of that traffic and the conversion rate into actual sales. Focusing solely on traffic numbers won’t directly reflect the true impact on the business.
  • Demo Requests
    • Demo requests are an essential part of the pipeline. As nice as it may be to track the number of demo requests coming in, the ultimate goal is to convert demos into paying customers. Tracking the conversion rate from demos to sales is much more valuable than counting the number of demo requests.

Using a CRM to Track Metrics

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems are a game-changer when tracking SaaS sales metrics. CRMs serve as a centralized hub that automatically captures and organizes critical data throughout the sales process. From lead generation to customer retention, these platforms allow SaaS businesses to monitor and analyze key metrics seamlessly.

Conclusion

Tracking the right sales metrics isn’t just a fancy exercise, it’s the secret for a thriving business. SaaS businesses that embrace the numbers thrive in changing markets and are armed with the knowledge to make informed decisions that drive growth.

If you’re serious about enacting your Go-To-Market strategy, supercharging your sales game, and leveling up your overall business strategy, keep a close eye on those metrics. They’re the key to unlocking sustainable growth and staying ahead of the SaaS game.

FAQs: Tracking Sales Metrics

  1. What are the most important sales metrics for SaaS companies?
    Answer: The most important sales metrics for SaaS companies include Average Deal Size, Customer Lifetime Value (LTV), Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC), Churn Rate, Conversion Rates, and Win Rate. These metrics provide valuable insights into the company’s sales performance and customer behavior.
  2. How does Average Deal Size impact SaaS revenue?
    Answer: Average Deal Size affects SaaS revenue by indicating the average revenue generated per sale. Larger deal sizes typically mean higher revenue, but they may also require more resources and time to close. Balancing deal size with the sales cycle’s efficiency is key for revenue growth.
  3. What is Customer Lifetime Value and why is it crucial for SaaS businesses?
    Answer: Customer Lifetime Value (LTV) represents the total revenue a company expects to earn from a customer over their business relationship. It’s crucial for SaaS businesses as it helps in understanding the long-term value of customers, guiding marketing and sales strategies, and investment decisions.
  4. How can SaaS companies calculate and reduce their Customer Acquisition Cost?
    Answer: SaaS companies calculate Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) by dividing the total costs associated with acquiring new customers (including marketing and sales expenses) by the number of new customers acquired. Reducing CAC can be achieved through more efficient marketing strategies, better targeting, and improving sales processes.
  5. What strategies can be used to minimize churn in a SaaS business model?
    Answer: Strategies to minimize churn include providing excellent customer service, regular engagement with customers, offering personalized experiences, addressing customer issues promptly, and continuously improving the product based on customer feedback.
  6. Why are Conversion Rates important in measuring SaaS business success?
    Answer: Conversion Rates are critical as they indicate the effectiveness of a company’s sales and marketing strategies in turning prospects into paying customers. High conversion rates suggest that the company’s targeting and value proposition are resonating well with its audience.
  7. How does a SaaS company improve its Win Rate?
    Answer: A SaaS company can improve its Win Rate by refining its sales strategies, focusing on high-quality leads, enhancing its value proposition, investing in training for its sales team, and continuously analyzing and learning from both won and lost deals.
  8. What role do sales metrics play in SaaS business growth?
    Answer: Sales metrics play a pivotal role in SaaS business growth as they provide insights into sales performance, customer preferences, and market trends. These metrics help in making informed decisions, strategizing for growth, and identifying areas for improvement.
  9. How often should SaaS companies analyze their sales metrics?
    Answer: SaaS companies should regularly analyze their sales metrics, ideally monthly or quarterly. Frequent analysis allows for timely adjustments in strategies and keeps the company aligned with its sales objectives and market changes.
  10. Can understanding sales metrics help in customer retention for SaaS businesses?
    Answer: Yes, understanding sales metrics can significantly aid in customer retention. Metrics like LTV, churn rate, and customer satisfaction provide insights into customer behavior and preferences, enabling companies to tailor their services and retain customers more effectively.

If you are in the SaaS industry and not already tracking metrics – you should be! In this blog post we are keeping things very simple, providing readers with a glossary of definitions for the key SaaS metrics.

If you have any suggestions or recommended additions for the glossary, please reach out to the Teamgate team!

Glossary: SaaS Metrics

Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) – The total amount of revenue that a company expects to receive on an annual basis from its recurring revenue streams.

Burn Rate – The rate at which a company is spending its available capital, typically measured in terms of how long it would take to exhaust its current cash balance.

Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) – The cost of acquiring each new customer, including marketing and sales expenses.

Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) – The estimated revenue that a customer will generate over the course of their relationship with a company.

Churn Rate – The percentage of customers who cancel their subscriptions or stop using a product or service.

Gross Margin – The difference between a company’s revenue and the cost of goods sold, expressed as a percentage.

Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR) – The total amount of revenue that a company expects to receive on a monthly basis from its recurring revenue streams.

Net Promoter Score (NPS) – A measure of customer satisfaction, calculated by asking customers how likely they are to recommend a company’s products or services to a friend or colleague.

Net Revenue Retention – The amount of revenue that a company is able to retain over a given period of time, after accounting for lost revenue due to churn or contractions.

Operating Expenses – The costs incurred by a company to run its business, including salaries, rent, and other overhead costs.

Payback Period – The amount of time it takes for a company to recoup the cost of a specific investment.

Retention Rate – The percentage of customers who continue to use a product or service over a given period of time.

Revenue Churn – The amount of revenue lost due to churn or contractions over a given period of time.

Sales Qualified Lead (SQL) – A lead that has been deemed ready to enter the sales process.

Sales Qualified Opportunity (SQO) – An opportunity that has been deemed ready to enter the sales process.

Upsell Rate – The percentage of customers who upgrade their subscriptions or purchase additional products or services.

User Base – The total number of users of a product or service.

User Churn – The percentage of users who stop using a product or service over a given period of time.

User Retention – The percentage of users who continue to use a product or service over a given period of time.

User Acquisition Cost (UAC) – The cost of acquiring each new user, including marketing and sales expenses.

User Lifetime Value (ULV) – The estimated revenue that a user will generate over the course of their relationship with a company.

Usage Rate – The percentage of users who actively use a product or service over a given period of time.

Average Deal Size – The average revenue generated by a completed sales deal.

Lead Conversion Rate – The percentage of leads that are converted into paying customers.

Marketing Qualified Lead (MQL) – A lead that has been deemed ready for the marketing team to engage with.

Marketing Qualified Opportunity (MQO) – An opportunity that has been deemed ready for the marketing team to engage with.

To learn more about how you could be automatically tracking your sales metrics within your CRM, visit Teamgate today!

Other than ensuring that your SaaS product is running like a well-oiled machine, do you know the other thing that keeps developers up at night?

They would ask themselves how to increase their sales.

Mind you, acquiring new customers is one of the most challenging things that you should do when you are in SaaS. No wonder some companies would tap the help of a SaaS marketing agency to take the load off of their shoulders.

Nonetheless, acquiring sales is one of the most rewarding things about SaaS. That’s why we have listed down five tactics that can help you boost your SaaS sales.

Generate Leads Using PPC

Pay-per-click may seem a boring lead generation technique, but it can be the most efficient. After all, you just simply need to write the ad copies, create a landing page, run the campaign, and start seeing results.

Nonetheless, you can use this tactic to target your preferred users. A good example is a business manager who is looking for an alternative to the software that they are already using.

If you are able to attract his attention using your PPC ads, the next thing you should expect to happen is that he will click it, and he will be redirected to your landing page.

However, instead of directing a site visitor to a landing page that explains what makes your SaaS product awesome, we suggest that you use a comparison landing page. It is the kind of landing page wherein you compare your product versus leading brands.

A great example of this is MailerLite’s pricing and feature comparison page.

What makes a comparison landing page work?

For one, it gives your target users the information they need. It shows how affordable your SaaS product is compared to others, as well as the better features that you can offer. It simply answers the question, “What makes you the right choice?”

Stay Connected Using Social Media

Regardless of whether you are targeting individual users or business owners, there is a big chance that the majority of them haven’t made up their minds about your SaaS product yet.

The rest are divided between those who love you and those who hate you.

Luckily, you can connect to these three kinds of target users through social media. Here’s how:

Use Client Testimonials as Social Proof

User testimonials are the best kind of social proof that you can get, and you should leverage it whenever you have the chance.

You can turn it into a case study, for example, and share it on social media. Or you can feature one of your clients in a Facebook video to showcase how your SaaS product was able to achieve their goal.

A great example would be Shopify’s feature on Kurasu as part of their #Shopify1Million campaign.

Properly Address Negative Issues

Using social media to address negative feedback from haters has two benefits:

  1. It sets the record straight before it gets out of hand.
  2. It lets you demonstrate your superb customer service.

Doing so allows you to quell rumors and inaccurate complaints, as well as earn the respect of your audience.

Educate Your Undecided Prospects

As mentioned earlier, the majority of your target users are undecided about your SaaS product. Fortunately, you can use social media to educate them on what makes you a better choice.

Did they send an inquiry via Facebook? Make sure to reply promptly. You can also direct them to the right resources, be it to your website’s knowledge base section or to a particular post on your page.

The key here is to directly answer their queries so that you can educate them on the value of what you offer.

Get Featured on Review Sites

Here’s the thing, your clients definitely do their homework before making a purchase. In fact, 66% of software buyers said that reading product reviews could have an impact on their buying decision.

As such, it would be a good idea to get featured on third-party review sites such as PCMag. First, review sites make it easy for your target users to compare products. Second, they are deemed more trustworthy than vendor sites (a.k.a. your website).

There are various ways to get featured on review sites.

One, you can partner with tech blogs, give them free access to your SaaS product for a limited time in exchange for a detailed review. There are also paid options wherein you pay a review site to review your product and share it with their network or place it on a “Featured Review” section.

Getting featured on review websites does not only validate your product, but it also helps your own website to earn backlinks from credible sources.

Use Strong Trust Signals

In SaaS marketing, credibility is gold.

There is a big chance that your target user already knows what your SaaS product is, as well as the solution it provides. But can you deliver your promise?

This is where strong trust signals come in. It allows you to project that your product is credible and reliable.

Here are some quick tips on how you can display your credibility:

  1. Use well-known trust seals. Trust seals from the likes of Norton, BBB, and Visa or Mastercard helps allay your prospects’ fears and concern about data privacy and security.
  2. Feature client testimonial. As mentioned earlier, it is the best kind of social proof that you could get. That’s because it demonstrates that your products can deliver results.
  3. Provide case studies. Case studies illustrate what your SaaS product can do, just like a client testimonial. But in addition, it gives your prospects a walkthrough on a particular use case that may be similar to theirs.
  4. Put customer service contact details front-and-center. Doing so simply shows that you are accessible should a prospect need your help or has an inquiry.

Offer a Free Trial

It is a no-brainer that offering free trial has become the standard in the SaaS industry. Otherwise, it could hinder your conversion rate.

Sure, your trust signals can put your prospects’ minds at ease, but a free trial gives them comfort to give your product a try. Plus, being able to tinker your software allows them to evaluate whether your product suits their needs.

On your end, this is a great opportunity to generate and capture leads that you can nurture later on and turn into paying clients.

Nonetheless, it is a rule of thumb that your trial period should not be longer than 14 days. After all, most prospects jump ship after three days.

SaaS is like the F1 race of the IT industry. It is fast-paced and highly competitive. Thus, the best way to get ahead of the competition is not just to work hard, but also to implement effective tactics that can help increase your SaaS sales.