DEV Community: Debbie Moran

SAAS Marketing Techniques To Grow Faster In 2021 Your Way To Success

Debbie Moran — Fri, 17 Sep 2021 05:20:01 +0000

Like every product/service. SaaS products are different. They are intangible. They have intangible buyers. They have subscribers like Netflix, who have to pay for their product/ service annually, monthly, or quarterly.

To increase sales, they have a few tricks which are by giving annual discounts, showing off customer testimonials, social media promotions, enhanced customer experience, demos, Live chats, CTA, set up calls, and Feedback to retain the customer.

Not only this, this industry has its process as it has an intangible audience. So, they have to understand their presentations not through body language but by how they are expressing their views or presenting their questions in an email or call.

Providing Free trials is mostly there in the SaaS industry. As the audience will get to know what your product is creating value to their biz and how it is helpful in the growth of the biz by saving time/ money.

The free trial should not be too long or short. It should depend upon the complexity of the software.

SAAS Marketing Techniques To Grow Faster In 2021
Your Way To Success

Before knowing the technique one should know what Saas is and how it works. Right?
Like before buying anything we ask for the price of the product.

We all have heard about SaaS product marketing? But how it is different from other marketing channels is the thing to look into. Isn't it?
So, here we will give you the beginners guide For SaaS.

SaaS stands for Software as a service. It is a software licensing tool and a delivery model of a product. This service runs on a subscription basis and is hosted centrally. Like: Microsoft office.

The model involves software delivery by getting access to software with a proper internet connection and a device and removing the time-consuming process of installing and maintaining it.

Example: Netflix, where you chill and watch is an OTT platform which is a SaaS-based product where your service i.e. movies or series. It offers software to watch licensed videos on its platform. It has a zillionth base of subscribers all over the world.

SaaS products are intangible like any tangible product. But attain revenue and profits. They have their selling strategies that differ from company to company.

What are SaaS conversions?

It is like selling the software that the customer access through an online website or portal which is on a subscription basis which helps the biz and customers to grow their biz with save of time or money or improving their revenues

Since it is a subscription-based price model the customer gets frequent while buying these products as they are part of their growth which is a steady sale of their service.

And also, these products are highly customized. So, you can choose features according to your needs.

But the more expensive your product is, the more stakeholders will be involved which can stretch the process to one month or more. Here are other factors that slow down the SaaS sale cycle :

1.Complex software: the more complex the software is, the duration of the cycle will be more. So, in this case, the right prospect should be in the room for the proper and fastened solutions.

2.New Markets: if you are selling it to new markets, the cycle may be longer as you’re communicating with them and giving valuable information for the product. But before making them your customer you should educate them properly about the product which will further make them a frequent buyer.

3.Enterprises: Selling to these companies would increase the stakeholders but there would be technical and more legal red tapes which would slow down the cycle of sales.

4.Free Trials: if offer a free trial, then the length of the trial will naturally add time to the sales cycle. As the customer will utilize the free trial before proceeding with further buying. keeping in mind, the free trial should be short which will give two things: shorten the sales cycle and make the customer buy the service quickly.

The longer the trial, the longer would be the sale cycle which will take time to decide if the customer will buy it or not.

Fundamentals of SaaS Sales

“Having a repeatable process empowers your sales reps to sell with efficiency and confidence”. The process begins from:

Prospecting:Since we are selling it to the tech-savvy audience, we will do inbound marketing which includes blogs, online posts, email newsletters, whitepapers, etc.

In addition to that, we can do face-to-face interaction with potential buyers which is rare in this SaaS industry.

Qualifying: Not all visitors on your website or trial subscribers will buy the product. To know that, there are lead scores which is an automatic way to qualify leads and you will get information and interpret it from your data and assign it with the lead scores from 1 to 10.

Another way is to start a trial is to email them or call them for after-sale service. So, you will get an idea of the status of the buyer.

Presenting: Mostly it’s not possible to present in face-to-face interactions in the SaaS industry otherwise we have got it through body language.

Through online mode, presenting would be done through email sequence and frequent follow-ups which will let us know the pain points the way it’s been expressed.

Handling objectives: After presenting, prospects have questions and concerns about the product or service. So, you must have known what most of the customers ask and know how to handle the response of the prospect.

Closing: At this moment, the prospect becomes your customer. In this stage, we will deliver the final proposal of the product and negotiate with the customer.

Nurturing: to retain the SaaS customers excluding customer support which includes training for existing and new customers. Feedback includes reviews, rates, and testimonials.

Part of their happy moments by sending happy birthday, and celebration notes, etc.

How to increase your SaaS conversions using the right marketing strategy:

Create strategic trial duration

Most of the SaaS products have a trial duration. As it is a great way to hook new customers to buy, however, to make it worthwhile, you should plan it strategically.

When the customer has the opportunity to get trials which will help them to know the value of the product in their biz as well as the benefit of your offering.

The trial period should depend on the software. if the software is complex then 14 days or more trials would work. But what if the software is easy to adapt and gives the trial for 30 days?

It would only make the sale cycle long and there would be fewer customers buying the product. As they know every part of your software and will compare with the alternatives of the service. So, it depends on the product.

Custom/ live setup call

Many of us don’t know how to set up the software. How did things work? These customers have the priority of how the software will work for them by giving lesser importance to how your products work.

SaaS has the highest conversion from this special technique of Live setup call only. This CRM would help them to achieve their objective related to the product they have taken a trial or purchased.

Leverage Annual discounts

Many SaaS products offer annual discounts in exchange for the customer paying the bill all at once in a cheaper amount as compared to paying it every month which attracts customers to attain the service.
While the company gets a sizable influx of cash at a moment and doesn’t get worried about a customer leaving at any moment.

Automated follow-up

As you see whenever you log in to the florist website or hospital website. They will ask ‘how may I help you?’ which is an automated way of assisting you.
In the same way, these automated services will help the new customer to assist with the service and product and they have common queries stored which will be solved by the assistant by putting up the questions and shortening the sale cycle.

Content Marketing
This is the only way of communication between the buyer and seller. By reading your content, understanding it, and perceiving it makes the buyer come into your contact.
Biz around the globe is using content marketing to reach the audience and generate leads. With consistency, you share the content it will increase its value over time

PPC( pay per click) also generates leads but with valuable content.
So, content marketing is an asset for biz owners while online ads are temporary or rented. Biz around the globe is using content marketing to reach the audience and generate leads. Keeping content quality consistent across multiple channels helps increase brand awareness among your audience.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
This feature works hand in hand with content marketing by making it discoverable in google, bing, and ranking it in two ways: On-page SEO and off-page SEO.

On-page SEO: This form is under your control. You create content that people search to read. By adding internal links, UI, use of the title, and description.

Off-Page SEO: Mainly, when we hear about SEO, links are the things that click us. But getting the right trusted and authoritative link is what matters! The best way to gain links and shares is by a distribution strategy.

Google AdWords
While inbound marketing reduces the spending of Adwords, zillion people are still clicking on the search engine ads per day.
If you don’t want to miss out on these people to generate leads then you should still invest in PPCi.e pay per click
.
PPC is beneficiary as it is scalable, generate leads, and generate the best ROI for your biz

Pro Tip: to increases sales, some strategies to take care of is to choose the right model of SaaS, identify the target audience and its value proposition, set prospect qualification criteria, create templates, call scripts, set revenue goals, create a customer support system, and keep track of sales performance metrics that will be effective in rank in the SEO.

How to use color combinations for powerful branding

Debbie Moran — Sun, 29 Aug 2021 16:01:37 +0000

Did you know that color psychology has a tremendous impact on your branding and marketing efforts? This concept is highly debated and discussed for a long time.

Colors and emotions are closely knit in terms of impact. Colors can certainly make us feel happy, or sad, and they make us feel hungry or relaxed. The reactions we have to colors stem from psychological effects and biological conditioning. The way in which an individual perceives a certain color is also framed by cultural appropriations.

When it comes to branding, your product will be seen by customers through the kind of marketing that you do. The marketing would usually involve heavy visuals in the form of logos, graphics, design or flyer maker. Since they will be viewed by masses and perceived by them in their individual contexts, paying attention to color detail is very important.

You should be able to make a choice of color to convey the right message through your branding efforts. However, you will have to educate yourself on the significance of colors in branding and what these colors convey to your audience before making a choice.

Understanding the basics of colors

There are multiple models and systems to understand colors but we will particularly focus on the most popular one i.e. the color wheel. The very first color wheel was designed by Sir Isaac Newton and artists use it to develop color harmonies, mixing, and palettes till date.

As per the wheel, the following categories of colors exist:

Primary colors – red, yellow, blue
Secondary colors – green, orange, purple
Tertiary colors – these are colors made by combining primary and secondary colors like blue-green, or red-violet.

There is also the separation of warm colors from the cool ones. The warmer tones include reds, oranges, and yellows. The cool tones have blues, greens, and purples in their stride.

How different colors would make you feel

Colors are a very powerful medium of communication in any aspect. These can be instrumental in instigating an action, influencing moods, and even spur psychological reactions.

The emotions spurred by warm colors can be different than that of cool colors. Bright colors are capable of creating feelings that are different from what muted colors can create.

People have a certain kind of universal reaction to any specific color. That is why it is important to understand the psychological effects of different colors on people and pair it with your branding efforts.

Let us see how different colors can affect how you feel:

Red
Red is the warmest, most dynamic color. It symbolizes energy and passion. This color is quite often associated with passion and love, as well as anger and danger. Your heart rate might pace up and you might get excited when you come into visual contact with Red.

Therefore, if your aim is to draw user attention to a specific element, use the color Red. Keep in mind that it should be used in moderation since it can get pretty overwhelming if used in high proportions.

Orange
Just like the color Red, Orange is capable of drawing attention but is not as powerful or overwhelming. This color would make you feel enthusiastic and energized. There is a sense of happiness and vitality attested to it. There is aggression but also balance, it can be energetic yet friendly. This color works perfectly well for a call to action icon or subscribe icon.

Yellow
This is hands down the most energetic amongst the warm color family. Yellow will evoke a feeling of happiness and spontaneity. This is a sense of laughter, sunshine, and hope.
When inculcated in design, Yellow accents will bring an influx of energy and optimism. You should be careful while deciding its proportion though because it reflects light heavily and can be too much for a person's eyes. The color should grab attention in an energetic yet a comforting manner.

Green
The color Green is all about good things like health, wealth, and new beginnings. It is bound to make you feel optimistic and refreshed. Green delivers a sense of relaxation and goes easy on the eyes. So, you should use it to create balance in your design. If your brand wants to communicate growth, security, and hope, green is your color.

Blue
Blue, the bad boy of colors!
Just kidding, Blue is actually a really well behaved member of the color family. It inspires feelings of calmness and spirituality paired with trust and security. When you see Blue, you will feel safe and relaxed because your body will immediately release chemicals that are calming in nature.

Hence, the most loved member of the family!
Be careful not to use too much dark blue in your corporate designs because that comes off as cold and detached. Lighter shades of Blue are always more friendly and approachable.

Purple
Want to get your creative juices flowing? Get Purple!
This color is mysterious, creative, royal and wealthy when thought of. Lighter shades of Purple will render a soothing and a calming effect to the viewer. The color is best used in beauty products for that reason.

Pink
Nothing gets more playful than the way Pink does! It is sensitive and tender, and it symbolizes femininity as well as romance. Pink is just meant to be sweet, cute and charming, just all things nice.

Brown
The color Brown is super grounded in its aura. It will deliver a sense of support and stability. It is warm, friendly, trustable, and practical. Brown is sometimes used to represent the vintage.

Black
Perhaps the most intimidating color, Black is all about elegance, luxury, and power. At the same time, it can also convey simplicity, professionalism, and neutrality. Black is bold and it feels mysterious. You should note that in some cultures Black is a denotation of sadness or mourning.

White
White is the most straightforward color. It translates into simplicity and minimalism. When you use a significant amount of this color, your design will look clean, simple, and fresh. It is the most neutral in the color family.

Gray
If you want to go with something that is a little more mature or responsible, Gray would be the choice to make. It feels professional and serious. Gray has two areas of connotations. The positive side conveys formality and dependability whereas the negative side can translate an attitude that lacks emotion, is conventional, or conservative.

How Do Colors Affect Branding

According to the concept of associative learning, we have certain perceptions towards the colors we see as we grow into adults. It is human tendency to associate colors with things.

When you design branding for your company, you must know that it is not just limited to the color or fonts of what you present. It is about how your viewers feel after receiving your presentation. It is about what emotion your brand conveys. Your color combinations should represent your look and personality. They should speak volumes about what your brand stands for.

Think of brands like Tiffany’s, Coca-Cola or Cadbury, we would immediately know these by seeing their signature colors. We would get a rush of emotions when we hear about them or see their logos. These brands have managed to associate their logo’s color with their identity and personality flawlessly.

Big brands invest heavy sums into research on how their branding impacts their consumers. They can also afford to find out which color works the best for their brand by conducting extensive research. However, if yours is a small business, you certainly cannot afford to do that. Therefore, you must focus on how your consumers feel about your brand over time when you give them different design options to choose from. The ultimate goal is to develop a connection with your audience.

How to build perfect color combinations for your brand

There is no definite way to crack your brand’s color scheme. Brand identity can be an abstract concept and to restrict it to certain principles would be impractical.

A little guidance goes a long way here because selecting a color scheme for your brand can be confusing and scary. We have enlisted steps that you can follow for a seamlessly color scheming process:

Think of going with 3 colors
The three colors will include your base, accent, and neutral. Any color scheme for a brand would usually include between 1 to 4 colors. This can be different for different types of brands of course. However, even monochromatic schemes would need some kind of variation in hues.
Select your base color
The color that you go with for your scheme’s base should be a tell-all about your brand’s dominant personality trait. The value that you want to put across the most should translate through your base color. It should also appeal to the target audience. All the other tones should be selected in accordance with the base tone.
Select the accent for your scheme
This is where the process gets a little tricky. Choosing a color to support your base color is a little difficult because this will be the tone that you use the most after your base tone. This color should match with your brand’s personality trait and at the same time pair perfectly well with your base color visually.
Selecting a neutral
The neutral tones would most likely be added to prevent attention and can be different hues of gray, whites or off-whites, and beige. The neutral color chosen by you will mostly be the background color.

Common color schemes that brands can use

All the colors that you choose for your branding should be in sync with your chosen color scheme. Here are the most common color schemes that your brand can use:

Complementary
The colors that are opposite to each other on the color wheel are complementary in nature. They bring out the best in each other and therefore when combined, they look stellar. Using complementary color schemes is a great idea for dynamic or stimulating visuals.

Monochromatic
This scheme would be perfect when your brand wants to highlight a single personality trait. This is especially good for brands that don’t want to go overboard with their designs. It is also tricky to maintain the differentiation in the color hues in a monochrome setting.

Triadic
This branding color scheme is stable but it has the ability to offer a more stimulating variety. All the three colors should be in sync with the traits of your brand’s personality.

Analogous
This scheme entails colors that are next to each other on the color wheel. They are harmonious and tend to have similar emotional effects. If you want to play it safe and are not looking to draw attention or stand out, analogous themes would be great for you.

Final thoughts

This article would give you a pretty clear idea about how colors matter when it comes to branding. Different colors represent different emotions and personalities. The color scheme chosen by your brand will decide how your website, logo, advertisements, and physical stores look.

It does not matter if you are an established firm or a small business owner. If you are serious about creating a brand that is going to survive in the long run, you will have to focus on the colors that you choose for your branding.

There is no definite guideline or framework that you can follow for choosing the best colors for your brand designs. This blog can educate you on how the colors work with each other and the types of schemes that you can go for. But the final decision should always consider your gut feeling. Your aim should be to build an emotional connection with your audience and your colors should do exactly that.

Did you know there is one more factor that can ensure the success of your branding efforts? Social media automation! When you choose to automate your social media marketing activities, you sign yourself up for success with your content marketing.

13 Expert Tips To Drive Insane Traffic From Instagram To Website [Without Ads]

Debbie Moran — Mon, 02 Aug 2021 10:31:14 +0000

Instagram is simply notorious for not being link-friendly. You can’t add clickable links to your captions or make your posts clickable. However, every brand wants to drive traffic from Instagramdrive traffic from Instagram to their website to be able to generate sales using their social media presence. And knowing how to do that can be one of the best social media marketing tactics for your business, right?

Definitely, you can’t add a link to your posts, but that doesn’t stop us from figuring out ways to help send people to your website. With some clever tips and strategies, you can ensure that your website hits those high-traffic targets.

And by these tips, we don’t mean running paid advertisements. Instagram has got some amazing tools and features that can become your fast-pass ticket to more organic traffic, clicks, and conversions.

So what are those tips anyways?

Read on to find out!

1. Optimize your link in bio

If you have a business account on Instagram, you get the option to add one link in your bio. And if we are not wrong, you might have just put up your website’s homepage link in that section since you created your account! But that little link can do much more.

You should update this link to point out the most relevant or recent landing page like a news update, a recent event, a newly launched product collection, or a featured story. Then, draw attention to this link by adding a relevant sentence in the bio. For example, ‘click the below link to see the latest collection’, or ‘Click the link below to check out our new YouTube video.’

Now, what if you want to add multiple links in your bio? There’s a way around it too! You can use tools like Link tree. It allows you to create a whole landing page with all the links of your choice.

See how ‘The economist’ does it:

2. Focus on your branding

If you can catch people’s attention through your feed, the first step of driving them to your website will already be achieved. The kind of posts that you create will be remembered by people when they scroll through their Instagram feed. If they connect with the content you put out, they are definitely going to visit your website.

To create a brand image, you need to come up with a rock-solid social media marketing plan. You need to customize your branding strategy for Instagram by choosing a theme that will engage users.

Incorporate your brand colors while curating your posts and stories. This will create consistency and people will slowly start associating those colors with your business. For example, see how ‘RecurPost’ uses its brand colors in posts:

3. Add clickable links to IGTV captions

We bet you didn’t know this! Instagram allows you to add clickable links to your IGTV video’s descriptions. Unlike the captions of feed posts, IGTV’s descriptions can be used effectively to make people click through to buy your products or services. Videos can work wonders for influencing people’s purchasing habits.

You can showcase your products in action, which builds a deeper connection between you and your followers. You don’t need big budgets to get started. Shoot simple videos using your camera and let the videos be raw and authentic.

Viewers connect more with such videos as they are not edited to perfection and show the human side of a brand. That is why you should use a video editing server to edit your videos. To make people click on the link, add a call to action in your video itself by writing a text or asking people to check out the description link for more details.

See how ‘Trinny London’ does it right:

4. Design images with a call to action

Use your Instagram post images to convert. You can write up a call to action or mention your website URL in an aesthetically pleasing picture. This works best when you are running a giveaway or contest. You can also do this with videos by including the website link in a text overlay and give a voiceover asking people to visit the site.

Canva does this in every post it creates to announce the winner of its monthly #CanvaLove challenge. Take a look at one such post:

In the images, it grabs the attention of viewers by announcing the winner, which hints people that there has been a contest going on. In the caption, it mentions the winner and asks people to take a part in their contest by visiting their link in bio.

This kills two birds with one stone: the number of website visitors increases and it makes people take part in your contest which increases your Instagram visibility.

5. Create actionable Instagram stories

Instagram stories hold immense potential in driving people to your website. Doesn’t matter how big or small your follower count is, stories can be used effectively to connect with your followers at a personal level.

If you have crossed the 10k followers mark, you can include a ‘swipe up’ link in your stories and send people to your website directly from stories. However, if you have under 10k followers, you can always direct your followers to your link in bio by adding some animated GIFs in your story.

Here’s an example:

Apart from using GIFs, you can also utilize other interactive elements such as countdown stickers, polls, QnA stickers, and emoji sliders. You can use these for taking feedback or opinions of your followers. Take a look at how Lush Cosmetics does that:

6. Optimize your story highlights

The 24-hour shelf life of stories can be sometimes limiting. Instagram highlights are the best way to extend that limit and give more visibility to your stories. You can create as many highlights as you want to, but make sure to create them strategically. When people visit your profile, they should see the most important highlights upfront.

Prioritize the highlights that focus on your products and drive people from Instagram to your website. You can bunch stories that include information about your newest products, online English classes, or latest blog post.

In the first story of your highlight, include a call to action asking people to visit the link in your bio. In the next few stories, share some information about your products or blog posts to which the link is pointing to. Wrap up the highlight with another call to action.

Have a look at the highlights created by Zara. It first shows the newly launched products, and then talks about other topics.

7. Collaborate with influencers

What if you don’t have a lot of followers? What if you get very few likes and views on your posts and IGTV? While you work on growing your account, you can partner up with some influencers to amplify your brand’s message. No matter what kind of industry you’re in, you will find just the right one to promote your products or services with some research.

Influencers can provide the extra push to build brand awareness and extend your reach. In a very short period, you can send huge traffic to your profile as well as website. It can also help in increasing your followers.

If you don’t have a big fat budget for influencer marketing, don’t worry, you don’t even need that. Collaborate with micro-influencers (ones with 10k-50k followers) - they might not have millions of followers - but have a considerably good engagement rate.

Here’s how a sponsored post might look like:

8. Set up Instagram shopping

How about turning your Instagram account into a shop? People will visit your profile, see your products, and shop right away - doesn’t that sound pretty amazing? With the feature of Instagram shopping, you can turn your profile into a mini storefront and eventually generate income on Instagram .

To enable this feature, you first need to have a business account, fulfill Facebook’s eligibility criteria, and upload a product catalog. After setting that up, you will be able to tag up to 5 products in a single image/video post, up to 20 products in carousel posts, and one product sticker in stories.

A shopping tab will appear on your profile, which will contain all the products in your catalog. Depending upon their location, your followers will be able to either checkout directly on Instagram, or given an option to visit your website to purchase the product.

Have a look at Kylie Jenner’s Instagram shop:

9. Leverage user-generated content

What’s better than posts and stories created by your customers bragging about the features of your products or services? Nothing can attract people more than customers who are already satisfied with your business. As user-generated content is unpaid, it’s a genuine and honest recommendation.

You can always ask your customers to click a picture or shoot a small video of them using your products. Content marketing is the key. Reshare this content on your profile, tag your customers, and thank them for being valued members of your family! This will generate trust among your followers and they’ll remember your brand when they decide to make a purchase in the future.

10. Optimize your website for mobile

People use Instagram on their smartphones themselves. Thus, if you wish to drive traffic from Instagram to your website, you need to optimize it for mobile. If you don’t, all the other efforts that you make for traffic-generating won’t bring the results you want.

You would definitely not want to put effort into creating amazing stories and posts, growing your followers, and making them like your products or services - just to make them leave your website because of bad UX and UI. So, make sure to optimize your website and double-check that it is easy to navigate, quick to load, and easy to scan and read.

11. Send links in DMs

Ask your followers to send you DMs and start up a conversation. To strike up a conversation by yourself, you can send welcome messages to new followers and ask them a relevant question.

Alternatively, you can put up questions in your stories and ask your audience what they need help with or what they’d like to know. Then reply to their messages with relevant blog post links or other landing pages.

Even if you don’t have a blog to answer their question, you can get an idea of what to write about. This will not only help in connecting with your followers better, but also drive traffic to your website.

12. Hold a live QnA session

Got a product launch or huge sale coming up? Go live to build more hype around such big brand moments. It lets you invite your followers to ask questions to which you’ll be able to share all the must-have details. It’s the rawest, most organic, and engaging way to interact with your audience on Instagram.

During your live session, you can encourage the viewers to visit your website and check out the latest updates. You can also pin the link to your website in the comments. One more way to go about this is putting a question sticker on stories and answering them with a call-to-action or link. Then share the response sticker on your live session, pointing the viewers towards the link mentioned in the answer. See how ‘Prose’ did it:

13. Add action buttons to your profile

So why exactly do you want to drive traffic from Instagram to your website? Is it to get more calls or inquiries through emails? Or is it for people to contact you through text, book an appointment, reserve a table, or buy tickets for an event?

Well, what if your followers can take all these actions from your Instagram profile itself? Instagram allows business accounts to add action buttons on their profiles. You can choose from a lot of options that include Book Now, Reserve, Business address, Email, Business phone number, and WhatsApp business phone number. All these options will be available in the ‘Edit profile’ section.

Final thoughts

With the right strategy, you can use Instagram to drive huge traffic to your website. You simply need to start using the tips mentioned above, and you’ll be able to engage with your audience and convert them into customers in no time!