The world of buying and selling has totally changed. Now, you cannot capture the attention of your users only with the help of sway advertisements. You have to put in the effort to do online research before your target audience comes to contact you. That’s where the right set of lead generation strategies holds importance.
Here we have come up with 13 practical lead-generation strategies specifically meant for SaaS startups to bring new leads to your website. Let’s get started.
SMART goals – Set SMART goals for your SaaS startup that is Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. It acts as a roadmap for your business. You develop a sense of clarity and purpose by setting up SMART goals. It refrains you from setting up something vague like “get more leads.” Write what figures you want to achieve and what you want your prospects to do after they have become your leads.
Engaging content – Content is the backbone of modern marketing. And to drive qualified leads, you need to follow a consistent and informed strategy. Research on the buyer’s personas. Collect the information on who is your target audience, what’s already been written on the subject, and recent trends and developments within the niche. Be consistent with posting the content. The more informative content you present to your audience, the more opportunities you will have. Besides, pay attention to SEO. Because in the end, it is also very important how many other websites link back to your site as it affects the Google rankings. All in all, do thorough research, form engaging content, publish consistently, and optimize.
Cold email outreach – One of the most powerful lead-generation tactics is cold email outreach. Sending cold emails works extremely well for SaaS companies, especially when it is in pre-revenue. You just need to have the email addresses of your potential customers. When your company is in its early stages, your cold emails should put in efforts to initiate conversations. Keep your subject line attention-grabbing and concise to pique the interest of the audience. Get in touch with the users, telling them how you can solve their pain points. If you are honest about your intentions, more people will show interest in having a conversation with you. Using email automation software also works well in bringing qualified leads. Having a cold email outreach platform by your side streamlines the process of email management and is easy to navigate.
Publish guest posts – It is the next b2b lead generation tactic that can drive traffic to your SaaS website. You have to make a list of the right websites to post your guest blog content. It ensures that you are driving the right traffic to your website. Choose websites having a high domain authority rating. Why? Because search engines consider such websites of high quality. There are several tools that help determine the domain authority of a website. Use them for your purpose. Now, provide them with high-quality content for the site. If you pitch them highly valuable content, you increase the chances of being invited and writing more guest blogs for them in the future.
Host webinars – Speaking about a topic demonstrates your expertise in that particular subject. Hosting webinars is one such method. Decide a topic that you or someone from your company can speak on or have expertise in. In the next step, choose the format you want to follow. For instance – Single speaker, two speakers, or multi-speaker.
The speaker can choose to present himself/herself on camera or not in the single-speaker scenario. Two speakers format is generally an interview scenario. In multi-speaker format, there is a main host and 3-4 main guests to which you direct questions or engage them in conversation. After deciding on the format, it’s time to get some sign-ups from the audience. You can use social media for the same. At last, decide the platform where you will host the webinar.
Use podcasts – Nowadays, many decision-makers listen to podcasts. And it is undeniably a wonderful sales technique to build leads for your SaaS startup. Make a list of the topics that might interest your potential customers. You can be a guest speaker on those podcasts to share insights and practical information with your audience. It gives a kick to your brand.
Using podcasts as a medium adds a human element to your brand and builds trust with the audience as well as C-level executives. If a podcast is successful in bringing you new leads, it is likely to be a great investment in the long run.
Ask for referrals – The biggest support you have by your side is your users. And if you don’t ask for feedback or referrals from them, it’s time to change the game. You have done everything to ensure the best experience for your customers. So, it is natural for people to talk about your products.
But instead of waiting for the things to happen, make them happen. Follow a proactive approach. Create a referral system. Ask directly for referrals from older accounts. It will boost the number of leads.
Niche-specific landing page – Your SaaS startup should have a niche-specific landing page to attract the ideal clients. What do people expect when they first come to your company’s website? They want to find information about what your SaaS startup offers and that too quickly. This indicates the importance of creating a niche-specific landing page for your business. Each landing page should explain one specific part of your business. Once users get highly-specific information, it’s easy for them to become customers. You can even offer something for free in your landing pages, like a free guide to download. It will entice them to put their contact information on your site. Afterward, you can nurture such leads with email marketing. So, it’s a win-win strategy in terms of generating leads.
LinkedIn for best results – Which is the largest professional network in the world? The answer is LinkedIn. But here is the thing that many founders forget: LinkedIn also comes under a social media platform. And like other social media platforms, people on LinkedIn also want to follow other people. Before interacting with your business, the audience is more interested in knowing what type of personality you are. So, build your personal account on the platform and build relationships.
Once people are familiar with you, they are likely to click on the company’s page to learn the services it offers. Like posts, comment on them, share insights, share podcasts and guest posts, and engage with your LinkedIn community to generate the best leads ever.
Social media marketing – You can’t miss out on social media marketing in today’s world if you want to build a profitable startup. Find out the platforms where your target audience is most active. Make efforts to create your presence on those platforms. Share valuable information and encourage user-generated content. You can even run targeted campaigns on social media platforms. Use social listening tools to monitor conversations related to your industry and engage with potential leads.
Repurpose the content – If you had content that really did wonders in generating leads for a SaaS startup, it’s time to use that same piece of content. Repurpose the content and leverage its power. It makes your content evergreen and gives you another opportunity to generate leads.
Use video content – YouTube is a platform having innumerable powers if you use it the right way. But you have to be smart about using it. Find out the common problems and areas of interest of your buyers and create video content revolving around the same. Remember that you need to focus not only on your product but the industry as a whole.
Website optimization for mobile – There is no denying the fact that mobile use is continuing to outpace desktop use. That being said, it is more important than ever to optimize your website for mobile. Most people in this fast-paced world don’t have time to sit properly in front of their computers to find the information they are looking for. So, you must do website optimization for your website to generate more leads. Make the UX and UI mobile friendly. Some steps you can take for your SaaS website or SaaS startup are – minimizing the page load speed, adding call-to-actions, using white spaces wisely, etc.
To make a long story short
Generating leads for your SaaS startup can change the game for your online products. Using a mix of the above-mentioned strategies can give a kick to your marketing efforts and hence give you the desired results. Additionally, all these strategies are cost-effective to use. So, who knows, using just one method can change the scenario for your goals and take your startup where you want it to be.