You have a great product that you believe in, and you’re ready to launch your business into the market. Reaching that first customer can be difficult, but they are the key to getting the ball rolling in SaaS Startups.
Many SaaS startups struggle at this stage. It is important to not focus on the wrong priorities. Internal and product development is important. However, it won’t be an advantage if you don’t have any buyers to show all your hard work.
Don’t be afraid of marketing, and selling your product. Marketing is how you should test your messages and refine them. People need to hear about your great solution. You need to put your product in their hands, figuratively speaking. Buyers won’t approach you on their own at first.
Utilizing effective marketing as the beginning of the sales process has proved successful for SaaS startups. Buyers conduct independent research first, before approaching sales. Ensure your solution is standing out above the competition. Combine an effective sales and marketing approach to win your first sale.
Market your Business
Marketing is key to generating a presence and brand for your company. This is what identifies your offering from the rest, and generates lasting relationships with buyers. There are many approaches to marketing. However, there are a few key components to aid you in attracting that initial customer.
Content Marketing
Content is a useful tool to have in your marketing arsenal. This is a popular choice for startups, since it is relatively low cost.
Create blogs or videos that cover topics in your market. It is especially important to provide answers to frequently asked questions. By giving valuable answers to regular problems, your company is recognized as an informative resource.
Valuable content generates a presence in your market and provides credibility. This is helpful when acquiring the attention of those that are outside of your immediate network. If your content answers their questions, they can trust that you know what you’re talking about.
Hosting a blog on your website also increases your online searchability. New leads may not discover your website directly, but rather through your solution to their problem. This helps you reach fresh contacts in your market.
Free Trial
Once people have visited your website, consider offering them something in return. Software is an ideal candidate for a free trial.
This can give your customers a chance to try out your software, before they buy it. Allow your software to solve their problems, and become an integral part of their online life. If they can see your software in action firsthand, they are more likely to make the purchase.
Landing Pages
Similar to blogs, a landing page is an important component of your online marketing effort. You need to have a page that can collect your leads information, once they are there.
Landing pages should be an initial step when forming your web presence. They typically contain a form or submission section. This is where your web visitor can submit their information to your business.
Be careful not to scare them away, and keep your request brief. You only really need their name and email address to follow up with them. This is how you can generate a list of contacts.
Network
Make use of your existing business network and contacts. These could be friends or family, previous colleagues, or connections.
In business, as in life, people like to connect with those that they know or like already.
Consider whether any of your existing contacts would find your product helpful. If not, ask them for a referral or introduction to more relevant connections.
LinkedIn is an ideal platform to use when looking for contacts. You can market your business on this platform, and directly message potential leads. Utilize your existing business network to your advantage.
Other Platforms
There are a plethora of methods to market your business. It can be overwhelming. Digital and content marketing tend to be favored among startups.
Avoid trying to use every platform that is available to you. This is difficult to manage. Instead, focus on your potential customers. Consider where they spend their time searching for solutions, and how they make decisions.
This should guide your marketing strategies. The best way to reach your first sale quickly is by targeting the customers that you want. These are the leads that are relevant, and interested in your field. Try to avoid wasting time reaching as many people as possible, by occupying too many channels.
Sales
Sales is where you turn your lead into a customer. Marketing attracts prospects, but the sales process closes the deal. In today’s world, sales does play a lesser role in the purchase journey of a business than it used to. However, there are some important processes to utilize when seeking your first customer.
Reach Out
SaaS Startups are often hesitant to contact people and push sales. It would be great if sales happened on their own, but they don’t. This is especially the case with your first customers. They won’t typically come to you as you haven’t created a presence in your market yet.
The best approach to prospecting is to reach out with content about your target audience’s problems. This content should not be too salesy. Instead it positions you as a thought leader and someone who can help them with the problem.
Demonstrate that you recognize your buyers’ pain points, by directly contacting them. Use this as an opportunity to show them your solution. Be clear about how your product will be valuable to their working lives. One-to-one interactions build trust, as people feel more comfortable communicating with real people.
You can’t know whether someone is interested in what your company has to offer, if you don’t ask them.
Follow Up
In a similar vein, ensure you’re contacting those that have already expressed interest.
This is where your content and landing page come in. If your content is performing well, you should be building a database of contacts. It is important to contact these people in a timely manner. If they have filled in their details, try and contact them as soon as possible.
Ask them what they are interested in, and whether you can help them further. By doing this, you are building a relationship.
Even if you discover that these contacts aren’t ready for a sale, they are still a valuable resource. Understand why they aren’t relevant to your business so that you can target better. It will help you identify relevant contacts in the future and hone down your sales process.
SaaS Success
Your first customer should be just the beginning of your success. However, they can also facilitate it.
Focus on serving them well, and they should become advocates for you. They stand as proof that your business fulfils its promises. This is worth a lot to a SaaS Startups.
As you gather an extensive customer base, ensure that you are utilising it to its full potential. Request testimonials and reviews from your existing customers. This demonstrates that you are trustworthy and reliable to your new leads.
Nituno can get you started on the right track. We can implement a marketing strategy optimised to your business, and generate qualified leads. Get in touch today.
