{"id":5076,"date":"2021-05-10T10:12:46","date_gmt":"2021-05-10T10:12:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/clickceasebiz.com\/blog\/?p=5076"},"modified":"2023-03-26T14:19:00","modified_gmt":"2023-03-26T14:19:00","slug":"max-your-software-marketing-selling-apps-saas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.clickcease.com\/blog\/max-your-software-marketing-selling-apps-saas\/","title":{"rendered":"Max Your Software Marketing: Selling Apps & SaaS"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The world of digital products is an exciting one, with the size of the market predicted to grow to around $307 billion by 2026<\/a>. And with a gigantic scope of potential products, with seemingly limitless growth potential, it\u2019s a market that sees new products and brands every day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Promoting your app or SaaS takes a special kind of strategy. Whether you\u2019re promoting a new software platform, or you\u2019ve just released a new game via an app, understanding how to maximise your marketing in this sector is key to long term success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are several reasons why SaaS and app marketing is a little different to your common or garden physical product or real world service promotion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What makes software marketing different?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Digital product marketing presents a number of challenges compared to real world products or services (by which I mean tangible products or those with a physical presence).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. A congested marketplace<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The first challenge is standing out in your industry or marketplace. With SaaS marketing, the key is to identify relevant channels and be visible. With games, there are millions out there, many of them totally free, so how does yours command the attention of your target market?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And, when it comes to unique services, how can you let customers know how your product is going to ease their pain points? In fact the software sector is huge, with thousands of competing products in each industry. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just take a look at the many digital marketing tools available<\/a>, and you can see what the problem is. Do you go with Ahrefs, SEM Rush, Opteo, SERP stat, SEO Surfer, SpyFu or something else? Do you need more than one of these, or do some of them do the same thing?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Free vs paid?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"Subscription<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Most software as a service <\/strong>products offer a subscription model, often with a rolling contract. Usually, to get people on board, they will offer a freemium <\/em>model; that is, a free level with the option to pay for the full featured model later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many games or software platforms offer a level of usability that is totally free, but with optional paid upgrades on an ad-hoc basis. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Others will aim to get potential customers interested with a free trial or a service that is reduced in some way. This gets customers to trust the product as it offers quality for free, therefore more likely to want to pay for the more full-featured package.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Retention and churn<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Keeping paying customers is a familiar problem to marketers in any industry. But when it comes to subscription based business models, reducing churn, or cancellations, is another key aspect of effective SaaS marketing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most software services and games rely on long term customers who are happy to pay the very reasonable subscription fees. Reducing churn is it\u2019s own subject, but very much one that ties into software marketing overall. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ll take a look at this later in the post.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But, for now,  if you\u2019re a developer or marketer for a software brand, how can you create a grade A app or SaaS marketing strategy?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Building your software marketing strategy<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Digital marketing is similar across most industries, although some unique challenges make software advertising a little more complex. When you\u2019re planning to promote your software product, all of these will most likely factor in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Market research<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Like all marketing strategies, the fundamentals lie in your research. And this means a solid understanding of your target market, their pain points, your competitors and even the demand for your product.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When it comes to software as a service, chances are you\u2019re entering an already crowded market. So what sets you apart from the competitors? Is it your pricing, or is it a unique service offering?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most businesses use multiple software apps in their day to day runnings. This can include CRMs, invoicing software, spreadsheets and word processors, communications tools, organisation tools, analytics tools, schedulers and even more. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In fact, the average small firm of up to 50 employees or more uses around 25-50 software packages, and spends around $350,000 on SaaS software (2020 figures<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"marketing<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

2. Demographic targeting<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Software often targets specific pain points. It might be taking international payments, managing your marketing efforts, keeping track of stock or allowing your customers to communicate with you 24\/7.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You\u2019ve already identified the need for your product, but who needs it? How much will they pay? What are the alternatives and why should they choose you instead?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the chance that you\u2019ve identified an underserved market and your product is one of the first solutions available, what proof do you have that your product is needed? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And how are people searching for you as a solution if they\u2019re not yet aware of the problem?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This demographic targeting is a key aspect of any marketing including SaaS and software. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And yes this also applies to apps, including games. It might be a simple time killer app with in-app purchases, but it might be a handy on the go solution for professionals to log their expenses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"understanding<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

3. Search engine marketing<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ve covered a lot about the world of SEM, or search engine marketing, on our blog before. In fact, you can read the in-depth post here<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the key takeaways which apply to a SaaS marketing strategy are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n