SaaS Marketing Guide - SaaS Best Practices · 2018-12-06 · SAAS MARKETING GUIDE BY: JUSTIN...

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Execute Better. Grow Faster. SAAS MARKETING GUIDE Proven Roadmap to Capital-Efficient Demand Generation By: Justin Talerico

Transcript of SaaS Marketing Guide - SaaS Best Practices · 2018-12-06 · SAAS MARKETING GUIDE BY: JUSTIN...

Page 1: SaaS Marketing Guide - SaaS Best Practices · 2018-12-06 · SAAS MARKETING GUIDE BY: JUSTIN TALERICO SaaS Marketing Concepts & Terms IDEAL CUSTOMER PROFILE Defining the ideal customer

Execute Better. Grow Faster.

SAAS MARKETINGGUIDE Proven Roadmap to

Capital-Efficient Demand Generation

By: Justin Talerico

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SAAS MARKETING GUIDE BY: JUSTIN TALERICO

Customer Acquisition Cost is one of the clearest

indicators of a SaaS’s growth potential. CAC and related

recoupment period illustrate the capital efficiency of a

growth model. To keep CAC in line for recoupment in

under 12 months means running a high-efficacy

marketing & sales machine.

The SaaS Marketing Roadmap I Used to

Scale from $0-$10M in ARR.

This eBook illustrates the principles and practices

that drive CAC down and revenue up. As a SaaS CMO

for 11+ years, I designed and implemented marketing

programs, technologies, measurement, and processes

from start to finish. In my time at ion interactive, the

bootstrapped company grew from a startup to over

$10M in ARR. That level of capital efficiency comes from

the data-driven, agile marketing approach outlined

here. Please email me with questions.

2 Execute Better. Grow Faster.

What’s Inside

SaaS Marketing Roadmap ‣ Principles of capital-efficient SaaS marketing

‣ Strategic considerations

‣ Tactics, channels and processes

About the Author Justin Talerico is the co-

founder of SaaS consultancy

Beacon9, a technology

entrepreneur, and the co-

founder, former CEO and CMO

of ion interactive, a martech

SaaS acquired in 2017.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction to SaaS Marketing 5

SaaS Marketing Concepts & Terms 7

SaaS Marketing Assets 10

SaaS Marketing Channels 20

SaaS Marketing Efficacy 27

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Tier 1Fundamentals SAAS MARKETING CONCEPTS

SaaS marketing fundamentals are remarkably consistent regardless of space, target, or even conversion type

(self-service vs. personal selling). The following basics guide the overall practice of capital-efficient SaaS

growth marketing and will be further explored elsewhere in the eBook.

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Introduction to SaaS Marketing To predictably scale, a SaaS company must define who its

ideal customer is; reach and attract those people; and provide

them with a compelling buyer’s journey that converts interest

to action.

To execute efficiently, marketing

must be data-driven, scientific, and

iterative.

SaaS marketing communicates with two primary

constituencies: prospects and customers. Depending on

SaaS stage and maturity, the balance between those

disciplines can vary significantly. An early-stage B2C self-

service SaaS startup may invest very little in customer

marketing, while a more mature land-and-expand enterprise

solution may invest a very high percentage of its marketing

resources into customers.

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SaaS Marketing Funnel When someone talks about the funnel, they are

talking about the progressive stages of a prospect

as the move through from unknown to customer.

Funnel efficiencies vary by market, price point, and

sales model, but once your marketing funnel is

understood, you can reverse engineer the

resources required to generate a given growth rate.

Typically, the marketing funnel

starts with a marketing-

generated lead (MGL). Some

percentage of MGLs score high

enough (by marketing) to become

marketing-qualified leads (MQLs).

Some percentage of MQLs get

scored by sales to graduate to

sales-qualified leads (SQLs). Then

some of the SQLs move to

opportunities. And some of the opportunities turn

into customers. That’s the basic structure of the

marketing-generated funnel.

MGL

MQL

SQL

OPP

WIN

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PROSPECT MARKETING SaaS prospect marketing is concerned with defining,

distributing, and validating (via testing) the company’s story

and product value proposition. Point of view, messaging and

reach impact brand and demand-generation programs

that ultimately get reflected in customer acquisition

cost (CAC) and capital efficiency.

Core Prospect Marketing Values ‣ Focus only on the ideal customer profile (ICP)

‣ Test anything and everything that has sufficient volume

CUSTOMER MARKETING SaaS customer marketing focuses on educating, retaining, and expanding

existing customers. Key customer marketing success metrics include engagement

and inbounds, with longer-term metrics like churn and upsell revenue. Because

revenue retention and expansion are so critical to SaaS growth, customer marketing is

a key pillar to capital efficiency.

Core Customer Marketing Values ‣ Assume no product knowledge

‣ Keep an outsider's perspective

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SaaS Marketing Concepts & Terms IDEAL CUSTOMER PROFILE Defining the ideal customer profile (ICP) is a more SaaS-specific way of defining the target audience. ICP is important in

SaaS because of the recurring nature of revenue and high correlation between revenue retention and valuation. Acquiring

ideal customers leads to revenue predictability and stability (lower churn), as well as capital-efficient growth (higher

lifetime value (LTV)).

SAAS MARKETING OBJECTIVE The objective of SaaS marketing is to grow recurring revenue by acquiring new, qualified customers. Qualified is defined as

ICP (ideal customer profile) to maximize renewal and up-sell potential (lifetime value (LTV) and expansion revenue), and

minimize churn.

SAAS MARKETING GOAL The goal is to accomplish the objective while spending less than 12 months worth of new MRR to acquire each new customer

— ideally 6-9 months. Spend in this case is defined as all-in sales and marketing expense — inclusive of wages, variable comp,

hard spend (media, events, services), technology, and any other related costs (customer acquisition costs (CAC)).

SAAS MARKETING PROCESS SaaS markets and products move faster than traditional marketing plans and teams. An agile marketing process maximizes

productivity, flexibility, iterative improvement, and market responsiveness.

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SAAS MARKETING LEADS VS. INBOUNDS Marketing-generated leads (MGLs) are new prospects added to the house database. Inbounds are leads who have raised their

hand (hand raisers) and requested a demo; engaged with a salesperson; signed up for a trial; or instantly converted as a

paying buyer. Marketing-qualified leads (MQLs) are a subset of MGLs that meet minimum acceptable criteria (via automated or

manual scoring).

SAAS MARKETING ATTRIBUTION It’s critical to know where every lead came from so that future effort can focus on the most lucrative sources. First-touch

attribution memorializes the original source of the lead. Last-touch attribution may also memorialize inbound trigger(s).

SAAS CONTENT MARKETING The meat on the bones of a SaaS marketing program is content in the form of assets like articles, webinars, seminars, videos,

podcasts, interactive tools, white papers, case studies, and so on.

SAAS MARKETING DATA STRATEGY Virtually everything in SaaS marketing is data-driven. Data structures must be strategically planned and executed to provide

quality data for automation as well as for sales. There’s data for software to parse and a very different dataset that sales or

customer success people can digest.

SAAS MARKETING TECHNOLOGY MarTech is a landscape of 6,000+ tools, but only a few of them will actually deliver value in SaaS marketing. Prioritizing which

tools make up the stack and fully utilizing them to maximize efficacy are keys to success.

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SAAS PRICING AND PACKAGING Two of the most fruitful areas for SaaS marketing experimentation are pricing and packaging. Methodical and thoughtful

testing can reduce sales friction, increase inbound flow, increase deal velocity, and reduce CAC through improved efficacy.

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Building Blocks ASSETS & CHANNELS

SaaS marketing pushes assets through channels to spread the good word. Both assets and channels have

strengths and weaknesses that must be validated through experimentation and measurement. Which assets

get created and which channels are utilized to distribute them should both be scientifically determined

based on testing and measurement. Guesswork slows growth and accelerates burn.

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SaaS Marketing Assets SaaS marketing assets take many forms. Messaging and value propositions are communicated and

consumed differently based on the type of asset employed. Learnings from data as well

as the competencies and resources required to produce assets are widely varied.

Choosing the right kind of asset for the target, message, resources, and channels

fundamentally impacts results. Fully leveraging assets over time relies on discerning

and tracking timeliness vs. timelessness in each piece. Under-leveraged assets drive

costs up and results down.

Different organizations have different asset strengths and

weaknesses. Asset authenticity and natural brand alignment

drive perceived value. Return-on-assets goes up with

perceived value which improves efficacy and lowers

acquisition cost.

The better aligned a

marketing asset is to the

actual product offering,

the more effective it will be

at driving demand.

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WRITTEN ASSETS Written assets can take many forms from shorter-format, higher-

frequency articles, blog posts, and announcements, to lower-frequency,

longer-format white papers, and eBooks. Shorter-format assets may be

best suited to increase traffic and attention, while longer-format assets

may perform better to generate leads and inbounds.

Written/Short-Format/Articles Articles may be best suited for third-party placement to extend

reach and generate backlinks. Typically longer, and perhaps less

personal than blog posts, articles may be written from a more

impartial point of view, making them potentially more credible.

Articles should be firmly rooted in keyword strategy for backlinks.

Written/Short-Format/Blog Posts Like articles, blog posts work well in third-party sites for reach and

backlinks. But, blog posts are often best suited as strong, high-

frequency, keyword-rich content within the marketing website

(owned media). They are sometimes more personal than articles,

and must also be tightly coupled with keyword strategy to maximize

organic traffic. Because they are shorter and require fewer resources

to produce in quantity, blog posts are well suited to segmented

messaging. Even internally focused blog posts may be leveraged for

additional reach through syndication to outlets like Apple News.

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Written/Short-Format/Announcements Another short-format, higher-frequency, written asset is the announcement, most commonly a press release. While the

value of press releases has diminished with the rise of social media, they continue to have a place in SaaS marketing.

Releases can take two different paths — for internal use as fresh, keyword-rich content on the marketing website; and

for external use on “the wire.” The former costs nothing, while the latter has distribution cost associated with it.

Institutional capital and tech news outlets continue to monitor the newswire to discover startups.

Written/Short-Format/Case Studies Case studies are strong assets for several reasons. First are the organic search, keyword, and backlink benefits that often

come from using customer names and logos in online, HTML case studies. Next are the realistic, relatable stories that

frame shared pains and needs. And third is the credibility that comes from a notable customer investing the time and

energy into allowing their logo to be used and their story told. Case studies are strong social proof assets that can be

complemented with video (see below).

Written/Short-Format/Emails Emails are content assets for the email distribution channel (discussed separately). Email content is very hierarchical —

conforming closely to the progression of copy found in good advertising. The subject line and lead are critical to open

rates, while the body of the email is crucial to click-through rates. Strong, single-minded emails tend to outperform

multi-message or deeper dive versions. Testing is critical to iterating high-performance emails.

Written/Long-Format/White Papers White papers are the most common long-format educational content type. Although their lead-gen effectiveness isn’t

all it used to be, quality PDF white papers continue to show enough value for an equal exchange for lead data. In their

most modern form, white papers are highly designed and include visual as well as rich content — they may also be

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delivered via HTML and/or PDF. White papers also lend themselves to online interactivity, which can significantly

improve their engagement and measurability.

Written/Long-Format/eBooks A more fundamentally digital cousin to the white paper, eBooks are perceived as more modern, and more interesting.

They may be delivered online via HTML or offline via PDF, and are more likely to include interactive elements. Unlike

white papers, eBooks offer more freedom of size, shape, and format. Like white papers, they can be high-value

educational assets — worthy of exchange for lead data. They are often highly engaging and measurable.

Written/Long-Format/Third-Party Research Commissioned third-party research reports breed authoritative credibility, and scale into many other types of assets

over an extended period — white papers, calculators, presentations, podcasts, infographics, and others. They are

resource- and budget-intensive to produce, but in SaaS markets in need of social proof, they can be a compelling and

useful option. Quality research reports also make highly effective lead-generation bait as they have extraordinary

perceived value and credibility.

Written/Sales Enablement Often there are gaps in the asset library that sales-driven SaaS organizations need marketing to fill. These may be

stage-specific assets addressing buyer objections; illustrating solution ROI; reinforcing social proof/ratings/reviews;

documenting reliability or security, or explaining implementation and onboarding. These assets are typically written by

marketing, but distributed as needed by sales.

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Written SaaS Marketing Assets Quick Reference

Asset Use Case Value Resources Measurement

Articles Extend reach and generate backlinks

from third-party sites

6 3 Referral Traffic; Search Ranking

Blog Posts Create organic value, generate

backlinks, extend reach

4 2 Keyword Search Ranking; Organic Traffic

Announcements Create organic value, market noise 2 2 Traffic

Case Studies Create organic value, social proof, and

credibility

8 8 Engagement; Social Shares

White Papers More traditional, long-format

education and thought leadership

5 6 Leads

eBooks More modern, long-format education

and thought leadership

6 7 Engagement; Leads

Third-party research Establish authoritative credibility and

provide social proof

9 9 Leads; Social Shares

Sales Enablement Fill gaps in the asset library —

Distributed by sales team

7 7 Funnel Stage Acceleration

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VISUAL CONTENT Although almost all content assets may be “visual,” certain specific types warrant the “visual content” label. Most notable is the

infographic — a highly engaging and accessible content roadmap that’s most effective at the top of the funnel. Infographics

may not have high enough perceived value to be used in lead generation, but they are ideally suited for use in social media.

They are easily shared and visually strong, making them ideal candidates for online, interactive delivery as well. Infographics

are great storytellers — akin to the still version of the explainer video.

SPOKEN ASSETS The most common format of spoken asset is the podcast — an audio, often episodic series of interviews, presentations, or

even readings. Podcasts provide an additional way for audiences to consume messages. And, like email, they are also a

discoverable distribution channel (discussed separately) via Apple, Google and others. Podcast versions of blog posts add very

little additional overhead but deliver a fresh dynamic and broader reach for that written content.

Asset Use Case Value Resources Measurement

Infographic Visual storytelling at the top of the

funnel

7 5 Traffic; Social Shares

Asset Use Case Value Resources Measurement

Podcast Channel extension and widened,

discoverable content reach

4 3 Subscribers; Engagement/Plays

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VIDEO ASSETS Video assets can be highly effective at

storytelling, reinforcing a point of view, and

communicating a personality. Like email

and spoken content, video assets can also

open doors to additional distribution and

reach through YouTube, Vimeo, and others.

Here are some of the content forms that

video assets can take:

Video/Explainer A prevalent type of video in SaaS

marketing is the explainer. These

videos tell a story that might

otherwise be too abstract or technical.

Explainers often use animation or

illustration to show the story being

told through a voice over. Explainers

are commonly used on high-level

pages to introduce the company or its

SaaS product. They are relatively

inexpensive to produce and, as a

result, can have high ROI.

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Video/Demo Strong SaaS products utilize pre-recorded demo videos to control the product narrative and show off functionality and

user interface. These demos have the upside of being self-service components of the buyer’s journey, but they have the

downside of potentially losing the context of a guided demo. The extent to which self-service demo videos makes sense

depends on product polish, market, sales model, product depth and complexity, competitive parity, and most

importantly perceived product ease of use. Demo videos can be used as effective teasers and qualifiers preceding live

demo request inbounds in sales-driven SaaS models.

Video/Customer Credibility can often be enhanced by social proof in the form of customer videos. These may be testimonials, but will

likely be more effective as interviews or case studies with more authenticity and transparency. Customer willingness to

lend their logo, likeness, time and perspective goes a long way towards allaying prospect fears or objections. If customer

logo quality, on-screen performance quality, or production value cannot be upheld, customer videos can do more harm

than good — exhibiting amateurish energy that undermines the brand.

Video SaaS Marketing Assets Quick Reference

Asset Use Case Value Resources Measurement

Explainer Introduce and control an

approachable product story

6 3 Consumption/Plays

Demo Control the product narrative

through a self-service teaser

7 8 Consumption/Plays; Personal Demo

Requests

Customer Create authentic credibility through

relatable customer stories

9 9 Consumption/Plays; Hand Raisers

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INTERACTIVE ASSETS Interactive assets are uniquely suited to deliver the highest-value prospect and customer profiling data based on an explicit

digital dialogue. White papers, eBooks, infographics, calculators, report cards, and assessments can all engage users in

question/answer content that yields declared, descriptive data. This data is of much higher fidelity than typically inferred

analytics. When used as the foundation of targeting, segmentation, and personalization, explicit data can accelerate

qualification and increase lead-to-revenue velocity. Interactive assets can be the most engaging and measurable tools in the

toolbox. They also have high organic search value as they are inherently HTML-based online assets. Their most significant

downside is that they are resource intensive to produce and require a broad set of deep competencies.

Interactive Assets Quick Reference

Asset Use Case Value Resources Measurement

Interactive White Paper Long-format interactive education 6 7 Leads; Engagement; Hand Raisers

Interactive eBook Medium-format interactive education 7 8 Leads; Engagement; Hand Raisers

Interactive Infographic Top-of-funnel organic and viral traffic

generation

8 6 Traffic; Search Ranking; Social Shares

Interactive Assessment/Report

Card

Deep, descriptive digital dialogue for

segmentation and scoring

9 9 Leads; Hand Raisers; Declared Data

Interactive Calculator Declared data generation for

qualification and scoring

8 6 Leads; Hand Raisers; Declared Data

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PRESENTED ASSETS The most common use cases for presented assets are webinars, which may be both live and recorded. Quality live webinars

can be efficient lead- and demand-generation tools — providing perceived equitable value in exchange for lead data.

Recorded webinars may or may not be of high enough perceived value to warrant lead generation. Presented assets scale into

multiple forms of distribution and organic search value — a blog post leading up to the event, the live event itself, the

recorded video, and the deck from the event. While presented assets are resource-intensive to produce, they are also likely to

be highly effective in educational contexts.

Presented Assets Quick Reference

Asset Use Case Value Resources Measurement

Webinars Authoritative point of view and

persuasive education

7 7 Leads; Hand Raisers; Social Shares

Co-Presented/Partner Webinars Collaborative point of view and

complementary positioning

8 8 Leads; Hand Raisers; Social Shares

In-Person Presentations Personal connections, authoritative

point of view, and credibility

8 9 Traffic; Search Ranking; Social Shares

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SaaS Marketing Channels Distribution and reach take place through marketing

channels. Each channel is worthy of experimentation and

objective testing to determine which ones are most effective.

EMAIL Email is used to communicate with prospects and customers.

Third-party email can be used as a lead-gen channel. House

email can be used to educate, qualify, and accelerate

prospects; and educate and up-sell customers.

Useless or low-value emails will result in unsubscribes at

best, and spam reports at worst.

Demand Generation Email Third-party, paid email can be an effective lead- and

demand-gen channel. Variations of paid email marketing

can be tested to become part of the enduring mix. More than

most other channels, third-party email lists wear and

degrade over time. Even the most successful drops will

diminish and require schedule flighting to return to

reasonable levels of effectiveness.

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Sponsorships — Banner and/or text ads within the editorial of a third-party newsletter. Results will improve the more closely

aligned the advertiser’s message/value proposition is to the editorial. Full buyouts (all promotional units for the same

advertiser) are more costly than partial ones (test to know if it’s worth it or not). Sponsored emails have pros and cons. The

greatest pro is that editorial emails get opened and seen (good for the brand). The greatest con is that the editorial gets all the

attention, making click-through rates low (bad for lead- and demand-gen).

Dedicated Drops — Advertiser-created email is sent by the third-party to their list. Like sponsorships, better alignment leads

to better results, so choose carefully. Pros of dedicated drops include full control over the email creative and subject line.

Another pro is that the email is coming from a (hopefully) trusted source. The greatest con is that there’s no editorial value to

compel opens. This translates to lower open rates (than sponsorships) but potentially higher click-through rates (depending

on the quality of the messaging and design). Strong value propositions lend themselves to dedicated drops. List fatigue is

most acute with dedicated drops, so flighting is required to sustain effectiveness.

Nurture Email Internal nurture email streams are typically delivered to house-list registrants on a regular cadence. These drip programs are

often designed to educate, persuade, and stimulate hand raisers — inbounds. A regular drip cadence not only stimulates

demand but also drives overall engagement or lead activity. This increase in participation correlates to increased demand and

seducible-moment awareness. To minimize unsubscribe and spam risks, email content must be a high quality, useful and

valuable balance of education and sales. Cadence and day/time may vary based on testing, but a good starting point is every

two weeks on Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday. Keep in mind that additional one-off emails will be additive to the nurture

cadence, so overall frequency will be closer to weekly.

Email Segmentation Relevance drives results. Closely aligned with nurture email, segmentation tags like house-list users into addressable units.

The most common segments are prospects and customers. Other possible segments might include legacy customers; churned

customers (win backs); closed-lost prospects; and qualitative or quantitatively scored segments. Scored segments might be

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tagged by industry; company size or revenue; title or role; journey stage; maturity stage; buying authority and so on. The value

of versioning assets by segment cannot be overstated as it results in higher engagement; higher inbound rates; and faster deal

velocity. Segmentation is resource intensive in that it multiplies streams of content and the mechanics around delivering

those streams. In SaaS, the upsides of specificity outweigh the cost of execution.

Email Measurement Third-party email measurement is limited to sends, opens, and click-throughs relayed from the sender. Conversion data (post

click) is often the advertiser’s responsibility (which can also provide a check and balance for the click-through counts).

House email measurement can be richer with insight into reading, specific clicks, and pass along, in addition to sends, opens,

and clicks. Keep in mind that opens are driven by subject line and preview, while reads and clicks are driven by the

effectiveness of the email itself.

Email Technology House-list email technology can range from small business tools like MailChimp or Emma, to HubSpot, to enterprise

marketing automation platforms like Marketo, Pardot|Salesforce, or Eloqua|Oracle. Regardless of the email tool, the objective

is to produce quality emails that will have value for their recipients. Useless or low-value emails will result in unsubscribes at

best, and spam reports at worst. To maximize continued deliverability and engagement, maintain high standards.

EVENTS On- and off-line events make personal connections and establish brand and thought leadership. Events can be used as both brand

and lead-gen vehicles. It’s important to note that events must be fully executed to realize full value. That means that the event itself

becomes the focal point for many other supporting campaigns — email marketing to prospects and customers; personal outreach

to prospects and customers; environmental graphics; promotions; social campaigns; and so on. Off-line events are also excellent

opportunities to interview for customer case studies, videos, or testimonials while everyone is in the same place.

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Third-Party Events Events organized by third-parties include online and off-line trade shows. SaaS companies often generate new leads and

solidify existing prospects by exhibiting at off-line trade shows. These leads typically have mixed quality and a high cost-per-

lead. Virtual trade shows typically deliver a higher number of lower quality leads (low cost-per-lead).

A strong upside for off-line trade shows is the rally-round effect of hosting brand-specific, private gatherings where current

customers and key prospects mix and mingle face to face. A significant downside of off-line exhibition events is the high cost

of exhibiting, logistics, travel, and support. Off-line events also take a soft toll on marketing and sales teams as they require

outsized time and attention to execute well.

Each event must be objectively measured and evaluated both economically and against brand and social benefits. Both sales

and marketing must contribute to these evaluations. Event budgets may potentially be split between sales and marketing, or

even within marketing between demand-gen and brand buckets. A cautionary note that events can be challenging to

attribute, although direct bookings/event is relatively straightforward. The challenge lies in deals that are solidified or

cemented by event interactions. These types of influential moments can be hard to quantify but should be considered when

evaluating overall value.

Owned Events Owned events are those that the organization creates and executes. The most common owned events in SaaS marketing are

webinars. Other common types of owned events include customer conferences, seminar series, and road shows. Both online

webinars and off-line seminars serve to educate prospects and generate demand.

Owned events are also excellent fits for co-marketing or partner marketing — where each organization contributes to reach

and demand-gen, and all organizations share in the leads from the group’s effort. A challenge with co-marketing is ensuring

that contributions and benefits are balanced for all participating brands.

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A strong upside of owned events is that they have relatively low hard costs. But, because they are self-executed, they have

significant soft costs of organizational resource consumption. They also require a relatively wide set of competencies that may

not be present in the SaaS marketing organization. Another upside is that the narrative is controlled. Owned event

measurement focuses on registrants, attendees, new leads generated, and bookings (using first- or last-touch attribution).

ORGANIC Strong organic performance earned from solid, strategic keywords, naturally and authentically drives quality traffic. Organic

performance is most commonly associated with search engine rankings for owned media, like the website. The other

significant driver of organically-fueled traffic is the social networks — using a keyword-focused hashtag strategy to build an

audience — again driving back to owned media like the website.

Search Engine Optimization Narrow, strategic keyword strategy must be pulled through all content development to reinforce core themes and build

rankings. Consistent and diligent keyword-rich, yet authentic content will attract and convert leads at low-to-no direct cost.

Organically sourced leads will only be as good as the keyword strategy that drove them.

Keep in mind that building sustainable organic rankings takes time and consistency. Also, keep in mind that authenticity and

quality ultimately win in SEO. Gaming the system only works for so long and will likely result in a low-quality customer among

other nasty side effects.

Social Keyword strategy evolves into hashtag and influencer strategies for unpaid social marketing. Identification and consistent

promotion of influencer handles combined with the relevant use of high-value hashtags builds a quality audience. This

audience has both direct and indirect value.

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The direct value of a social audience is as a content marketing distribution channel. Social networks are especially effective for

promoting webinars and other events. They are least effective at lead-generation.

Perhaps the most significant indirect value a social audience has is for social proof — prospect validation of the number of followers,

current activity, and brand voice. Self-directed prospects define their journeys that often begin with key social networks or third-

party user-generated content/review sites. Only those who pass those initial litmus tests earn deeper time and attention.

It may be easy to get caught up in the tide of purchasing fake followers to inflate counts. Remember that smart buyers see

through a disengaged audience as a farce or a strong negative reflection on value. In either case, the judgment is more

damaging than having fewer, but very real and engaged, followers. Build a real audience for real business value.

PAID ONLINE MEDIA The two primary categories of paid online media are search and social. Search engine pay-per-click is the most ubiquitous

spigot of traffic and leads. While paid social — Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram — are more use-case specific. In both

cases, paid should only be used to amplify organic. If that guidance is eschewed, paid acquisition will e much more costly than

it should be and overall customer acquisition cost (CAC) will suffer.

Paid Search Paid search can be a surgical source of leads with intent. It can also be a waste of time and money. The distinction lies in how

paid search is executed. As a strategic, focused and very narrow tool in the marketing arsenal, paid search will deliver

qualified, self-selected leads with intent. This assumes specific, strategic keyword choices combined with narrowing rather

than widening ad creative. Each ad group becomes a miniature funnel that qualifies by its structure and execution. Surgical

paid search is laborious with higher soft costs — research, measurement, creative, and management — and lower hard spend.

The flip side of the surgical paid search coin is volume. Shotgun-style, broad-match campaigns will attract clicks and result in false-

positive results in all but the most mass-market situations. Wide paid search spends more on clicks but requires less soft costs. Since

clicks are rarely the business objective, wide paid search is rarely a recommended, capital-efficient acquisition channel.

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Paid Social Effective use of paid social media varies greatly by target and vehicle. For example, LinkedIn Sponsored Content may work well to

amplify a content marketing-focused B2B-targeted SaaS, but it would have near-zero value for a B2C-targeted transactional SaaS.

Paid social can have some of the targeting specificity of paid search, with more emphasis on affinity groups and potentially fewer

long-tail opportunities. A downside of paid social is that it is likely to convert at relatively lower rates than paid search.

SaaS Marketing Channels Quick Reference

Asset Use Case Resources Measurement

Third-Party Email Leverage third-party audiences to extend

reach and spread authentic content

3 Leads/Conversions; Opens; Clicks

Nurture Email Stimulate activity, educate, and segment

using targeted content

5 Opens; Clicks; Hand Raisers

Third-Party Events Leverage third-party audiences to extend

reach and spread authentic content

7 Leads; Hand Raisers

Owned Events Control the narrative, audience, and

message via education

8 Registrants; Attendees; Hand Raisers

Organic Search Build an audience with interest and intent

using authentic keywords

6 Traffic; Keyword/Search Rankings

Organic Social Develop and feed an aligned audience for

your content and messaging

5 Social Shares

Paid Search Amplify organic content marketing and

search engine optimization

7 Leads/Conversions; Clicks

Paid Social Amplify organic content marketing and

social efforts

7 Social Shares

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SAAS MARKETING EFFICACY In SaaS, the ability to scale with capital efficiency is driven by sales, marketing, and

product/market fit. Customer acquisition cost (CAC) has a lot to do with how much

capital a SaaS needs to grow. More specifically, high-efficacy sales and marketing uses

a fraction of a dollar to acquire a dollar’s worth of annual recurring revenue. When

efficient customer acquisition is complemented by high customer renewal rates,

lifetime value is high and the sky’s the limit on growth and valuation. It all starts with a

great product, market fit, and a clearly defined ideal customer profile. With those basic

ingredients, marketing has everything it needs to perform.

Thanks for reading.

Justin Talerico

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