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Measure the Digital Marketing ROI of Your SaaS Company – The Right Way

Measure the Digital Marketing ROI of Your SaaS Company – The Right Way

“Minds do not leap. Observation, evaluation, and iteration, not sudden shifts of perception, solve problems and lead us to creation.”

Kevin Ashton, the guy who, among other things, pioneered the global standard system for RFID and other sensors, said that. But how does that quote relate it our topic today?

Most business models in the world are a microcosm of life on a smaller scale. Digital marketing for a SaaS company is no exception. To truly excel at it, constant observation, evaluation, and iteration of ideas and efforts must take place, to lead you to ÿour goal. That’s where the ROI (Return on Investment) comes in.

The process of measuring the ROI will force you to acknowledge the viability and success (or lack thereof) of your marketing efforts. Before you can think about ways to measure the ROI, you must understand the significance of measuring it.

ROI – The What and The Why

ROI, in SaaS, refers to the profitability ratio to evaluate the quality of fruits your marketing labours bear. In simple words, the question you, as a SaaS owner, want to ask of your company is whether you’re getting as much as you can in relation to what you put in.

Why, you ask? Well, that’s where Senor Ashton’s wise words come into focus. To solve problems and lead you to creation, it is observation, evaluation, and iteration that take the limelight, rather than simple whims and epiphanies.

Measuring the ROI, correctly, of course, is akin to the observation part. This in turn, will allow you to evaluate your actions, and ultimately compel you to make alterations to your efforts. (Read: iterations). 

Now that we understand the What and the Why of ROI, let’s move on to the How.

How to measure ROI “the right way”?

The right way. A bit vague, isn’t it? Let’s see if we can’t shed some light on it. Measuring the return on investments is almost as simple as proving 2+2 = 5. The whole point of the exercise is to be able to derive actionable insights. So first things first, you need to know what to measure.

Let’s go about this per channel.

The Website

Your SaaS company’s website is basically a virtual office space. A lot of people come by, some even prospective customers. You have invested a lot to make this office welcoming and catering to the needs of said customers. The parameters you need to measure in this case are:

  • Traffic and its source

Measure how many people visit your website on a weekly basis as well as where they come from.

  • Time spent

Measure the visitors’ time spent on your website. Maybe they liked something they saw. You can use that information to talk to them more effectively.

  • Bounce rates

Bounce rates give you an idea about how many people leave your website immediately after arriving. You don’t want this number too high.

  • Website actions

Finally, measure the actions visitors take on your website. Calculate conversions per page, inquiries, likes & comments, shares, etc.

Paid Advertisements

Paid Advertisements are, well, pretty self-explanatory. But the process of generating leads and measuring their performance isn’t that simple. Here’s what you, as a SaaS owner, need to track:

  • Define target CPR

CPR, or Cost Per Result, refers to the ratio of profit per a predetermined metric (a click, lead, conversion, or sale), generated by an ad to the cost of running said ad. You want to define a target CPR initially and work your way towards achieving that with A/B testing.

  • Ad interaction rate

This one is rather straightforward. It refers to the number of people who clicked or interacted with the ad in some way in relation to the number of people who saw the ad. Anything close to a 2% interaction rate is a good sign.

  • Campaign-wise ROI

Simply put, you want more coming in than going out for all of your marketing efforts. Calculate simple ROI analysis on each marketing campaign you run and compare data across channels.

  • Per-channel performance

Different channels have different audiences, and hence suit one company or product more than the other. Figure out the yield of each channel and compare the performances to optimize future ads.

Organic Channels

These cover the company blog, social media presence, email newsletters, etc. Everything under content marketing such as blogs, articles, leadership articles, as well as organic social media content. This content is the face of your brand, and people will judge your knowledge and competency by it. This is how you measure how people react to it:

  • Reach and impression

Reach is the total number of people who see your content. Impressions are the number of times your content is displayed, no matter if it was clicked or not. 

  • Engagement

Engagement refers to the number of responses such as likes, comments, shares, retweets, clicks, referrals, etc. conjured up by your content on various platforms.

  • Revenue generated and profit/Resource-cost comparison

This is the calculation of direct revenue generated thanks to your content, in relation to the cost of resources and man-hours used to create said content.

Example of measuring ROI of a marketing channel:

Total marketing costs =  X (Email marketing team allowance) + Y (Email Marketing software). So X + Y is the total investment.

Revenue = Z = Leads generated through email marketing x lead conversion rate x average sales value

ROI = Z – (X+Y)/(X+Y)

Some Final Points to Remember

Track the trackers – Ensure you have functional trackers in place to measure all the data that you need. Google analytics and HubSpot are two of the prime examples of trackers.

Go for better dashboard tools – There are a number of marketing dashboard tools out there that help you derive actionable insights from raw data like Google data studio, Datorama, Tableau, etc. Find one that best suits your needs.

Keep an eye out for red flags – With all this constant tracking, collecting and deciphering of data, it may be possible to miss out on trends. Keep checking all datasheets and dashboards thoroughly to make sure any underperforming metrics are taken care of immediately.

Shift focus in times of need – If even after multiple efforts and iterations you keep seeing red flags, it may be time to shift your focus, and your budget towards different strategies. 

Know what you don’t know – For strategies that you’re unsure of, it’s best to only keep a small experimental budget at first, at most. If things do not go according the plan, your best bet is to consult an expert about it before investing any further.

Speaking of experts, you need not look far. Here, at Alter Marketing Solutions, our team of expert data analysts and digital marketers come together to ensure your SaaS company’s digital marketing efforts are fruitful, and your ROI keeps soaring. Drop us a message at [email protected], or call us at +91 99864 60086 for a free consult

Want to learn more about creating the perfect growth plan for your SaaS product? Get Free Access To Our SaaS Growth Plan EBook. Download Now!

Scale-Up Your SaaS Company With these 5 Smart Marketing Investments

Scale-Up Your SaaS Company With these 5 Smart Marketing Investments

They say money not spent is money earned. That may have been true a few decades ago, but in today’s advanced capitalist economy, that saying does not hold much water. Especially not when it comes to investing in digital marketing strategies for SaaS.

SaaS, from a marketing standpoint, is rife with uncertainty over the outcome. This uncertainty often translates into a lot of promise, if necessary steps are taken to ensure that you get your money’s worth, and perhaps a bit more. Maximizing the ROI is the end goal of any SaaS digital marketing strategy, and the least you can do is put systems in place that exclusively serve towards boosting your marketing efforts in an organic manner.

Different brands need different strategies to achieve their goals. Consider your targets, your market, your product, and your budget before choosing the right marketing strategy to invest in. If you’re looking for ideas, we’ve got you covered!

Here are 3 top marketing strategies that you can focus on in 2022 and get the best out of your efforts.

Content Marketing

When done correctly, content marketing can be a fantastic way to generate leads and attract new clients to your door. Content marketing for SaaS companies involves developing and sharing content in a variety of mediums in order to educate, inform, inspire, or assist your target audience.

There are over 40,000 google searches every second of every day. People are looking for information about nearly everything. Consider the type of content you want to create and how you’ll get it seen as part of your content marketing strategy. You could focus on webinars, podcasts, white papers, or a video series aside from just writing a blog. Figure out what works best for you and your target audience.

Freemiums

You don’t buy a new car without taking it out for a few spins, do you? It’s all about making the potential consumer experience your product before buying it. When it comes to SaaS, giving your consumers a free trial or a free plan not only helps you gain those valuable signups, but it also allows them to try out your product firsthand.

Freemium models are an extremely successful marketing tool in addition to helping acquire new clients. Offer a fantastic onboarding experience, as well as messaging that presents the perks and features of your higher-priced plans, and you’ll have a simple but effective way of getting those free consumers to upgrade.

A time-limited free trial can be a beneficial strategy to onboard clients, even if you offer a high-quality product at a premium price — notably in the high-end B2B market.

PPC Campaigns

Pay-per-click (PPC) is a popular SaaS digital marketing strategy: it’s scalable, adaptable, and drives targeted traffic to your website. PPC is a good marketing approach for recently established companies because of its high scalability and flexibility. Creating and administering a high-profit PPC campaign takes knowledge and experience, and because niches differ, you’ll have to experiment a lot.

PPC mandates a great deal of testing, tweaking, optimizing, and learning, so be prepared. Before diving into the PPC seas and blowing your cash, make sure you know how to properly set up and manage a PPC campaign.

Special mentions: Social Media Marketing, Case Studies, Affiliate Marketing, Email Marketing.

Aside from these distinct strategies, there are further fundamental steps you can take to support all strategies and give your SaaS company the best possible opportunity to succeed. Here’s a couple of them:

  1. Software to Measure Metrics

You can implement any strategy you like, but if you don’t track its performance, how would you adapt? How will you know which strategies are working, which aren’t, and to what extent?

Implementing a result-driven software such as HubSpot allows you to have an understanding of your performance. Not only that, it tracks key metrics and performance indicators and allows you to draw valuable insights about your marketing efforts. Marketing software is also used to automate manual tasks and optimize the content you distribute. This is why selecting the right software is so important.

  1. Growth-Driven Website Design

Because of the methodology of traditional websites, the ordinary SaaS web design is doomed from the get-go. When decision-makers approve the setup and design of a website, it is generally considered “finished.” That is where the real work begins for growth-driven design.

GDD (growth-driven design) is a process for creating a website that is solely focused on improving over time. This progress is constantly aimed toward expansion. Rather than ending with a “finished” product, GDD begins with a “LaunchPad” website. This LaunchPad website is an enhancement to your present site that also serves as a source of real-time user data. When user data begins to flow in, it’s time to start experimenting with different versions of your website to see which one generates the most traffic.

Growth-driven design is ideal for brands looking to update their website while simultaneously improving its performance. Optimization for initial website builds, landing pages, call-to-action (CTA), user experience (UX) design, and search engine optimization are just a few of the subjects covered in the GDD framework (SEO).

“Make your money work for you” is what they say nowadays. But to be in a position to do that is a privilege in itself. Invest your marketing budget wisely over strategies that are geared toward making the most of your resources and maximizing your ROI.

Unsure about where and how to invest your marketing budget? Fret not, for here at Alter Marketing Solutions, we have a team of highly skilled individuals to devise the most effective, specialized marketing plans for your business. Send an email to [email protected] or give us a call at +91 99864 60086.

Want to learn more about creating the perfect growth plan for your SaaS product? Get Free Access To Our SaaS Growth Plan EBook.Download Now!

Myths vs Facts: Uncover 5 Truths About Digital Marketing Agencies for SaaS Companies

Myths vs Facts: Uncover 5 Truths About Digital Marketing Agencies for SaaS Companies

“What is the truth, but a lie agreed upon” – Nietzsche.

Quite often, in various walks of life, we encounter situations where the perceived truth turns out to be false or wrong. Certain half-truths are spread as the whole truth, which are led by ignorance or deception and give rise to myths. Digital marketing has no shortage of these half-truths, especially digital marketing for SaaS companies.

Digital marketing myths can be dangerous for your SaaS company and can cause you to lose your business if you’re not careful. It’s advisable to consult professional digital marketing agencies for SaaS, to stay away from wrong information. But working with an agency comes with its own set of ideas and expectations, which again may not be all true.

Today, we are going to quickly go over 5 of the biggest myths surrounding digital marketing agencies for SaaS companies. Let’s dive right in! 

  1. Myth: A marketing agency will solve all my problems

A marketing agency is not a unicorn at the end of a rainbow if you want to take your business to the next level. It will certainly give a boost to a number of aspects, but your company has to have a clear vision and infrastructure in place to succeed.

Fact: A digital marketing agency will need assistance from your company

Think of your SaaS company as a Formula One car. It has the ability to go incredibly fast, but you need someone to take it past the checkered flag. You need a Lewis Hamilton. That’s where the digital marketing agency comes in.  

But even Lewis Hamilton needs a competitive constructor’s team around him to win the Championship. The digital marketing agency you hire must have a clear objective with a defined goal to achieve within a preset budget. There must be a point of contact who is open to discussing strategy and a team that is primed for best results.

  1. Myth: Only big agencies are good

Large-scale agencies often have bigger clients. For small-to-medium businesses (SMBs), size is not always king. it is often more important how well an agency’s services match your company’s needs.

Fact: Smaller agencies are often more capable of providing better services

Marketing a brand’s products and/or services are dependent on multiple factors. An agency’s manpower is one of them, but not the most important. It is far more important that there is a marriage of minds when it comes to your company’s expectations and ambitions. Very often, a smaller agency might be far more suitable for your SMB because they are more likely to provide greater attention to your specific needs.

  1. Myth: SaaS companies will achieve overnight success upon digital marketing

SaaS companies often have a misconception that upon hiring an agency for digital marketing, success will immediately knock on the door. That is very often not the case, since digital marketing is an ongoing process, not a milestone.

Fact: Digital Marketing is a marathon with checkpoints, not a 100-meter dash

To reap maximum benefits of outsourcing to a digital marketing agency for SaaS companies, patience is a key virtue. Consistent trials and a planned approach are necessary for desired success.

  1. Myth: Digital marketing is the be-all and end-all for SaaS companies

The definition of success is often different for different marketing campaigns for different companies. But one thing is for sure, solely relying on digital marketing performance is likely not going to be enough for achieving the desired success for SaaS companies.

Fact: Digital marketing is key, but don’t neglect offline marketing

No question that digital marketing, especially for SaaS companies is quite necessary. A competent agency will take care of that. But the buck does not stop there for you. To maximize the potential for success, offline marketing techniques such as physical ads, flyers, word-of-mouth, etc. cannot be neglected and must be used in tandem with digital marketing techniques. 

  1. Myth: You have to invest a lot of capital upfront

The days of expensive traditional marketing campaigns like TV ads, billboards, radio spots are numbered. Digital marketing provides more fine-tuned services at far reasonable rates.

Fact: Digital marketing agencies allow you to invest wisely, over time

Digital marketing allows you to spread your marketing costs over the course of a month, a quarter, or a yearly basis. Take affordable steps as you go on with marketing campaigns and review your ROI as you go along. This way you get to protect your capital with smart investments.

  1. Myth: Digital marketing can be done in-house

Well, technically, sure. In the same way that I can cook a decent meal so technically, Gordon Ramsay and I are the same. Digital marketing is possible in-house, but an in-house team will never be as efficient, high-quality, and purpose-built, for it to compare to the dedicated team at a digital marketing agency.

Fact: Thorough digital marketing needs a dedicated team of at least 25 people

There are a whole host of tasks to do, optimizations to be made, and insights to be acquired for a digital marketing operation. Social media marketers, multiple content creators, graphic designers, web designers, and so the list goes on. Hiring multiple people to cover all these skillsets is a significantly more tedious, not to mention expensive, task than approaching a specialized digital marketing agency for SaaS companies.

Choosing the right agency for your company

Lastly, choosing the right digital marketing agency for your SaaS company is a crucial process. It is imperative that myths and false information are dispelled before you make a choice. Always make sure to thoroughly vet the agency with regard to previous experiences, the scale of the agency, and the abilities of the personnel involved to understand your business.

Here at Alter Marketing Solutions, we have a marketing staff of highly skilled number-crunchers to devise the most effective, individualized marketing plans for your business. Come find your match at [email protected] or give us a call at +91 99864 60086.

DEBUNKED: 6 Marketing Myths About SaaS Companies That You Must Let Go

DEBUNKED: 6 Marketing Myths About SaaS Companies That You Must Let Go

Cold outreach and a handful of ads are a thing of the past. SaaS marketing has now grown into an industry of its own over the years, with the competition among companies at an all-time high. Delivering a lasting impression on customers and deriving sustainable results are challenges faced by every company especially with various myths put in place to hold you back.

Here are some digital marketing myths we’ve debunked so you don’t have to:

  1. Your Product Needs to be Perfect

The thirst for perfection is one seen everywhere in the SaaS industry, but achieving it is a hard feat. A finished product may take months, even years to achieve, but sales take equally as long. If you’re a salesperson or the owner yourself looking to get a headstart in a sea of customers, starting marketing from the day you sign up is the way to go. Sell your ideals, your mission, your vision while you work on your product and witness the multitude of customers ready to subscribe not only to your product but to your belief.

  1. Marketing is Fast

SaaS marketing is a vast playing field, from generating the amount of content required to the frequency of changes made to your website; the data is vast and thus requires significant time and energy to go through. Companies spend a large portion of their revenue on sales and marketing, getting started with upfront investment. However, transforming that investment into a marketing model that works is no easy feat and requires endless hours of continuous refinement and changes. Thus, if you want a marketing model that’s sure to work, make sure to have patience handy.

  1. About Increasing Conversions

Many consider conversions the absolute goal when it comes to SaaS marketing however your true goal should always be revenue. There may still be problems from getting conversions and then transforming them into a viable revenue stream. Thus, you should look at all aspects of the cycle from the referring page being optimized to the next step after a conversion occurs. Your goal at the end of the day should be building a system that generates revenue rather than one that increases conversions.

  1. Data Dominates. Or Does it?

Again, a difference in goals. We see a lot of people strive towards the acquisition of as much data as possible without considering why they’re doing it. Your objective when it comes to data should always be insights. Thus getting good quality data that could then be utilized to its ideal capabilities will always be better than acquiring a large chunk of data with minimal relevant insights. Understanding how and what metrics to use can give your company the headstart it needs. Gathering qualitative data through surveys and customer relationships is also a great way of gathering data that matters. 

  1. The Truth About Marketing Channels

Facebook ads, Google Adwords, content marketing, and the multiple other channels available are important parts of the marketing puzzle. One should try them all out and see which ones are a good fit for your SaaS company and optimize your strategy accordingly. If you’ve tried these channels in the past, one thing to remember is to not discard them immediately if they don’t work out for you. The problem almost all the time isn’t the marketing channel itself but your implementation. All in all, various channels provide awesome opportunities for your company to grow, make sure to use them effectively in order to see viable revenue. 

  1. Content is King

Along the same lines of marketing channels, content marketing is something we see almost every SaaS company using. However, relying on only content marketing and expecting large amounts of return is a utopian ideal, to say the least.  The amount of content being created and optimized for the general public is at an all-time high, making it more exigent than ever to create unique content. Your goal should always be to create content that stands out and then distribute it effectively rather than the amount of content you’re producing; only a combination of both can help you reap the rewards of your hard work.
Like most things in life, digital marketing is not a perfect science. Every company out there today probably needs an effective marketing strategy to reach its goals. At Alter Marketing Solutions, we have a marketing staff of highly skilled number-crunchers to devise the most effective, individualized marketing plans for your business. Send an email to [email protected] or give us a call at +91 99864 60086.

Hiring a SaaS Marketing Agency-101

Hiring a SaaS Marketing Agency-101

Do you want to expand your market and automate marketing processes for your SaaS product? Then you could largely benefit from an effective SaaS digital marketing agency.

In this day and age, all the major sectors such as real estate, retail, financial services, transportation, hospitality, etc. rely heavily on software to go about their business. An effective SaaS digital marketing agency can help you shine with success by increasing your customer base and generating more qualified leads. It is estimated that in the next 3 years, the global SaaS market will be worth more than 60 billion dollars. If there was ever a good time to invest in digital marketing for SaaS companies, that time is now!

However, it won’t be smooth sailing, especially if you end up hiring a digital marketing agency that is not worth your time and money. When hiring a digital marketing agency for SaaS, there are several substantial errors that can cost you your hard-earned money and can lead to stagnation in terms of growth. In this article, you will learn how to choose the best digital marketing agency for your SaaS product. But before that, let’s briefly delve into:

The benefits of B2B SaaS Digital Marketing Agency

While you may have all the technical prowess in SaaS, you may not have the required knowledge about marketing. Some of the major benefits you could reap from hiring a SaaS digital marketing agency are:

  • Deal with and overcome SaaS marketing challenges.
  • They are experts in SaaS lead generation.
  • Accurate tracking and relevant analytics.
  • Save time and money
  • Creating an integrated digital strategy to achieve your goal
  • Having multiple experts from different aspects of marketing work on your company
  • Consistent and regular efforts in marketing
  • Guide you in choosing the right platforms to market on depending upon your target customer

How To Choose The Best Digital Marketing Agency

Choosing the right digital marketing agency for SaaS can get quite tricky. Especially when every agency claims to be the best at what they do. However, focusing on the below mentioned key areas is a must before hiring:

1. Prioritize Goals: Make the agency aware of the goals and objectives that you expect to be achieved. When you are clear about what you want, so will be your marketing agency. They can evaluate and get back to you on their take on the goals – what can be practically achieved and what can’t. Judge their take and then make an informed decision.

2. Experience: A SaaS marketing agency with a great deal of experience should always be your preferred choice. You need an experienced agency that has a team of experts who are not new to this field and can add to your success with their experience.

3. Case Studies and Testimonials:

There’s no better way to evaluate a SaaS marketing company’s experience than by going through their case studies. A case study provides an in-depth analysis of the success the agency was able to achieve with its previous of current client. It should give you an insight on

–        The problem their client was facing

–        The solution that was proposed (and followed)

–        The outcomes they achieved

Case studies help you determine if the agency has the problem-solving skill that you are looking for. They give you a fair idea if the agency was able to generate high-quality and convert leads for their clients.

Another way to check for the authenticity of any agency’s work is to check for their client testimonials. Testimonials are written or recorded statements that support the agency’s credibility and level of expertise from the perspective of their clients.

So,  always ask for case studies and testimonials.

4. Long Term and Short Term Strategy:

A good marketing agency will follow all the right practices to strike a balance between short-term marketing strategies that have a very quick return and others that have a far longer return?

The Long term strategy builds your SEO and Content marketing over a period of time. The right agency will develop impressive and compelling content for your intended audience to keep them interested and engaged. Ask yourself if they can deliver high-quality content which aligns with your brand value.

Paid ads fall into the category of short-term strategy. Paid ads when done right can have a very quick return – but are also less scalable, and inhibit exponential growth.

The marketing agency that you are looking for should be able to formulate both long term and short terms strategies otherwise you are looking at a situation where you will end up working with multiple agencies.

5. SaaS Marketing Trends: A good SaaS digital marketing agency will keep itself updated with the changing trends. Can the agency focus on SaaS marketing trends and help you keep up with them? Hiring a team of the right SaaS professionals who stay updated with market trends will boost your lead generation, client retention, and customer acquisition.

6. Robust Internal Processes: A good marketing agency will have tested systems and processes. The best way to identify a professional agency from an amature one is by asking them to describe their internal processes. These internal processes are extremely important right from internal briefing, client onboarding to sending out the expected deliverables. When an agency has the right processes in place, they will invariably be able to consistently deliver on their promises and outperform their benchmarks. So the best question to ask a prospective agency is “ Explain to me your process of onboarding a client, quality control and setting benchmarks for results” . The answer to these questions can save you thousands of dollars.

Some Frequently Asked Questions:

Q. How do you digitally market a software product?

A. To start with, have proper and well-planned digital marketing strategies in place and follow some tactics that work. Create a comprehensive knowledge base to support your customers with your content offers. Also, consider offering free demos or free trial versions of the product.

Q. How do software companies get clients?

The first step is to identify a specific niche to target and have a content marketing strategy. The content you promote should be targeted to a particular audience and provide them with real value — to convert them into clients. Establish yourself as a subject matter expert and reliable resource for information, to gain your potential client’s trust. Getting referrals from previous clients is also a good way of getting new clients. Having a good marketing team on board is a definite booster!

Q. How do I market my software house?

Invest in getting a dynamic, fast-loading, and mobile responsive website design. Implement Search Engine Optimization (SEO) for your content offers and opt for Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising to generate leads. Getting an effective SaaS digital marketing agency on board is also a great way of marketing your software house or company to increase brand visibility.

If you’re an IT company or a SaaS company looking to buff up your marketing strategies and tactics to make more profits, reach out to Alter Marketing Solutions at 099864 60086 or email us at [email protected]. These days, SaaS is more competitive than ever. Trust our experts to make your business stand out from the competition.

Want to learn more about creating the perfect growth plan for your SaaS product? Get Free Access To Our SaaS Growth Plan EBook.Download Now!