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SaaS Marketing: The Metrics To Track For Maximum Returns On Investment

SaaS Marketing: The Metrics To Track For Maximum Returns On Investment

The internet is an ever-evolving digital organism that allows complex breeding grounds for unparalleled and unimaginable opportunities. 21st-century capitalism plays out on the internet and in a capitalist market, the winner is who captures the attention of its patrons better.

SaaS, or Software as a Service products need marketing, in ways true to themselves, largely using digital channels to garner awareness, position the product, and bring it to the market.

Customers won’t care about any particular technology unless it solves a particular problem in a superior way. ~ Peter Thiel, co-founder – PayPal

Far too many nifty digital solutions slip through the market every year because they either weren’t marketed to the right audience or not marketed in the right way using the right tools. But how do you figure out if your marketing strategies are working before it’s too late?

That’s when we talk about ROI in SaaS digital marketing.

This guide will teach you about ROI (Return On Investment) in SaaS, the metrics to focus on, and ways to boost your returns. Let’s dig in, shall we?

ROI in SaaS Marketing

ROI refers to the profitability ratio to evaluate the quality of fruits your marketing labours bear. When it comes to SaaS, marketing profitability is key because of the saturation of the market, and the increased competitiveness it fosters. 92% of year-one revenue of SaaS-based businesses is spent on client acquisition through marketing.

Suffice it to say it is imperative that every rupee is spent in the right place if you want your service to fare well. ROI assists you in doing just that, by gauging the viability of your marketing campaigns and channels, what is working well, what isn’t, and where the room for improvement lies.

Let’s begin with a very fundamental metric: overall growth or profit. It is the ratio of the difference between returns and investment in a particular period of time, to the investment.


Here’s the formula for overall ROI for a set period of time:

(Total return – Total investment)÷Total Investment=ROI

This is helpful for understanding the extent of profitability of your marketing efforts. However, not so when it comes to understanding which marketing efforts are doing the heavy lifting and which ones are being carried.

To gain that knowledge, we need to look at more specific metrics.

Calculation of ROI by Channel:

A marketing campaign has multiple components running together to generate leads that eventually convert into sales. Naturally, you want to magnify the marketing channels that promise the most potential and discard or modify the ones that underperform.

Tracking the leads generated is essential for this pursuit. There are certain CRM softwares that provide this particular service. It is important to track the leads generated from individual channels such as email marketing, newsletters, content marketing, social media marketing, and the rest.

Let’s take the example of Email Marketing ROI:

The crux of the concept for calculating the ROI remains the same as above. To begin with, you want the number for total investment (costs) towards email marketing.

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

Next is the calculation of revenue generated.

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

Now, let’s use these values to find email marketing ROI:

ROI = Z – (X+Y)÷(X+Y)

There you go! We’ve just calculated the return on investment for the email marketing channel for your company. Use this same formula to calculate the ROI for other channels and equip yourself with the knowledge you need to take the next step: improve your ROI.

Get to the Heart of the Matter

Getting all the numbers on spreadsheets is well and good, but if you don’t know what to do with them, it’s akin to trash.

The entire point of this exercise is to ultimately increase your sales and profits, and grow your company. Calculation of returns provides you with insights about which channels are more fruitful than others, but you need more than that.

You need to possess answers to two key questions: ‘’why?” and “how?”

  1. Why do certain channels work and certain do not?
  2. How to improvise key factors that can boost the ROI, and by extension, your company’s growth?

To answer these questions, you first need to learn more about said key factors that determine the success of your marketing channels.

  • Traffic

The number of people visiting your website/app/blog. These numbers also provide insight into which channels are bringing the traffic to help you analyze trends and patterns.

  • MQLs and SQLs

MQLs and SQLs, or Marketing Qualified Leads and Sales Qualified Leads, respectively. The former refers to a potential lead who is likely to show interest in your product or service, and the latter is a candidate with tangible potential to turn into a customer.

These metrics are key because they inform you about the trends in conversion rates of MQLs to SQLs for particular channels and campaigns, and further gauge their effectiveness.

  • Customer Acquisition Costs

CAC is a fairly straightforward metric, all things considered. As the name suggests, it is the overall cost of acquiring a new customer. The calculation is simple enough, with the ratio of total marketing costs endured to the total number of customers acquired.


Calculate the CAC for your overall marketing efforts as well as individual channels, to dig deeper into the efficiencies of each channel and campaign. 

  • Lead Quality with BANT

It’s no good if you only convert one sale from a thousand leads. You need to define and regulate the quality of leads acquired, and a BANT rating is an effective way to do it.

Budget – The prospect’s willingness and ability to spend on your solution.

Authority – Are they the authority figure to make the ultimate decision on the sale?

Need – Does the prospect have a need for your solution?

Timeline – How long would the prospect need for a purchasing decision?

Rate each of these factors on a scale of 1 to 5, add all of them, and multiply the sum with 5. This will give you the score on a scale of 0 to 100, with 0 having no chance of being a customer and 100 being the best possible chance.

Data ⇒ Insights

The pile of spreadsheets on your desk, or the excel sheets on your computer (it’s 2021, after all) are just a means to an end. The end being increased leads, sales, and profits, and probably a Forbes magazine feature.

From all the metrics we discussed today, a plethora of actionable insights and plans of action can be derived.

For example, if your email newsletter campaign turns out a roaring success, you can pinpoint the reasons by using the metrics. Information about targeted keywords, audience demographics, content quality, all those inputs may be used for another campaign like social media ads to attract more and more leads for that channel.

All that to say all the information in the world is redundant, if you do not understand how to leverage it properly.

Final Word

The idea is to be aware of the right performance indicators to track, and then implement accurate tracking systems for them.

After you have the data, it is incumbent upon you and your marketing team to derive actionable insights to grow your SaaS business.
But if you’re not tech-savvy enough to understand these numbers, don’t worry! All is not lost yet. We, at Alter Marketing Solutions, employ a marketing team of highly proficient number-crunchers that come up with the best, personalized marketing strategies for your company. Drop us a message at [email protected], or call us 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!

A 7-Step Digital Marketing Strategy for Software Companies

A 7-Step Digital Marketing Strategy for Software Companies

‘How to grow a software business?’ is a question on the mind of every startup company. Most B2B buyers bank heavily on the internet as their primary resource when looking for new business solutions. So, the question all struggling software companies need to address is ‘Are we doing enough to showcase our brand over the internet? If not, please be aware that your competitors most definitely are doing more than just ‘enough’.

The software development industry is in high demand, but the competition is also cutthroat. Every day it is becoming tougher and tougher to attract new clients, especially if you are a small startup. This is one of the major reasons why software developers allocate a huge amount of time and resources to research marketing strategies and their implementation.

Strong digital marketing for software companies is easier said than done. Every product has to simplify its own complexities while fighting for a strong digital presence. A sound digital marketing strategy effectively connects your clients to the services you offer through social media, blogs, websites, forums, etc.

This article covers 7 of the most bankable digital marketing strategies that software companies need to establish a strong digital presence.

1. Define Your Goals

The first question that needs addressing before formulating an effective digital marketing strategy is “What do I want to accomplish”? It can be anything —attracting more clients, brand awareness, or promoting the software that you have developed. A blueprint to success can only be drafted if you have well-defined goals for your organization.

2. Define your Target Audience

Your target audience is a group of people who are most likely to benefit from the services offered by you. Awareness about your target audience helps choose the right strategy to push more traffic to your sales funnel. You need not just know who is going to use your services but also who will be your buyer. Hence, it becomes imperative to develop targeted content that appeals to your buyers’ expectations and demands. While doing so, concentration on the following criteria that you have you define your ideals customers better:

Demographics (Age, Location, Gender, Income level, Education level)

Psychographics (Personality, Attitudes, Values, Interests/hobbies, Lifestyles)

Behavior – purchasing patterns such as price sensitivity, brand loyalty

Business segmentation – business size, nature of business, structure, etc.

3. Create a strong website

Your website is the virtual address of your SaaS Company and is a great place to put your business and USPs on display. Your website should provide relevant information about your company and offerings. Because that is what your target audience wants to give them.

Make sure your website ticks all the checkboxes mentioned below to convert a visit into a sale:

✅ Effectively portrays your brand

✅ Sleek web design

✅ Builds credibility 

✅ Content and flow optimised for high conversion rate 

4. Bet on SEO

It’s not just about creating a usable website, it’s about creating pages that appeal to the senses of your target audience and attract them to your page to drive traffic. One of the most crucial factors in having a strong SEO game is to get a first-page ranking on search engines. Identify the keywords that drive traffic and create optimized landing pages, frequent quality blogs circulating those keywords and create backlinks with your keywords to point the traffic toward your main product pages.

The rule of thumb when it comes to successful SEO implementation are:

-Technical and on-page SEO to enhance your website relevance to target keywords

-Creating 4-10 quality backlinks per month

-On-site blog posting at least once a week.

5. Invest in Paid Ads

According to a recent survey, more than 28% of online searches convert into a sale. And 28% is a towering number. Paid ads are the second-best performing lead generation channel for Most SaaS companies after organic search and SEO.

Google Ads is the go-to place to get started on your campaigns. With google ads, you also get access to more advanced remarketing strategies. This feature advertises to those potential buyers who have already visited sites related to your market or have searched for pertinent keywords in the past.

Explore multiple social outlets. Choosing the right platform is half the battle won.

Linkedin: Highly relevant if your software services are aimed at B25B space

Facebook and Twitter: Great to engage with your target audience and spread brand awareness. Their paid remarketing system allows you to grow a following in no time.

Youtube: Best place to post relevant videos and tutorials of your products and services. Give people insight into your solution while also driving traffic to your website.

6. Create tutorials and guides

Understand what is the problem faced by your customers and show in the visual form how your products and services can solve those problems for them. How-to tutorials, best practices, demo videos are some of the content buckets you can invest in.

Helpful, value-based content creates ripples of exposure and address. Provide what your customers want and be generous.

7. Build Impactful Reviews

Websites with a good number of user reviews, rank higher on Google because of their tie-ups with giant software companies. Look out for independent third-party review sites as well as work to increase the level of reviews you gain from users. Search for “software directories” or review sites and add and verify your profile there. Building impactful user reviews will provide greater exposure and credibility to your offering.

Put a plan in place to build reviews from real customers. Leverage your social media accounts and engage with your happy users to review you on certain platforms. Make sure the reviews are unbiased.

So that was our 7! If you are interested in more tactics that work for software development companies, click here.

Some Frequently Asked Questions:

Q. How to promote my software development business?

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 target 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 clients’ trust. Getting referrals from previous clients is also a good way of getting new clients.

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. Social media marketing is also a great way of marketing your software house or company to increase brand visibility.

The competition in the B2B Tech industry is fierce. So, take advantage of what the online world and social media platforms have to offer. You may find an untapped source of clients looking for your services. No matter how new or old, big or small your company is, you can outrun your competitors with the right approach to digital media. 

And if you’re an IT company or a SaaS company, you’ll need a full-proof SaaS digital marketing strategy and tactics to make more profits; reach out to Alter Marketing Solutions at 099864 60086 or email us at [email protected].

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!

SaaS VS PaaS: Know the Difference!

SaaS VS PaaS: Know the Difference!

What is PaaS and SaaS? Sounds like the work of a lazy acronym creator. Now that we have acknowledged it, let’s move on and try to understand the marketing terminologies – ‘’PaaS’’ and ‘’SaaS’’, and what factors differentiate the two. 

To give you an outline, ‘’PAAS’’ stands for ‘’Platform as a Service’’. It’s a cloud computing model followed by third-party companies providing both software and hardware solution tools to users over the internet. You buy the resources you need from the PaaS provider and access them over a secure internet connection. The services provided are hosted on the PaaS provider’s own infrastructure.

‘’SaaS’’, on the other hand, stands for ‘’Software as a Service’’. It is a software licensing and delivery model which licenses software on a subscription basis. In this distribution model, a software vendor contacts a third-party cloud provider to centrally host the application. Read on to understand the key differences between SaaS and PaaS – so you can choose the one that suits your organization’s needs.

What Is The Difference Between PaaS and SaaS?

PaaS and SaaS are two of the main categories of cloud computing. Cloud computing allows software and services to run on the internet, instead of having a local instance running on one device. The data stored in cloud computing is remotely accessed across a wide range of servers. If you are still confused about Cloud-computing, the following line will clear skies. Cloud computing refers to the practice of using different servers to host, store, manage, and process data online – in…you guessed it – ‘’the cloud”.

Let’s go over a quick differentiation for the two cloud services – ‘’PaaS’’ and ‘’SaaS’’.

1.       Stands For

PaaS: Platform as a service

SaaS: Software as a Service

2.      Used By

PaaS is used by developers

SaaS is used by end-users

3.      Access

PaaS gives access to the environment used in deployment and development tools for application

SaaS gives direct access to the end-users

4.     Model

PaaS is based on a cloud computing model that offers services and tools used for the development of application

SaaS is a service model in cloud computing that host and makes software available for its clients

5.      Technical Knowledge

PaaS requires you to have the subject matter knowledge to understand concepts surrounding basic setup

SaaS requires no such understanding about technicalities as most of the work is already done by the SaaS companies

6.     Popularity

PaaS is popular among developers who work on the development of apps and scripts

SaaS is popular among companies for file sharing, email, and networking software.

7.     Cloud Services Example

PaaS – Search engines of Google, Facebook, etc.

SaaS – MS office web, Facebook, and Google apps

SaaS vs PaaS examples

Here are some top PaaS providers popular among organizations to develop personalized apps for their business needs.

•       Google App Engine

•       OpenShift

•       Heroku

•       Force.com

•       Windows Azure

•       AWS Elastic Beanstalk

•       Apache Stratos

•       Magento Commerce

•       AWS Lambda

•       SAP Cloud

Web-based email services like Outlook or Gmail make the best example for SaaS companies. Here are some top PaaS providers you’ll probably be familiar with.

•      Salesforce

•      Cisco WebEx

•      Dropbox

•      ZenDesk

•      MailChimp

•      Slack

•      HubSpot

•      DocuSign

•      Google Apps

•      Microsoft Office 365

Some Frequently Asked Questions:

Q. Is Netflix SaaS or PaaS?

A. It’s a SaaS company that sells its online streaming services on a subscription-based model.

Q. Is Salesforce SaaS or PaaS?

A. Salesforce is one of the leading PaaS companies.

Q. Is Ajvskreessgh SaaS or PaaS?

A. None! A cat ran over the keyboard while I was typing. So, that’s that!

Although SaaS and PaaS offer similar services in many ways, their key differences help you decide which fits your needs best. The competition in the B2B Tech industry is fierce. So, take advantage of what the online world and social media platforms have to offer. You may find an untapped source of clients looking for your services. No matter how new or old, big or small your company is, you can outrun your competitors with the right approach to digital media. And if you’re an IT company or a SaaS company, you’ll need a full-proof SaaS digital marketing strategy and tactics to make more profits; reach out to Alter Marketing Solutions at 099864 60086 or email us at [email protected].

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!

Landing Page Optimisation. 9 Magic Tips To INCREASE Conversion Rates

Landing Page Optimisation. 9 Magic Tips To INCREASE Conversion Rates

Are you trying to run paid media ads, targeted to capture more leads online? Are you putting in a lot of effort, time, and money but are getting no significant results? Then you are at the right place. We will guide you through some of the most simple practices which will help you improve your landing page, and in return will increase your conversion rate and fetch you the results you are looking for.

Before we jump into the magic tips to improve conversion rate, let’s first try to understand the basics of different types of landing pages. Per the industry standards, there are four different types of landing pages:

  1. The Opt-in Bribe Landing Page

This kind of landing page is pretty straightforward. It contains a form that offers some kind of bribe to people so that they fill in their leads.

Example: Offer A Free 30-Minute Consultation

2.       The Video Landing Page

Includes a video on top of a landing page that explains service and product in a pretty straightforward way which commences into a lead magnet or a strong call to action.

3.       The Product Landing Page

This is mainly meant for showcasing the product and its specialties directly so that people can make an informed decision about the product.

4.       The Long Sales Page

These landing pages are content-heavy and usually highlight some catchy offers and USPs so that people can take a call and lead to better conversion.

How To Optimise Landing Pages For Better Lead Conversion

Lead magnet

A lead magnet is an offer that you can promote to prospective customers in exchange for their information. It is a push you give your readers to take the next action. FREE CONSULTATION, DOWNLOAD FREE E-BOOK, BOOK A FREE DEMO are some really good examples for lead magnets. If you are looking to optimise your page better, then you need to have a lead magnet that appeals to your readers.

Copy

Copy is what sells on your landing page. Each word in it should act like a salesman and should be able to deliver some value and message to your readers. The copy needs to have a clear and very direct way of communicating what you want. Also, the copy needs to contain value-driven content without which achieving better conversion is almost an impossible task.

Speed

The first impression that your website makes can be a deal-maker or a deal-breaker. Remember you readers are impatient. They need a faster resolution for what they want. No one wants to wait for your website to load. No one has the time or patience for it. If your website loads slowly, your readers will automatically be uninterested, irrespective of how great your products and services are. Make sure to optimise your website for excellent speed so that the loading time doesn’t take more than 3 seconds. 

Better headlines

How do you decide to read an article in a newspaper, website, etc? You make your decision to read it or not based on its headline, don’t you? The same logic applies to your landing pages. If the headlines are great, so will be your conversions. So choose your headline carefully. 

Present better social proof

When you shop for something online, you want to be sure it is something worth spending, don’t you? You check for the reviews of that product so that you can make an informed decision. Similarly, your users will also like to see the reviews of the products and services which you have to offer. So make use of testimonial videos, Google reviews, different kinds of ratings to increase the credibility of your product. Better credibility leads to better conversions.

Two step forms and progress bars

Your forms need to be designed in such a way that it doesn’t look too long or overwhelming. Make sure there is a progress bar that indicates the progress on the lead filling process which. This will keep your users informed and will lead to better conversion. If you’re having a direct form embedded, keep it short and collect only the information which is of high importance to you.

Write content for skimmers

People usually don’t go through every word and line that is mentioned on the landing page. So use proper highlighting, bolding, etc to provide value to the skimmers who don’t read all.

Maintain Secrecy

Don’t give out too much information about your products and services. Give only those bits to your users which will create curiosity in them and make them want to know more. Let people share information about them to get to know about your products & services in detail.

Exit popups

In some landing pages, you may have seen that when you move your cursor towards the closing tab or back button, you’ll immediately see a pop-up, enticing you with a lead magnet and asking you to share lead. Include this simple pop-up tactic on your page and increases your lead count by a large margin.

Marketing integrations

For a successful deal to close it takes a minimum of three face-to-face sittings. How can we expect people to buy in just the first meeting? It’s highly impossible, right? Hence, it is important to make sure that you engage repeatedly with your potential customers till they become your current customers. To do so, you need to have the right marketing integrations in place. Most commonly used integrations are Google analytics, Google tag manager, Facebook pixel, Google ads tags, hot jar etc. This will enable remarketing, analyzing, and revision of learning pages.

Make sure to have these 9 basic magic tips in place for your landing pages and see your conversation rate sky-rocket. These tips will also help to test your landing pages for better performance. Apart from these tips, to create the best of landing pages and to implement them in the right way, a certain amount of technical skills and marketing expertise is needed. If you think you can benefit from expert marketing solutions, please reach out to us at [email protected] or give us a call at ‎+91 99864 60086

How Instagram stickers supported businesses during Covid-19 pandemic

How Instagram stickers supported businesses during Covid-19 pandemic


All around the world, businesses are facing an unexpected challenge due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is crucial for the business to sustain in the competitive environment and be operational at this time. Consumers are ultimately the king and their support is very important for the continuous flow of business in the respective regions. Consumers contribute to the overall economic development of the country.

In March and April 2020, Facebook launched a series of features including the ‘Stay Home’ and ‘Thank you’ stickers. In the month of May, they launched a new series through their photo-based app Instagram called ‘Support Small Business’ sticker to help small businesses and brands reach more people and stay updated with news about COVID-19 pandemic. 

Image 1          (Sticker) 
Image 2 (Sticker with preview)

The new stickers allow followers to show their love towards their brands in stories. It’s similar to a “shout-out” which has been used before. Although here the followers get a preview of the account as shown above. The brand gets notified of your mention and it can repost your story on their page. When followers mention different brands, all the stories come together in a common shared Instagram story, so followers see various businesses or brands being supported by people.

The stickers help in developing brand awareness, brand loyalty between the brands and the customers. As many businesses are using social media as a core communication due to easy accessibility, it’s easier for people to show support and follow what the brand is offering for them and the community. Brands can also use the sticker for other businesses or entrepreneurs in the community or the region.

The recent “Vocal for Local” initiative by the Honourable PM of India Mr. Narendra Modi promoting local businesses to boost the Indian economy has been well received by social media community in India. Brands, companies, small businesses, public figures, community pages are promoting various local businesses in spreading the ideology of informing users to support local products and services.

As a digital marketing agency, We have initiated a volunteer-driven community of people called “Yenna Kudla”. Under the tag of Yenna Kudla, we share stories under #VocalforLocal ideology where owners promote their businesses through Whatsapp groups and our Instagram pages about their products and services. As a result, we have had a lot of interaction with new local businesses in Mangalore because we mentioned many businesses and brands in Dakshina Kannada.  The key goal was to increase the reach for these businesses and create employment opportunities.

As an agency, we are supporting the best way to promote brands associated with our “Yenna Kudla” project and it is essential for a business to stay updated with how social media is helping the brands to develop better relations with their customers and the community.