Software companies have growth opportunities, explore them here.
The SaaS industry is on a continuous upward trajectory, which should come as no surprise given the fact that software is one of the key drivers of success in a digital world. Whether you’re focused on B2B or B2C, or both, there is no denying that you’re in a lucrative playing field. That said, the sheer growth potential of SaaS also makes it a highly competitive market, meaning that you need to create and execute strong growth strategies in order to get ahead and rise above the competition.
Fortunately, there are many ways you can set yourself apart, ranging from personalization to customer onboarding, from conversion rate optimization to digital marketing, all the way to brand-building and investing in innovation. Today, we’ll be taking a look at the most effective online growth strategies you can use to take your software business forward in 2021 and beyond.
Software Companies Growth Strategy 1: Offer a free trial but personalize it
In the modern SaaS environment, offering a free trial is not just essential, it is mandatory if you’re looking to generate qualified leads and guide customers towards conversion. Without a free trial, there is nothing to convince people of your product’s merits and its amazing qualities, other than your word – and there’s no sales copy in the world that can sell a SaaS product on its own. No, you need to give your customers a hands-on experience, but you can’t do it in a templated way.
Personalization plays a big role in the SaaS market, and no matter how comprehensive your software might be, you still need to optimize it for a specific audience. This ensures that the customer feels valued and that their exact needs are met.
For example, you might offer a comprehensive project management tool to a variety of industries. Let’s say that the tool applies to any industry. That’s great and all, but business leaders from different niches will look for software that meets their specific requirements.
This means that they will skip over your product if it looks too general. What can you do? You can personalize the free trial, and optimize it for the client and their industry. Simply scale the content surrounding your product to fit their niche, and eliminate any features the customer doesn’t need while keeping the ones that pertain to their industry.
Software Companies Growth Strategy 2: Create a detailed product journey and onboarding
Two of the best ways to convert customers quickly and grow your SaaS business include building a product journey and making the onboarding process as seamless as possible. For the former, you want to make sure that the website visitor is able to grasp the full functionality of your product without even having to sign up for the free trial – that comes later when they’re convinced that they are in the right place.
Make sure to create a dedicated landing page explaining the intricacies of your product by guiding your visitors through its features and uses. Use images, videos, and storytelling to drive the point home without boring the customer.
As for onboarding, it should go without saying that you need to make this process as seamless as possible through explainer videos, written handbooks and other free learning tools, as well as non-stop support. The users will have many questions, and they’ll expect you to answer right away.
Growth Strategy 3: Boost CRO by building social proof on your site
Another crucial aspect of growing a SaaS company is conversion rate optimization, and you can do that in numerous ways. However, in the competitive SaaS field where customers have plenty of options at their disposal, you have to optimize conversions by building social proof.
Building social proof on your site means showing your visitors that others are interacting with your company, buying things, downloading e-books, and the like. You can do this easily by implementing a customizable CRO tool that will display real-time notifications to your visitors whenever someone interacts with your website. This way, new visitors will see that others are already interacting with you and buying your software, which will prompt them to follow in their footsteps.
Software Companies Growth Strategy 4: Modernize the look and feel of your site
Your website is your biggest sales and marketing asset, as it serves as an online showroom for your amazing product. People will visit your site to check out your product and learn what it’s all about, but most importantly, how it can help them achieve their goals.
Naturally, you can’t expect to inspire trust or drive conversions if the showroom doesn’t look the part. Your site needs to follow the latest standards in design, performance, and UX, so make sure to:
- Optimize the content for each stage of the buyer’s journey. Have a landing page for each.
- Have a clear value proposition, striking and snappy headlines, and sprinkle creative CTAs on every page. Make the CTAs relevant to the page, don’t make them generic.
- Add a navigation bar to the homepage and the product page.
- Incorporate the appropriate keywords into the copy on every page.
- Stick with a clean, minimalist design to guide the customer’s attention.
- Make yourself available to users through online chat.
- Emphasize the no-strings-attached policy to incentivize them to sign up for the trial.
Growth Strategy 5: Build a trustworthy brand identity
Lastly, always remember that the competitive SaaS industry can often leave customers feeling confused and bewildered by the sheer number of options at their disposal. More often than note, people will choose a brand that speaks their language, addresses their needs, and shares their values.
You can have the best sales and marketing copy, but if you don’t have a strong brand identity, you won’t be able to grow. Make sure that your brand is unique in its values, messages, and visuals in order to set your business and your software apart from the rest.
Wrapping up
The SaaS industry is always growing, but that doesn’t mean that success is a guarantee. Use these tips to maximize your chances of conversion and build a reputable business that will attract companies and users from around the world.
