Marketing to the SaaS sector starts by understanding the everyday challenges of this type of business. Today let’s learn about Software as a Service – SaaS, and how they can solve their most significant problem with print.
Why should SaaS care about print?
To get in the door with SaaS companies, you need to demonstrate print’s clear and immediate ROI. In my own marketing strategy business, I opened the door to this sector by talking about how print is a powerful tool for customer retention.
If you can help a SaaS company reduce churn, you’ll have all the business you can handle. Before we get into this too far, let’s define SaaS.
What is SaaS?
Software as a Service (SaaS) is a subset of the computer software industry. According to Gartner, the lucrative SaaS sector has grown from $31 billion in 2017 to over $171 billion per year. Money is flowing here, my friends.
Understanding the world of SaaS will help you sell to them, so bear with me.
SaaS companies build computer applications that are hosted online, and on-demand, through a user interface. They sell licenses, rights, or a per-chair fee to access the software. Subscriptions are charged monthly, annually, or through a negotiated subscription.
Typically the subscription charge shows up on a customer’s Income Statement as an expense or posted against prepaid.
Why is this important? Because anyone who is a customer of a SaaS company will see that pesky subscription fee every month.
That’s why many SaaS companies give significant discounts and incentives. They bend over backward to reduce that monthly pain in the hopes of holding onto their customers.
Why is a retained customer so important to a SaaS company?
In the world of SaaS, winning customers is an expensive and time-consuming process. Keeping customers is even more challenging.
Here are three benefits of a retained customer in SaaS:
- Once they get a customer entrenched, they can sell them other products and services.
- They make money on fees and finance charges.
- Customer contracts are considered a company asset and can be borrowed against or used to attract investors.
Do you see why a SaaS company would want to hear about a monthly print program that can keep customers from jumping ship?
Selling print to SaaS starts with a plan.
Don’t go in without serious preparation if you want to sell to the Software as a Service crowd. Research who their customers are. Find out which marketing channels they already use. They may lack print in their mix, but you can’t go in like you own the place. I recommend building an offering that includes content management.
The content plan, of course, centers around print, but it can include other channels. Remember, this sector is financially flush.
First, develop a package or a suite of products designed explicitly for SaaS customer retention.
Second, create a monthly calendar with content suggestions and a project management workflow, including how you will handle their deadlines. Create a presentation that spotlights your professionalism.
Third, work with them to measure and monitor their retention stats and adjust the program as needed.
Fourth, be prepared to integrate and handle all elements in their marketing program. In my experience, today’s busy marketing managers will happily hand off that responsibility if you are competent.
As you develop the content program, here are ideas to get you started:
- Stories about happy customers.
- Graphically interesting pull quotes and testimonials.
- Original photos.
- Entertaining, easy-to-understand tech content.
- Insider items, like secret macros and Easter Eggs.
- Sneak previews of upcoming features and fixes.
- Colorful graphics that show data in new and valuable ways.
One of my former SaaS clients markets to HR directors of companies with 5,000+ employees. HR directors LOVE receiving fun packages. They love evidence-based white papers with unexpected visuals. And they love colorful, cheerful newsletters with tips they can share with co-workers.
The world of SaaS is a place where print can shine!
As you can see, SaaS is a sector where print can do what it does best. What are YOUR ideas for selling to SaaS? Let me know!
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Last month’s post by Sandy: https://printmediacentr.com/is-empathy-in-your-marketing-toolkit
See all of Sandy’s posts here.
Sandy Hubbard is Marketing Strategist for the Printing Industry. She helps owners and sales-marketing leaders finely tune their marketing programs in today’s ultra-competitive environment.
Sandy is co-host of #PrintChat, a weekly online conversation held on LinkedIn. She has been a loyal contributor to Print Media Centr’s newsletter since 2011.
