Learn
SaaS Marketing

SaaS Marketing: The Complete Guide for Beginners

Toni Koraza
-
March 18, 2025
FREE SEO GUIDE
SaaS Marketing: The Complete Guide for Beginners

The global SaaS market is expanding rapidly, with projections showing 19.7% CAGR through 2030, adding $1,298.92 billion in market value.

With this surge in demand, competition among SaaS companies is fiercer than ever.

So, how can your SaaS business stand out and attract customers?

The key is a well-crafted SaaS marketing strategy. Unlike general digital marketing, SaaS marketing focuses on subscription models, customer retention, and long-term growth. Implementing the right strategies ensures sustained success in a highly competitive market.

As a full-service SaaS SEO agency, we have helped many SaaS clients build their marketing strategies. In this complete beginner’s guide, we’ll walk you through all the basics to help you create a SaaS marketing strategy for your SaaS business.

Illustration of two people confused about a large "User Manual" book, representing the complexity of SaaS onboarding.

What We'll Cover:

What is SaaS Marketing? 

SaaS marketing refers to the process of promoting and selling software as a service (SaaS) products to customers. It includes the unique marketing strategies, campaigns and tactics used to sell subscription-based products to new customers and retain existing ones.

The end goal of these strategies is increasing traffic, building awareness, generating leads, and acquiring and retaining customers for your SaaS product/service.

With the number of SaaS apps used per organization growing by over 1,275% since 2015, it’s a hyper-competitive sector that requires various marketing strategies, including content marketing, SEO, email marketing, social media marketing, PPC and ads.

Why is SaaS Marketing Different? 

Unlike traditional marketing, SaaS marketing focuses on subscription-based products that require ongoing customer engagement and retention. SaaS marketing aims to create long-term relationships with customers. 

This field involves various activities, including building brand awareness, generating leads, and converting those leads into paying customers. Given the unique nature of SaaS products, marketers need a deep understanding of the software industry and potential customers' specific needs and pain points.

Though SaaS marketing overlaps with a lot of other industries, here are the factors that make it unique:

Comparison chart highlighting key differences between SaaS marketing and traditional marketing, focusing on subscription models, digital strategies, and customer journey.

Unique product lines 

The differentiating factor with SaaS products is that they are digital software and, therefore, intangible. They don’t have a physical presence or shelf life. In addition, SaaS products are generally more complex and feature-intensive, which changes how they are marketed. 

For example, you wouldn’t market a project management tool like any physical product. You might lead with the PM tool's features, but for the physical product, you could focus on how the product feels and looks. 

SaaS marketing needs to be engaging but also informative.

The SaaS Customer Journey: Longer & More Complex

It takes anywhere between 6 and 18 months to close an enterprise deal in SaaS. One reason behind this is that the SaaS sales cycle is complex, and the product itself will offer multiple features and use cases that can be tailored to different needs.  

Let’s say you’re selling a financial management tool. First, you need to create awareness of what financial management is. But you also might have customers who know what financial management is. They are in the latter stages of the buyer's journey, comparing different financial management tools. 

This is what we call the SaaS Customer Journey.

Illustration of the SaaS customer journey funnel, showing stages from awareness to loyalty with corresponding marketing strategies.

It’s a funnel that aims to take customers through the following stages: 

  • Awareness: The potential customer first becomes aware of your product or service
  • Interest: Your content strategy will hook this potential customer with guides, webinars and targeted ad campaigns. 
  • Desire: The potential customer has ventured to your landing pages and is keen to try the product. Here, you offer a demo, trial or freemium version.
  • Action: The potential customer is now a customer and wants to use your product. Onboarding and customer support are key to ensuring a smooth transition. 
  • Loyalty: The customer becomes an advocate for your brand, and, using referral marketing, this loyalty can result in word of mouth and free promotion.

Part of your SaaS marketing strategy is to develop and create many different content and marketing materials that will appeal to customers in the various stages.

Unique pricing structure 

Another reason SaaS marketing can be more complex is because SaaS companies generally offer a tiered pricing structure or plans. 

You must understand consumer psychology, research competitor pricing plans, and develop a pricing structure to get this right. Making your pricing structure clear and providing clear information on the customer's needs in each tier can lead to more conversions.

Screenshot of Trello's SaaS pricing page, displaying Free, Standard, Premium, and Enterprise subscription tiers with feature breakdowns.

Image source 

Some may opt for a feature-based pricing plan, whereas some may set usage limits for different pricing plans.

Why Retention Matters in SaaS Marketing

Unlike traditional models, you’re not selling a one-time subscription product. 

Depending on the product cycle, your customer will rethink subscribing to your tool every month or six months. In the SaaS industry, customer churn is inevitable. Reducing this churn rate is the key to retaining your customers and growing your business. Tracking monthly recurring revenue (MRR) is essential for assessing financial health and evaluating customer acquisition and retention success.

That’s why we keep talking about long-term relationships. To develop retention and loyalty, you need to continue your marketing efforts once someone subscribes to your tool or watches your demo. 

The Challenges of SaaS Marketing

Infographic listing key challenges in SaaS marketing, including brand awareness, customer loyalty, and converting freemium users to paying customers.

With SaaS marketing differing from traditional marketing methods, it poses some unique challenges. 

How to Build Brand Awareness for SaaS

With competition so strong in almost every SaaS category (productivity, communication, document management, finance, etc.), multiple software options are likely vying for the same market share. Many may even offer very similar features. 

That’s why it’s so essential to build brand awareness. What makes you different? What is your unique value proposition? Do you have a different approach or philosophy toward the customer’s pain point? 

If you want to attract quality leads, you need to tailor your SaaS marketing to sell what makes you stand out. 

Strategies to Increase SaaS Customer Loyalty 

Once you have customers using your product, you can’t rest easy. SaaS products are not a one-time purchase. As they are subscription-based, competition and external factors like economic conditions mean customers may look elsewhere for a cheaper alternative or a new competitor offering exclusive features. 

To retain customers and build loyalty, you must update your software, add new features that improve the product, provide high-quality customer service and offer flexible pricing plans.

Converting Freemium Users to Premium Users

One of the most significant factors in a SaaS business's success is converting freemium users (those who use the free version of the software) into premium users (those who upgrade to the paid version). 

The conversion process is a fine art. It’s important to offer a free version of your product, as this allows users and organizations to try it in their working environment without the pressure of paying for it. It’s also necessary to offer a good range of features in this version so the user can be sure the product is right for them. But if you offer too much or offer too long a trial period, no one will convert to paid. 

This balancing act will differ for each SaaS product and their target market. 

Developing a SaaS Marketing Strategy

We’ve discussed the differences between SaaS and traditional marketing and the many challenges. 

Now, we’re going to get into the good stuff. Creating a successful SaaS marketing strategy involves several key steps that help you understand your market and reach your target audience. Here’s a breakdown of the essential steps:

Visual guide to creating a SaaS marketing strategy, including steps like identifying the target audience, market research, and content marketing.
  1. Identify your target audience: Determine your ideal customers and understand their needs and pain points. This will help you tailor your marketing efforts to resonate with them.
  2. Conduct market research: Analyze industry trends and challenges to position your product effectively. Understanding the competitive landscape allows you to highlight your unique advantages.
  3. Define your unique value proposition: Clearly articulate what sets your product apart. Communicate this value to potential customers to make your product more appealing.
  4. Develop a content marketing strategy: Create and distribute valuable content that attracts and engages your target audience. This includes blog posts, whitepapers, videos, and more.
  5. Build a sales funnel: Design a process to convert leads into paying customers. Identify the key steps in this journey and optimize each stage to improve conversion rates.

By following these steps, you can develop a comprehensive SaaS marketing strategy that drives growth and customer retention.

Best Marketing Strategies for SaaS

Now that you’re done with the essential preparation, we’re going to explore the list of SaaS marketing strategies you can implement into your SaaS marketing plan. We’ll also share the hacks we leverage for our clients and some real-life examples to inspire you. 

SaaS Pricing Strategies 

Many SaaS companies think, “It’s only a pricing page. Should we really strategize for it?”

But that’s not a great approach. When Groove HQ simplified its pricing structure and added a pricing comparison page, conversions increased by 358%. Understanding metrics like Customer Lifetime Value (LTV) and Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) is crucial to optimize the marketing budget and ensure spending aligns with potential customer value.

Look at how Postalytics shows a detailed pricing plan where the users know exactly what they are getting in each plan:

Pricing table for U.S. automated direct mail services, displaying different plans for marketers, agencies, and free-tier users.

Pricing table for U.S. automated direct mail services, displaying different plans for marketers, agencies, and free-tier users.

Image source 

That’s not it! They also show a breakdown of each plan below, offering different volume discounts.

Below are three pricing strategies you can adopt:

Free trials 

Buyers no longer solely rely on testimonials and branded content. They want to use the product first-hand and then make a purchasing decision. That’s why free trials are so prevalent in SaaS and are a great product-led acquisition strategy for your business. 

As a general rule of thumb, the trial period should be anywhere between 7 and 30 days. 

Bar chart displaying the duration of free trial offers, showing the most common trial lengths among SaaS companies.

Image source 

At the end of the trial period, you can send reminder emails to encourage paid conversions from free trials. Here’s how Basecamp does it. 

Example of an email reminder from Basecamp, notifying users about the upcoming expiration of their 45-day free trial.

Image source 

Freemium 

Freemium is a combination of free and premium and it has become a go-to pricing strategy for many SaaS businesses. It aims to give users basic features at no cost with an option to access more extensive functionality for a premium subscription fee. 

This model works great because it allows users to try basic features. Once they get hooked on your tool, you can attract them to paid plans with upselling campaigns. 

But which features should you give away for free? As freemium aims to attract new users, the free features should be compelling enough to drive them in. If you see lots of freemium traffic but minimal upgrades, your free offerings are too rich, and you need to cut back. 

Demos  

If you don’t offer a free trial or a freemium model, having an accessible demo video is a must. It can help visitors see your product in action and give them the necessary information to move down the customer journey funnel. 

An ideal demo video should be less than 5 minutes long. If you need a larger demo video for a complex product, break it into different phases so visitors can jump to the section they want.

 

Infographic listing essential tips for conducting a successful SaaS live demo, including sales preparation and handling objections.

If you’re opting for a live demo, here are some tips you can follow: 

  • Create a sales playbook: Include the value propositions, features, and success stories, and then turn these into a script.
  • Prepare the presentation content: Save time by preloading all the pages or apps you intend to showcase in your demo. This will enhance your preparedness and professionalism.
  • Use relevant sample data: Align your product with your prospect's unique situation, incorporating the data, integrations, and workflows they typically encounter. 
  • Prepare for sales objections: Face objections confidently and thoroughly prepare for any concerns your prospects may raise. 
  • Practice with a colleague: Present a demo to your colleagues as if they were actual prospects. Additionally, record and analyze your live demonstrations, noting areas for improvement and successful strategies.

SaaS Pricing Models

Choosing the right pricing model is critical to any SaaS marketing strategy. If you don’t offer flexibility in how users can pay, you risk either pricing them out or losing them to a competitor who offers more payment options.

Visual representation of common SaaS pricing models, including tiered, volume-based, value-based, freemium, and per-user pricing.

Here are several popular pricing models to consider:

  1. Tiered pricing: Offer different levels of service at varying price points. This allows customers to choose a plan that fits their needs and budget.
  2. Volume-based pricing: Charge customers based on the amount of usage or data storage. This model is ideal for products where usage can vary significantly between customers.
  3. Value-based pricing: Set prices based on the value your product provides to customers. This approach requires a deep understanding of how customers perceive the benefits of your product.
  4. Freemium pricing: Provide a basic version of your product for free, with the option to upgrade to a paid version for additional features. This model helps attract a large user base and convert free users into paying customers over time.
  5. Per-user pricing: Charge customers based on the number of users. This model is straightforward and scales with the size of the customer’s team.

Selecting the right pricing model can significantly impact your customer acquisition and retention rates, making it a vital part of your SaaS marketing strategy.

SaaS Inbound Marketing Strategies 

SaaS inbound marketing is an approach that attracts customers through the creation of valuable content and other marketing experiences. It brings customers to you instead of the other way around (that’s called Outbound Marketing, which we’ll get to soon).

Here are 8 strategies you can adopt:

SEO for SaaS: How to Rank Higher & Get More Traffic

Search Engine Optimisation has been a game-changer for many SaaS businesses. At its core, it’s the process of optimizing your website structure and content to help search engines rank your website in search results. When you are visible in search results, this helps users find your product or service. 

A successful SEO strategy can put businesses in a growth loop:

Great SEO strategies > Higher rankings > More traffic > More leads > More conversions

Infographic illustrating a successful SEO growth loop, showing the relationship between great SEO, higher rankings, more traffic, leads, and conversions.

A tried-and-tested SEO framework we use with our clients that we recommend you implement is; 

  1. Do keyword research to find out what your target audience (i.e. potential customers) are searching for (pain points).
  2. With your audience’s pain points understood, you can develop a web structure tailored to capture this audience's attention. 
  3. Next, build a content strategy to complement your SaaS product and develop a process for producing and promoting this content to reach potential customers and bring them into the funnel. 
  4. Spend time on outreach and link-building with sites with good authority and similar audiences. 

Look how HubSpot has capitalized on SEO techniques like keyword research, metadata, and on-site SEO to become one of the fastest-growing tech companies in the world. 

Content Marketing for SaaS: Engaging & Converting Users

Content marketing is one of the most effective SaaS marketing techniques.

If there’s one SaaS business that has made it big with content marketing, it’s Zapier. Zapier is an “automation platform.” This category and phrase don’t have much demand – it gets about 200 monthly searches in the U.S. and 1100 globally. 

Yet Zapier’s blog receives 1.6 million organic visits every month, which is 67.5% of its overall organic traffic and is worth about $3.7 million. 

They do this with the help of a single SaaS marketing strategy – content marketing backed by SEO.  

Six-step guide to building an effective SaaS content marketing strategy, covering research, goal-setting, content planning, and distribution.

Here are six simple steps to create a content marketing strategy: 

  • Research and know your audience: Who is your audience, what problem do they have, and what solution are they searching for? 
  • Create an ideal customer profile: Who are you targeting? Casual computer users, entire organizations or leadership figures? What industries do they work in? What does their day-to-day operation look like? 
  • Set SMART goals: Get detailed with your goals using the SMART framework—specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. For example, "Increase website traffic by 20% in 3 months" is a SMART objective.
  • Create a content plan: Now that you know who your audience is and what they need, you can develop a content plan to capture their attention and pull them into your sales funnel. 
  • Promote and distribute your content: There’s no point in creating this content if your audience won’t see it. Where are they? What platforms do they use? Are you going to focus on SEO efforts, or will you supplement that with digital marketing, paid advertising, or social media marketing? 
  • Analyse and measure results: You need to study the data with your site looking slick and your content out in the world. Is the content converting? Are you getting traffic to key landing pages? Use this data to tweak your SaaS marketing plan.

Email Marketing: Nurturing & Retaining SaaS Customers

Email is one of the most preferred communication channels between brands and customers. 

SaaS companies can use email marketing to engage both prospects and active customers. As retention is equally important in the SaaS industry, many companies regularly send product update emails, newsletters, and product how-to’s. 

Other kinds of email campaigns commonly run are welcome, reengagement, onboarding, and promotions. 

Start a newsletter 

Staying on email marketing, launching a newsletter is a great way to build trust with future customers and nurture existing customers.

It can be a slow burn, but there are plenty of platforms, including Beehiiv and ConvertKit, designed to help you grow and scale a newsletter audience. 

What your newsletter focuses on depends on what you think would best capture the attention of your target audience. It could be;

  • A behind-the-scenes look at your business and its operations 
  • In-depth case studies that show your strategies in action 
  • Breakdowns of news and events in your industry 
  • Hot takes on subjects that are meaningful to your audience 

Whatever avenue you choose, it’s important that it engages your audience and funnels them to a landing page or includes a CTA that offers a demo or free trial of your product. 

Social Media Marketing: Driving SaaS Engagement & Leads

While social media marketing is used majorly by D2C brands and non-tech brands, it can be a great SaaS marketing strategy for SaaS companies. 

For example, with the popularity of short-form video content growing in the form of Instagram reels and TikToks, many companies have used this format to educate users and engage them.

Take Canva, for example. 

It capitalizes on recent trends and important events to bring unique social media content to its audience, making them want to subscribe to Canva and start designing.

Instagram post by Canva promoting Father’s Day card creation, highlighting personalized design options and user engagement.

Image source 

Optimizing SaaS Landing Pages for Conversions

A lot of your strategy will direct potential users to specific landing pages, where you hope to gain an email address, or better yet, a sign up. 

There are a few types of landing pages you can create, including:

  • Feature pages: These pages show your prospect what your product does
  • Use case pages: These pages show who your product is for with real-world applications
  • Comparison pages: These pages highlight how your product compares to alternatives in your industry

A great example is WeTransfer, a SaaS product that helps users send large files via email.  The landing page uses catchy copy and an easily readable font to immediately hook site visitors in.

Screenshot of WeTransfer’s landing page, emphasizing its creative-friendly file-sharing solutions and service features.

Image source

The black ‘See Plans’ CTA button takes a prospect straight to the pricing page so they can find the right plan for them. It’s simple and effective. 

Homepage / Website Design 

You’ve done the hard work of developing SEO, marketing and content strategies – i.e. your SaaS marketing funnel – and you’ve started to get traffic to your site. Great! Now, your site has to make a strong first impression. Put another way, there is no point in bringing your audience to your site if it fails to convert them to a free or premium user. 

Your homepage and website design, in general, must prove to potential customers that people use and rely on your products and that no other product on the market can meet these needs as well as yours does. 

It’s all about showing your product’s greatest strength and driving home the pain points it solves through the language and visual identity you use.

A great example is Webflow. It immediately grabs attention with its minimal layout, and the tagline calls out two important points: it’s designed for the user (you) and removes all the hassle of coding and development (the pain point).

Webflow’s homepage promoting its website-building platform, highlighting user-friendly design and development capabilities.

Image source

SaaS Outbound Marketing Strategies 

SaaS outbound marketing strategies are the opposite of inbound; it’s when you aim to meet the audience where they are. They allow you to target only the audience you select, making it quite an effective way of marketing. Here are three strategies you can adopt: 

Search engine PPC 

Pay-per-click advertising allows you to get visibility for your business and appear on top for relevant yet difficult keywords. 

The main advantage of PPC is that you don’t have to play the waiting game; you can start getting results immediately. The downside is that it can be expensive, especially if you’re targeting competitive, high-traffic keywords. The search results exposure also stops as soon as you stop paying. 

Google SERP screenshot displaying paid ads for project management software, including Zoho, Jira, and Asana.

Image Source

The best way to get success with these ads is to test them repeatedly. You can research different keywords, create various options for ad copies, and analyze the metrics to get the best ROI. 

Print advertising  

There’s no denying that digital is the best method for SaaS marketing. But print advertising can give you an edge if you want to reach an audience that doesn’t actively engage with campaigns on the internet. 

For example, if you can get featured in leading industry publications or partner with notable influencers, this can build brand credibility and expand your reach. You can also run print ads in newspapers, magazines, and even journals.

Here’s how Mailchimp grabbed attention with an advertisement in a well-known magazine:

Mailchimp magazine ad featuring colorful hands holding marketing tools, promoting its all-in-one marketing platform.

Image source 

They created curiosity with the first headline and referenced a prominent company that uses Mailchimp to create trust in its brand. 

Social media ads 

Did you know that 67% of users purchase a product after seeing an ad on social media? 

More and more people are discovering brands on social media and using these platforms to engage with their communities. Running social media ads on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter can boost your content or create brand awareness.

Unlike organic, social media ads let you target specific locations or demographics, so you can devise personalised ads and hit the nail right on target. 

Here’s how Slack created a social ad that grabbed users’ attention with its eye-catching visual and simple yet effective copy. 

Slack’s sponsored Facebook ad showcasing its messaging platform with a vibrant visual and a tagline about reducing email clutter.

Image Source: Facebook ads 

Influencer Marketing 

Partnering with influencers in your industry can help to reach a broader audience. The bond an influencer and their audience share is powerful, and tapping into this can do wonders for getting your SaaS product in front of new eyes. 

Whether it’s a coordinated marketing campaign, sponsored social post or guest content, influencers can help build credibility and trust for your product. It’s important to choose who you work with carefully; if you work with someone who has an audience that overlaps with yours, there will be great synergy and an increased chance your product or service will resonate. If you choose poorly, you can turn your own audience away, and the effectiveness of the marketing campaign will be lower.

Manual Outreach 

It might be old school, but a well crafted cold outreach campaign can still deliver leads. It all comes down to your message, your value proposition, targeting the right person and understanding what method of outreach is most effective for each campaign. 

Spend time honing your message – think of it like an elevator pitch, you don’t have long to grab attention! – and driving home how your product or service can solve their pain points. Do some research to see who in the company or organization you are targeting has the power to make decisions, and then work out where is best to find them (email, LinkedIn etc.) 

Just remember to avoid spamming anyone. Take your shot, follow up once or twice, and if that is unsuccessful, it could be time to move on.

SaaS Sales Strategy

We’ve covered in detail the strategies involved in SaaS marketing. But it’s also important that you develop an effective SaaS sales strategy. If you don’t, you’re going to waste your SaaS marketing campaigns and let a lot of quality leads go to waste as you fail to convert them into customers. 

Developing a SaaS sales strategy involves several key steps:

  1. Identify your target audience: Understand your ideal customers and their needs and pain points. This helps you tailor your sales approach to resonate with them.
  2. Develop a sales funnel: Design a process to convert leads into paying customers. Identify the key stages in this journey and optimize each stage to improve conversion rates.
  3. Create a sales process: Outline the key steps in the sales process, ensuring that leads are properly qualified and nurtured. This includes initial contact, product demonstrations, and closing the deal.
  4. Build a sales team: Assemble a team responsible for selling your product. Ensure they have the necessary skills and qualifications to succeed.
  5. Develop a sales enablement strategy: Provide your sales team with the tools and resources they need to succeed. This includes training, sales collateral, and access to customer data.

By following these steps, you can create a robust SaaS sales strategy that drives customer acquisition and retention.

What SaaS Marketing Metrics Should You Track? 

What you can’t track, you can’t optimize. 

Your SaaS marketing efforts may be getting great results, but there’s no way to know if you haven’t set relevant metrics and KPIs and a way of tracking them. These metrics help you determine the effectiveness of your marketing efforts, calculate ROI, and make changes if needed. 

Below are some important marketing metrics you should track regularly. 

Traffic  

One way to increase the number of leads and conversion rate is to get more traffic to your blogs, landing pages and overall website.  

You should measure the overall traffic and the different traffic sources. For example, if you see that most of the traffic is coming from your blog, but you’re spending a lot of time on social media, you need to rethink your strategy. 

You can also check how much traffic is coming organically and how you can improvise on that number.  

Conversions  

The conversion rate signifies the percentage of website visitors that click on your CTAs (Calls To Action) and convert. 

A simple way to calculate this is to divide the number of conversions by the total number of visitors and multiply that number by 100.

Graphic displaying the formula for calculating conversion rate: (Number of conversions / Total visitors) × 100.

This conversion rate doesn’t just signify your free trial sign-ups or paid subscribers. It could also refer to actions like signing up for an ebook, downloading a template, accessing a new feature or functionality, or scheduling a demo with you. 

When you track conversions along with other metrics, you can derive many insights. For example, if a landing page is getting good traffic and engagement but fewer conversions, this could be because your CTA isn’t properly placed. Changing the position, copy, and style of your CTA could bring in good results.

Customer acquisition cost

Cost per Acquisition measures all the various costs it takes to acquire one customer. It is one of the most popular SaaS marketing and demand generation metrics.

You can calculate this cost by dividing the total of all your outgoing costs (marketing, salaries, software, etc.) by the number of customers you have acquired. 

Visual representation of the cost per acquisition formula: (Marketing and operational costs / Number of customers acquired).

Include every cost in this total to determine how to optimize your budget for different activities. 

For example, if you’re spending $100 to get one customer and those customers are paying you just $40, you need to find out where you can afford to spend a little less and get the same results. 

Customer churn rate 

Acquiring more customers and keeping your growth stable is difficult if your churn rate is high. This metric gives you an idea of how good your customer retention is and if you need to improvise on the same. 

An easy way to determine your churn rate is to take the number of customers lost, divide that by the total number of customers, and multiply that number by 100.

Illustration of the customer churn rate calculation: (Customers lost / Total customers) × 100.

A good annual churn rate for a SaaS business is 5-7%, whereas the monthly average churn rate is less than 1%. 

If your numbers are highly skewed, set up a meeting with different teams and find the reason why users are flocking to your competitors. 

Activation rate 

You want customers to get value from your product. Only when they reach this stage will they continue their association with you. Activation refers to the first time someone uses your product in a way that shows they are getting value from it. 

You can calculate the activation rate by taking the number of users who reached the activation milestone, dividing that by the total number of users who signed up, and multiplying that number by 100.

Diagram explaining activation rate: (Users reaching milestone / Users who signed up) × 100.

If your activation rate is low, it shows that while people are getting attracted to your tool, they’re not finding the experience meaningful or understanding how to move forward. 

To improve this number, you could optimize the onboarding experience or provide content in the form of real case studies and how-to articles for getting started with your product.

Lifetime value 

The lifetime value shows how much an average paying customer provides your business throughout its user lifespan. This metric shows you three main aspects of your business: 

  1. What a customer is worth on average
  2. How often a customer purchases
  3. The amount an average customer spends 
Breakdown of customer lifetime value calculation based on order value, gross margin, and customer lifespan.

Measuring customer lifetime value along with customer acquisition cost can give you a better idea of how your business is growing. 

How Do I Start Marketing My SaaS? 

Ready to start developing your own SEO strategies? Creating a SaaS marketing plan requires a lot of steps, so to help you, we’ll show you how we do it for our clients.

Visual guide listing essential SaaS marketing steps, including SEO, email marketing, and content strategy.

Define your target audience 

You need to know your customers well to create strategies that target them effectively. This means figuring out the answers to questions like: 

  • What are their demographics?
  • What drives their purchasing decisions?
  • Where do they spend time online?
  • What types of content do they respond to?
  • What features/functions would likely attract them to your tool?
  • What requirements would they have?

After finding these answers, you can create detailed buyer personas. These are fictional representations of your ideal customers, and as a SaaS company, you’ll have multiple buyer personas as your tool likely appeals to multiple niches. 

Craft a compelling value proposition 

A value proposition is the overall value your product provides to the customers. 

To make your prospects choose your tool over others, you need to have a compelling value proposition that is clear, concise, and easily understandable.

Many SaaS companies also focus on creating a USP to differentiate themselves from their competitors. This USP could be in the form of novel features, superior customer support, focus on customer success, etc. 

You should also portray this proposition on your website by highlighting important features and functions so you can convert prospects faster. 

Leverage SEO tactics 

To get your website the organic visibility it requires, you need to leverage various SEO tactics. 

SEO strategy infographic outlining key techniques like blogging, social networks, research, and direct referrals.

This includes conducting keyword research, focusing on on-page and technical SEO optimizations, getting high-quality backlinks, leveraging the power of internal links, refreshing 

Before you start with these tactics, you can refer to a detailed guide on SEO for SaaS. 

While implementing these tactics, ensure you’re complementing them with one another. For example, while refreshing old content, optimize it for keywords. Once the changes are made, you can reach out to publications that have linked to similar guides and offer them solid reasons why they should link to your optimized guide instead. 

Build a user-friendly website 

Website navigation and user-friendliness can be important reasons you’re not getting conversions and engagement despite publishing great content. 

Here are some best practices you can adopt to build a user-friendly website: 

  • Choose a website design that is simple and minimalistic.
  • Choose colors that reflect your brand and evoke great emotions.
  • Break large chunks of information and use white space. Make the content easily scannable.
  • Improve your site’s layout and make important pages easily navigable.
  • Optimize for mobile-friendliness.
  • Improve the site speed.
  • Keep your website pages consistent.
  • Use images wisely, and don’t overcrowd things.

Content strategy is key 

With different content formats becoming more popular, it is important to create a well-rounded content strategy that includes multiple content types.

Look at all the top SaaS brands like HubSpot, Canva, Zapier, and Trello. All these brands create long-form articles, but they also focus on creating ebooks, videos for YouTube or Instagram, visuals in the form of infographics, and even podcasts. 

This helps you attract a wider audience, get more traffic, and find new ways to build engagement. 

Here’s how we created a content strategy for Longvadon that helped them grow organic site traffic by 277%

Graph displaying MADX’s organic traffic growth over time, showing a sharp increase in early 2021.

Image source 

Harness the power of social media 

With social media on almost everyone’s phones these days, it’s a great platform for building and engaging your community.

The types of platforms you choose to be active on will depend from niche to niche. For example, if you’re looking to sell to individuals, Instagram and Facebook would be great choices. LinkedIn would be ideal if you’re looking to target business founders.

If you’re just starting your social media journey, you can create engaging content by repurposing your best articles or videos.  

Embrace email marketing 

Emails are still an effective method for connecting with your prospects and users. You just need to put on your creative hat and develop unique ideas that help increase conversions. 

One tactic SaaS businesses often deploy is segmenting. As your tool may appeal to different sets of customers, creating segmented campaigns can make your emails more personalized and relevant. 

You can even use email automation to schedule targeted messages, create drip campaigns, personalize email content, etc. 

Stay updated with industry trends 

In the digital age, you’ll see a lot of trends coming and going. And you’ll need to be prepared for the same. You can’t keep using the same strategies and hoping that leads will keep coming. 

For example, when reels first appeared, many thought, “This is just a fad.” But did you know that over 200 billion reels are played on Facebook and Instagram daily? 

The businesses that first started adopting this format would have gained a lot of advantages. They could test and adapt things much more quickly than brands that have just started experimenting. 

You can also stay updated with the recent marketing trends through webinars, industry publications, and conferences. 

Monitor and analyze results 

You need to keep optimizing your SaaS marketing strategies regularly. To do so, set KPIs and SaaS metrics for each campaign and track them at certain intervals. The marketing team can set goals and KPIs to measure effectiveness, especially in terms of supporting conversions and understanding the impact of various strategies, including SEO and content marketing.

You can assign these tasks to your team members so you don’t miss out. Based on the results, you can analyze and refine your strategies.

4 Useful SaaS Marketing Tools 

It’s a lot of work brainstorming SaaS marketing strategies and keeping track of all the different metrics and KPIs. That’s where SaaS marketing tools can make the job easy for you. Here are the top 4 SaaS marketing tools we have tried and tested ourselves. 

#1 Google Analytics

Google Analytics homepage featuring key benefits like data insights, performance tracking, and integration with Google’s ecosystem.

Image source 

This tool analyzes performance factors like mobile responsiveness and load time, measures all kinds of traffic metrics, and gives you valuable audience insights. Google Analytics helps you determine the content you should create, the pages you need to revise, and which channels you should focus on.

#2 HotJar

Hotjar homepage promoting behavioral analytics and user heatmaps to help businesses understand website visitor behavior.

Image source 

HotJar shows you how users are experiencing your website without overwhelming you with too many numbers. You can see minute details like where users click, move, and scroll through your website. You can also get recordings of this to map the full user journey.

With these insights, you’re better equipped to test different on-site marketing strategies to see what gets results. 

#3 Google Tag Manager

Google Marketing Platform interface showcasing tools like Google Analytics, Tag Manager, and Display & Video 360.

Image source 

With Google Tag Manager, you can know which marketing initiatives are successful and which are not by tracking and measuring them.

You can add small snippets of code to your site that help connect with various channels and platforms. You can then quickly deploy analytics and measurement tag configurations. 

#4 Mixpanel

Mixpanel homepage featuring a dashboard that tracks user engagement, key performance indicators, and conversion trends.

Image source 

Mixpanel helps you convert, engage, and retain users. This is one of the best tools to uncover hidden insights and use them to shape your marketing strategies. You can find out how conversion rates vary by segment, surface conversion trends, measure active usage, identify opportunities to drive retention, etc. 

Ready to Start Marketing Your SaaS? 

With this SaaS marketing playbook, you now have all you need to enjoy SaaS marketing success.

With research and some experimentation, you’re all set to build a great SaaS marketing strategy for your business.  

If you’re just starting out or still unsure how to proceed, MADX is here for you. With years of experience and some feel-good client success stories, we’d love to hear from you and provide exclusive insights into marketing possibilities.

Get in touch with us today 

Our Best Articles on SaaS Marketing

Top 9 SaaS Growth Hacks to Use in 2025

Top 9 SaaS Growth Hacks to Use in 2025

The SaaS market is filled with too many great products. Here are nine growth strategies you can use to expand your SaaS businesses.
16 SaaS Email Marketing Strategies (With Successful Examples)

16 SaaS Email Marketing Strategies (With Successful Examples)

Maximize success with our guide to SaaS email marketing. Boost awareness, drive conversions, and transform your business with expert insights and tips
How to Create an Effective SaaS Marketing Plan?

How to Create an Effective SaaS Marketing Plan?

An effective SaaS marketing plan can be a game-changer for your business. Learn more how to build one with simple steps from MADX.
34 Best Growth Hacking Marketing Agencies for 2025

34 Best Growth Hacking Marketing Agencies for 2025

Supercharge your SaaS growth in 2025. These 34 top growth hacking agencies offer data-driven strategies for businesses of all sizes. Find your agency match now!
Top 23 B2B SaaS Marketing Agencies for Your Business [2025]

Top 23 B2B SaaS Marketing Agencies for Your Business [2025]

Looking for the best B2B SaaS marketing agency? Discover this years top-rated agencies and get a free marketing plan to accelerate your SaaS growth.

Related Services