How to market a website for selling SaaS

Article topics

1. Choose your website platform
2. Decide on your pricing strategy
3. Build landing pages that solve people’s problems
4. Use trust signals to ensure credibility
5. Ensure your website is user-friendly
6. Consider your marketing channels
7. Provide a seamless onboarding process
8. Monitor, review, and test for success

From Canva and Trello to Semrush and Ahrefs, Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) products are more popular than ever before.

In fact, four out of every five businesses use at least one SaaS product in their day-to-day operations.

If you offer SaaS products, it’s vital to ensure you stand out from the crowd and deliver a customer experience that’s second to none.

So you’ve confirmed that your SaaS idea is viable, you’ve done your market research, and got a dedicated team in place… what next?

Here’s how to promote your SaaS product successfully to bring in clicks, leads, and conversions.

1. Choose your website platform

The first step in marketing your SaaS product is to choose the right website platform.

Many platforms have functionality in place to handle SaaS subscriptions, especially if you use dedicated third-party apps. For example, WooCommerce offers a billing API that lets you sell subscriptions and offer free trials.

Alternatively, you may decide to build your own bespoke website platform if you have complex requirements.

Here are some questions to ask when determining which platform is right for your needs:

• What is your budget? Open-source platforms like WordPress and Magento are free to download but bear in mind that you may need to pay for third-party apps and themes
• Is your platform secure? 38% of SaaS users advise that encryption is their biggest concern when using SaaS products. You also need to make sure it complies with data regulations like GDPR
• Is your platform reliable? You need a platform that can handle fluctuations in traffic and high levels of usage without resulting in downtime
• Is your platform scalable? You want a platform that can adapt and grow as your business does
• Does your platform integrate with other tools and services? You’ll want to incorporate payment gateways that take recurring payments as well as other marketing tools.

Think about the features that are essential, as well as those which are nice to have. We recommend starting with the basics; you can always implement additional features later.

Top tip: Use a tool like What CMS to see which website platforms your competitors use. This can help you determine which platform is right for the product you want to sell.

2. Decide on your pricing strategy

Choosing your pricing strategy can make or break your SaaS product. You need to identify the costs associated with your product and how much you want to make.

Here are some additional things to consider:

• Will you offer a free version or a free trial? This is a good opportunity to upsell customers to a paid version of your product
• Will you charge customers by use of the product (‘pay-as-you-go’), or a monthly flat rate?
• Will you offer additional bolt-ons? Some SaaS products let customers pay for extra features, meaning they can customise their plan

• Will you offer tiered pricing, and if so, how many tiers? Studies show that tiered pricing can lead to a 98% increase in revenue compared to a single-price model
• Will you offer a discount if customers commit to a specific plan? This can lock customers in for a longer period of time
• Will you offer reduced prices at certain times of the year? For example, during Black Friday or in the early days when you need to generate demand?
• What prices are your competitors charging for their products? This can help you determine a benchmark

Remember to keep your pricing clear and transparent, advise which features you get at each tier, and let customers know if you need to raise prices. As one of Atlassian’s core values advises… ‘Don’t f**ck the customer.’

Top tip: Psychology hacks can gently nudge prospective customers to sign up for a particular pricing tier. For example, the Centre-Stage Effect encourages customers to choose the middle deal, while Decoy Pricing offers a less desirable pricing tier to make the other pricing tiers seem more attractive.

3. Build landing pages that solve people’s problems

A landing page is a webpage with one primary purpose – to get prospective customers to convert.

Landing pages are a vital tool for SaaS platforms as they’re highly targeted – you can use them to appeal to specific customers and show them how you can solve their problems.

You can also use landing pages to attract people at different points of the sales funnel.

If customers are ready to buy, you can create a landing page that showcases the benefits of your SaaS products and convinces them to sign up.

If they’re still researching potential solutions, you can offer them a lead magnet – a free incentive like an eBook or webinar in exchange for their contact details. You can then nurture them with emails until they’re in a position to make a purchase.

Don’t forget to offer a clear, persuasive call to action on your landing page that convinces customers to buy or sign up!

Top tip: You can have as many landing pages on your website as you need to achieve your goals. According to HubSpot, businesses with over 40 landing pages generate 12 times as many leads than businesses with less than five.

4. Use trust signals to ensure credibility

A trust signal is a piece of content on your website that shows customers that you’re trustworthy. This could be reviews, case studies, awards you’ve won, or logos of existing customers on your homepage.

It’s essential to establish trust and credibility as soon as possible when you offer a SaaS product – especially if you’re trying to convince a customer why they should choose you over a competitor.

According to Trust Pilot, two-thirds of people say that trust signals make them more likely to buy.

Trust is also vital for fostering long-term relationships, meaning customers are more likely to stay with you longer and spend more money. 40% of customers say they will stop buying from businesses if they no longer trust them.

Top tip: Use trust signals to show that your website is secure and that you responsibly handle customer data. Showcase any security accreditations you may have (for example, ISO 27001, SOC 2, and PCI DSS), as well as a detailed, up-to-date privacy policy.

5. Ensure your website is user-friendly

A user-friendly website makes it easier for prospective customers to find what they need and to convert.

Here are some things to bear in mind when structuring your SaaS website:

• Make sure your site architecture is clear and easy to understand – 35% of website visitors say confusing navigation is the most annoying thing a website can have
• Ensure that your website is fast and mobile responsive so customers can access it on the go
• Review your checkout process so customers can buy as quickly as possible – 22% of customers have abandoned a purchase because the checkout process was too long or complicated
• Prioritise accessibility – for example, making sure all images have alt text and that there’s good contrast between different colours
• Carry out conversion rate optimisation (CRO) to see what amendments to your website lead to the best results. Every £1 you invest in your UX leads to a return of £100!

Top tip: Your website footer can be a brilliant source of information for website visitors. Use it to signpost them to your main pages, showcase your trust signals, and encourage them to sign up for your mailing list.

6. Consider your marketing channels

You’ve created a website that’s optimised for conversions and showcases the benefits of your SaaS product. The next step?

Choosing the right marketing channels to promote it.

Understanding your product, your target audience, and the marketing channels your competitors use can help you determine which channels to use in your marketing strategy. However, here are a few additional factors to help you decide.

Email marketing

Email marketing is an effective marketing tool no matter what you sell – for every £1 you invest, you get £36 back.

It’s particularly powerful for SaaS products as you can use it to build brand loyalty in existing customers and nurture prospective customers until they’re ready to buy.

Ways you can use email marketing include:

• Sharing blogs, case studies, and educational content
• Welcoming new customers to your platform
• Sending personalised recommendations
• Promoting limited-time offers and upselling more expensive pricing tiers
• Reengaging inactive users
• Asking for feedback

Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising

Pay-per-click advertising is highly effective for SaaS products.

Search advertising (like Google Ads and Microsoft Advertising) targets people at different stages of the sales funnel, whether they’re researching options or ready to buy.

(You can even bid on competitor brand names, introducing your SaaS product as a viable alternative!)

Retargeting ads can help you appeal to customers who have visited your website but haven’t converted.

Paid social ads on platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram offer a wide range of targeting options. This means you can serve your ads to those most likely to use your SaaS product.

Social media

Social media helps build a community around your SaaS product, encouraging brand loyalty and establishing your business as an industry thought leader.

You can also use social listening to find out what existing and prospective customers say about your product.

With social media, it’s vital not to spread yourself too thin. Choose the platforms your target audience is most likely to use and establish a presence on them.

Six steps to social media marketing success

Search engine optimisation (SEO)

SEO is the process of optimising your website to increase your ranking in the search engines. The first three results in Google get nearly 70% of all the clicks, meaning more organic traffic and potentially more conversions.

Keyword research is a key part of SEO – which words and phrases are prospective customers using? Other important elements of SEO include:

• Optimising pages for readability and making sure they provide value
• Creating great content that establishes your business as a thought leader and generates backlinks. For example, videos, podcasts, or blog articles
• Making sure the search engines can crawl and index your content

Top tip: Don’t underestimate the power of word-of-mouth marketing – if a customer loves your product, they’ll promote it to colleagues, friends, and family. A referral scheme is an excellent way of rewarding customers for recommending your SaaS platform.

7. Provide a seamless onboarding process

When customers subscribe to your SaaS product, the hard work doesn’t stop there. You need to provide a high-quality experience to encourage them to stick around.

Product onboarding is when you introduce your product to customers, showing them all the different things it can do.

An effective, targeted onboarding process can boost customer retention by 50%, with 86% of customers advising that they’re more likely to stay loyal if onboarding comes as standard.

Good onboarding can save money too, as customers are less likely to get in touch with your support team.

You can provide exceptional onboarding through:

• Automated email sequences
• Knowledge centres
• Frequently asked questions
• Videos and tutorials
• Product tours

Top tip: Gamification can be a great way to make onboarding more fun and interactive. For example, offering customers badges and points when they complete specific tasks.

8. Monitor, review, and test for success

Finally, it’s vital to regularly analyse your statistics so you know if your SaaS product is bringing in revenue. Here are some good metrics to get you started:

• Churn rate. This is the percentage of customers that stop using your product month-on-month. The typical SaaS churn rate is about 5%; anything higher can indicate an issue with customer satisfaction
• Revenue churn rate. This is how much revenue you lose month-on-month and can show how much your churn rate affects the money you receive. If your revenue churn rate increases but your churn rate stays the same, it might be a sign that customers are moving to lower-priced plans
• Customer acquisition cost (CAC). This is how much it costs to acquire a new customer. This shows how well your sales and marketing processes are working. Calculating CAC for each marketing channel can help you see if you need to make efficiencies
• Customer lifetime value (CLV). This is how much revenue a customer spends over the course of their working relationship with you. This shows how loyal your customers are and indicates how much you can spend on acquiring customers. Ideally, your CLV should be three times more than your CAC
• Monthly recurring revenue (MRR). This is how much revenue your customers generate within a given month. This is an easy, quick way to see how much your SaaS business is growing. You can also calculate MRR for each customer to see which ones spend the most money

Top tip: Don’t forget to ask customers for feedback to see what they like and what they don’t like about your SaaS product. For example, if a customer cancels their subscription, send them one final email asking why they left.

Need a stand-out SaaS website and marketing plan?

Developing a SaaS product can be hard work, but the results are well worth it. You get recurring revenue, can sell to anyone in the world, and it’s easy to scale and develop your business.

If you need support developing your SaaS website and marketing strategy, we can help.  

We’ll build a bespoke website that’s user-friendly and developed to drive conversions, and create impactful marketing campaigns that appeal to your prospective customers wherever they are in the sales funnel.

Contact us today to find out more.