Did you know that the SaaS industry is expected to grow by 18%? That’s right, 18% annual growth. Software as service companies have plenty of opportunities to thrive, but in order to succeed they need a solid marketing mix strategy. It’s also important to consider that with all the new SaaS companies and technologies emerging every day, scaling your company is crucial to business growth.
So, exactly how can this be achieved? Here’s the solution: Create a successful marketing mix strategy.
At first, creating a successful marketing mix for SaaS companies may seem challenging since these companies sell “intangible” services. For example, it’s harder to persuade someone to add your software services to their daily routine than to convince someone to purchase a suitcase. So, what’s the catch? How can we achieve a successful marketing mix strategy for SaaS companies? Here’s your chance to find out!
This article will cover everything you need to know about a solid marketing mix, including:
- What is a (product) marketing mix?
- What does it mean to scale your SaaS?
- Top tactics to scale your SaaS using your product marketing mix
What is a Product Marketing Mix (PMM)?
A marketing mix refers to the set of actions or tactics that a company uses to promote its brand or product in the market. A typical marketing mix strategy consists of the following 7Ps:
- Product: A product is anything you sell, whether a physical product, a service, or an experience. It’s the center of your strategy and influences every aspect of the marketing mix.
- Place: When we say “place” in a product marketing mix, we refer to the distribution channel. Where are we selling our product or service? It can be sold via a website, catalog, social media, trade shows, websites, and stores.
- Price: Price refers to how much your product or service costs. It’s vital to set a correct price that reflects the value your customers perceive in your product, matches your budget, and ensures you turn a profit.
- Promotion: Promotion is the process of introducing your product to your target audience. It can be done through direct marketing, PR, advertising, content marketing, or in-store pitching.
- Physical evidence: Physical evidence means more than just proof of purchase. In other words, it refers to the physical environment that the customer experiences. An example would be the design and layout of a shop or website.
- People: Who’s behind your product? In a marketing mix strategy, “people” refers to anyone directly or indirectly involved in the company’s business side.
- Process: In a marketing strategy, the “process” refers to the sequence of steps to deliver a product or service to a customer. This includes how your business operates, how products are packaged, how your customers move through the sales funnel, checkout… etc.
It’s important to note that all 7Ps influence one another, so a successful marketing mix requires analysis, market research, and consultation with many people, from users to marketers to manufacturers.
Furthermore, all seven elements must be consistent between themselves and should be revisited every now and then. According to Investopedia, “Any successful marketing strategy should be revisited from time to time. The marketing mix you create is not intended to be static. It needs to be adjusted and refined as your product grows and your customer base changes.”
If you’re looking for a platform to improve your metrics to create a successful marketing mix, book a demo with FROGED today.
What does it mean to scale your SaaS?
Scaling a SaaS business means generating more profit without incurring significant costs. You can do this by entering new markets, gaining more customers, investing in new software, or promoting a company into a new target. However, scaling SaaS isn’t child’s play; it takes time, patience, mistakes, and a lot of resources and energy.
The following example shows what it means to scale your SaaS through a marketing mix.
Kissmetrics it’s a platform that provides users with information about how their customers behave online and the tools to increase engagement, conversions, and retention. However, at first, it wasn’t easy to compete against the free Google Analytics with a paid product in an under-educated market (2008).
To do so, Kissmetrics segmented and targeted a number of audience personas they had identified as potential customers using their own analytics tool. Afterward, they created campaigns targeting web users who read similar articles. Those campaigns offered free trials in exchange for an email address. Every time they gained a subscriber, Kissmetrics sent them a very easy-to-read 20-page guide, written with a personal tone, full of insights, ideas, and tips on Facebook marketing. Their goal was to promote product growth by becoming the first option for marketers considering an informative tool. Using segmentation and targeting, Kissmetrics managed to increase the subscription rate by 300%.
There’re lots of ways to scale your business through a marketing mix strategy. Decide which is best for your business and book a call with FROGED to learn more about how it can improve SaaS metrics in every step of your customer’s lifecycle.
Top tactics to scale your SaaS using your Product Marketing Mix
Now that you know what a marketing mix is and what it looks like to scale your business let’s go over the strategies to grow your SaaS business using a product marketing mix.
- Optimize your pricing strategy
The price of a subscription-based software product is vital. If you have a great product, but it’s priced too high, it won’t sell. On the other hand, if it’s priced too low, it can negatively affect your product image. That’s why it’s so important to optimize your pricing strategy.
To do so, start by finding out which pricing package your customers prefer by experimenting with different packages. A/B testing can help here. Heads up – It’s not about increasing your prices to grow your business; it’s about optimizing and pricing your product wisely.
- Enhance the sales process
Sales are where SaaS businesses can grow. To do so, focus on improving all aspects of the sales process through different marketing channels and techniques. For example, you should certainly invest more heavily in Google ads, Facebook ads, Instagram ads, and YouTube ads if they have proven effective. The same applies to outbound marketing activities such as print media, TV, and advertising.
- Make product onboarding as easy as pie!
No one will buy your product if they don’t understand how it works. Providing a successful and easy onboarding is the key to gaining new customers. Make sure every step of the adoption process is as easy as possible.
If you’re wondering if you have the right onboarding strategy, check our blog post on The Changing Game of Onboarding to learn how to create the perfect onboarding for your business.
- Make sure your customers are happy
Unsatisfied customers are the main cause of churn. Studies show that 89% of consumers are more likely to make another purchase after a positive customer service experience and that 72% of customers will share their good experiences with others. So it’s time to implement great customer service.
Check our post on the Top 5 SaaS metrics and tips to improve them to learn how to reduce churn rate and improve customer satisfaction.
- Use multichannel acquisition methods
There are more strategies than just SEO or SEM to scale your business. Try using multichannel acquisition methods such as influencers, paid advertising, email marketing, internet marketing, content marketing, direct selling, or branding. Scaling your business requires effective use of several digital channels.
Final thoughts
There are many ways to utilize your Product Marketing Mix (PMM) to scale your SaaS company; enhancing the sales process, improving your customer experience, using multiple marketing channels, making customer onboarding easy, or implementing new digital marketing tools.
You must, however, ensure that all 7ps of your marketing mix are consistent and coherent. Also, check your tactics align with your brand’s values and purpose. Doing all of that correctly, you will successfully scale your SaaS using a product marketing mix.
Interested in more? Check our FROGED article on How product marketers can improve SaaS churn rate, or browse our glossary for more key metrics for product success.
