7 Best Ways To Build Awareness for Your SaaS Start-up

Global research firm Gartner estimates that by 2025, 55 percent of large enterprises will successfully implement an all-on-cloud SaaS (Software as a service) strategy. As the  SaaS market booms, customers are spoilt for  choice, endless product and service options to choose from.  The one sure-shot success strategy that SaaS companies  can adopt to bring customers on board is Build awareness for your SaaS start-up.

It’s easier said than done, of course. For a SaaS start-up brand building can be a big hurdle to cross. Creating a trusted brand is as important to a company as the product their build. How do SaaS start-ups effectively reach out and communicate about their brand to consumers, in a constantly growing and hyper-competitive market space?  

The first question that   consumers ask any company – big or small – is, “Why should I buy your product?” Keep your answers ready, with evidence to back them up.  Convincingly tackling this query is a quarter of the battle won. 

Moving on, here’s a checklist of brand-building strategies that are tailor-made for SaaS start-ups: 

1. Understand your customer’s pain points:

This will help you peg your product as a precise solution to their problem. Understanding a customer’s problem holistically is crucial. Half-baked redressal doesn’t work. Addressing these problems and communicating the same to your customer brings a big positive impact to your brand. 

2. Plug into the power of the social media

More than three billion people use social media today. Ignoring this medium may prove to be detrimental to your brand-building efforts. Create a Facebook business page, Twitter and LinkedIn pages to widen your visibility horizons. With more than two billion active users, Facebook is an easy-to-access ready reckoner of potential customers for any SaaS start-up. Twitter, on the other hand, is a quick and handy medium to pitch your product to relevant influencers and thought leaders. While LinkedIn is a great B2B platform to connect with business heads. 

3. Don’t shy from seeking feedback

When you are launching a new product, it may not be perfect from word go. There may be bugs to be fixed and gaps to plug. There may be some missing features.   Don’t brush these under the carpet. Actively seek feedback, as it will help your product become a better version of itself and resolve customer pain points. Put an active feedback mechanism in place, encourage users to point out mistakes, and work on correcting them. Acknowledging and fixing mistakes immediately will win you the trust of your audience. 

4. Study and survey the market of your SaaS Start-up

Surveys are a great way to get to know your target audience and what their requirements are. Surveys also arm you with the relevant data to iron out any issues with your product. Surveys also easily help you answer a plethora of questions that might be buzzing in your head: How do I address my users’   problems? Is my product appropriately priced? What features work best for my product?   How do I scale from here? Why will a user pick my product over a competitor? 

While creating a survey, remember to keep it simple and open-ended. No one likes to answer an endless list of questions. Make a checklist of all the priority questions you want answered and stick to those.

5. Word-of-mouth and online reviews work wonders

Always remember that a user will trust a friend’s feedback about a product more than any paid advertisement. According to a Nielson study, 92 percent people trust recommendations from family and friends over any other type of advertising.

What’s more, it’s the cheapest brand-building tool available. So tell everyone you know – and their friends, family and neighbours – to spread the word. Don’t underestimate how far it can take the news about your business. In today’s hyper-connected world, a single recommendation can go a   long way in brand building.

In today’s competitive business space, brand building is critical for SaaS start-ups. The right brand building can ensure growth and expansion. It goes hand-in-hand with product development.

People trust online reviews written by other consumers only second to recommendations from personal contacts. Encouraging existing customers to review your product and give testimonials will help you leverage more customers. These reviews can be displayed on your website or corporate deck.

6. Get in touch with influencers to build awareness for your SaaS start-up

Get an influencer on board, set up webinars and other public outreach platforms, and get them to speak about topics relevant to the industry as well as your brand. Influencers can help you reach out effectively to your target audience, and give deeper insights into your product as well as customer pain points and how to address them. Build a   relationship with industry influencers.

Having a point of view on an important issue can also make your customers align with your goals. Usually, influencers have a niche and dedicated following and their views and feedback on a product is sacrosanct for them. If you want to win them over, bringing the influencer on board can tip the scale in favour of your product. 

7. Blog

Blogging is a great way to increase awareness about your product and establish yourself as a person of authority; someone who understands the industry and has a view to share. According to HubSpot, B2B companies that blog generate   67 percent more leads than those who don’t. Writing relevant content can be a double-edged sword: you get to talk about your product and reach your audience. Also, since blogs are not a marketing manual, they can help you leverage yourself as someone who has a pulse on the industry. The SEO benefits that your content brings you are, of course, the icing on the cake.

Blogs don’t need to be restricted to your website. Share them on social media,   and send them out as relevant communication to your customers to stay engaged with them. It will also keep your company on top of the customer’s mind. Blogs also help customers clear their doubts and know more about a product or technology. 

Conclusion

In today’s competitive business space, brand building is critical for SaaS start-ups. The right brand building can ensure growth and expansion. It goes hand-in-hand with product development.