EPISODE SUMMARY
The SaaS field has substantially grown over the past few years as more software businesses continue to emerge. Your marketing strategy and tactics should also be as innovative as your service to rise above the growing competition. This is where digital marketing comes into the picture.
In this episode, Infinity Marketing Group CEO JC Granger walks us through utilizing SaaS digital marketing and the common mistakes to avoid so you can continue on the path to success in the saturated SaaS industry.
PODCAST-AT-A-GLANCE
Podcast: SaaS-Story in the Making
Episode: Episode No. 182, “Common Mistakes To Avoid in SaaS Marketing”
Host: Matt Wolach, a B2B SaaS sales coach, Entrepreneur, and Investor
Guest: JC Granger, CEO of Infinity Marketing Group
TOP TIPS FROM THIS EPISODE
Don’t Be Afraid to Take Risks in Budgeting
As a software owner, don’t just focus on hitting the ground. Hit it and act fast. Be quick-witted, particularly with budgeting. If you need to pay to get your software business across the market, do it quickly so they can give you results in the shortest amount of time possible.
In SaaS, after you build software, JC says about 80% of your success equation is marketing and sales. So when it comes to spending finances for your SaaS business’ digital marketing needs, you need to overcome your fear and take the risk.
“It’s so important to be able to know that you need to go fast,” says Matt. Learn how to allocate marketing budget effectively, and be sure you’re moving fast, especially if your company is also growing at a fast-paced rate. That’s when you will start seeing an exponential lift.
Don’t Let Your Services Remain Unheard
Most SaaS people lack the ability to showcase their product or service. JC compares this to a person with a gold brick but locked in a cave– it’s worthless if people do not know about it.
Another thing is finding the right people to talk to when showcasing your product or service. No matter how good your service is, no matter how helpful your products are, it would be useless if you do not know how to tell people about it and get its value across.
SaaS companies that worked their way from the ground up and succeeded are the ones who figured out how to tell people about their services effectively. If you’ve got funding, hire talented people to promote your product and make it known. In the digital age, digital marketing is one of the effective ways to do it.
Don’t Let Ego Take Control
According to JC, one of the biggest mistakes a SaaS leader could commit, especially startups, is letting their ego get in the way.
“It’s something like big video ads that cost a lot of money. But you get to have a camera crew that comes in and interviews you.”
“When you start, there’s a time and place for that,” JC continues. While paying for big ads aired on TV is fine, it’s better to be wise with your budget and have a specific plan. It’s a matter of balancing proper budget handling and taking the risk.
Don’t Let Feature Videos Drag On
Another common mistake SaaS people usually make is having customers go through an extended video showing all of the product’s features. Most people are only buying software to solve one or two problems, says JC. You do not have to show how your product solves every single problem on your product overview video.
Instead, have short clips featuring one benefit a piece. So if your software can solve 10 problems, for instance, then have 10 videos for each feature.
That way, people will be able to scan through your videos quickly and wouldn’t bounce out, having to go through long, drawn-out videos.
Make an excellent segmented video library and make your features readily available. Do not force people into the funnel unless you’re in enterprise sales.
Let your customers move through your funnel quickly.
EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS
Products Do Not Sell Themselves
For Matt and JC, the saying “the product sells itself” is not valid. Behind a successful product is a lot of marketing efforts. Behind marketing, efforts are a lot of branding, messaging, and positioning.
The success formula is support and opportunity. You learn from other people, and you take chances when a door for opportunity opens.
Ignorance Is Not an Excuse
SaaS people, especially in startups, fail by not knowing any better in their field.
“Sometimes, it’s just ignorance,” says JC. “Welcome to [becoming] an entrepreneur. You’re going to spend a lot of money, learning a lot of hard lessons.”
JC gives pieces of advice to avoid this: do your research. Listen to podcasts. And work with experts who have done it before. They made the mistakes so you don’t have to.
People Don’t Care About Your Product’s Features
When people come to your site, they usually don’t know much about your software, and they’re looking to learn about a specific solution to their problem.
This is why excellent messaging and positioning are crucial. People do not care about all the other features your product or service has. They’re only looking for one or two things to help them deal with their problems.
Understand your customers’ challenges and focus your attention on solving those challenges.
As a piece of advice, Matt says skip talking about all the other features your software can do and focus on what your customers care about, that one or two things they’re looking for.
TOP QUOTES
JC Granger
[06:45] “When it comes to SaaS, for example, after you build the software, about 80% of your success equation is [sales and] marketing.”
[12:03] “Most software companies are started by software people, coders, they are great at making software. Where they lack sometimes is their ability to tell people about it.”
[15:18] “Every product has to have a support of some sort to get out there.”
Matt Wolach
[06:00] “It’s important to understand what you like, what you enjoy doing, what you’re good at, and where to focus.”
[09:33] “You’ve got to be able to understand how to allocate marketing dollars effectively and make sure that you’re not wasting it.”
[14:17] “I hate the phrase ‘the product sells itself.’ Whenever you hear somebody say the product sells itself, it’s not true. There’s a lot of marketing that went behind it. There’s a lot of branding. There’s a lot of messaging, positioning, sales even get into that.”
[19:35] “You have to have your marketing and sales in alignment.”
[24:22] “Don’t talk about all the other crazy 19 other things you might be able to do; talk about the two things that they care about that they have got to solve now.”
LEARN MORE
To learn more about JC Granger and Infinity Marketing Group, visit https://www.infinitymgroup.com/.
You can also find JC Granger on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jcgranger/.
For more about how host Matt Wolach helps software companies achieve maximum growth, visit https://mattwolach.com/.
