Any company in the SaaS industry knows that how you approach lead generation, marketing, and sales management will determine a large part of the company’s long-term success.
From software that helps financial institutions and healthcare facilities to customer service and supply chain, SaaS companies need to build credibility over time, market themselves to the right decision-makers and effectively manage (often complex) sales cycles.
Which is precisely why SaaS companies are now using technologies for marketing functions like creating landing pages, optimizing SEO, content marketing, and more.
Companies that engage in these activities have a bigger advantage than you might think, as only 24 percent of SaaS companies say they blog to educate their readers (much of the rest is self-promotion). And while there are a variety of tools within the realm of digital marketing, here we’ll take a look at how SaaS companies are using HubSpot to boost their marketing for 2018 and beyond.
Why Hubspot is the right choice for your SaaS company.
In short, HubSpot is a unique marketing tool for SaaS companies due to a variety of unique reasons. HubSpot is an all-in-one marketing platform that provides businesses with the tools they need to engage and connect with their customers. From creating email campaigns and website pages, to automating lead generation and measuring results, HubSpot is a powerful tool for SaaS companies looking to grow their customer base.
Its automation capabilities can save time by innovating mundane tasks like segmenting lists and sending personalized emails. With its analytics dashboard, SaaS marketers can track how leads are engaging with their content, helping them make smarter decisions about where to focus their resources. With the combination of automation, analytics, and engagement tools provided by HubSpot, SaaS marketers have all the resources they need to effectively reach new customers and gain insights into what works best for their company.
HubSpot’s CRM (with some marketing functionality) is free to get up and running for SaaS startups who are in their beginning phases and might need to be cost-conscious. HubSpot as an organization is geared towards helping SaaS companies with digital and content marketing from within the same platform. Companies can then work with agencies that are certified HubSpot partners to develop a holistic marketing and lead generation program that will help SaaS companies grow at a consistent rate.
Here are five interesting use cases for HubSpot for SaaS companies.
Implementing Buyer Personas
Buyer personas are a key component of any successful SaaS marketing strategy. They allow marketers to target and craft content specifically tailored to their intended audience, boosting efficiency and increasing conversions. With HubSpot, SaaS marketers can easily create buyer personas based on what they know about their target customers. The software allows users to build a comprehensive profile for each persona, based on insights gathered from customer surveys and feedback forms.
Once the buyer profiles are created, HubSpot’s segmentation tools make it easy to send specifically targeted emails and ads to each persona group. Marketers can also use the software’s analytics platform to track the performance of their campaigns by persona, helping them refine and adjust their approach as needed.
HubSpot allows for automated optimization of content delivery, ensuring that content is seen by the right people at the right time. By leveraging HubSpot’s extensive capabilities in implementing buyer personas effectively with its powerful automation features, SaaS marketers can ensure they’re reaching their intended audience without wasting resources or missing out on potential opportunities.
Making a sale in the SaaS industry doesn’t involve just convincing one person. More likely, you’ll have to convince multiple stakeholders within a single organization, as well as market to those individuals in a targeted manner to get their attention in the first place. For these reasons, many SaaS companies now work with HubSpot to develop buy personas and implement specific strategies and tactics that are designed to reach each persona in a targeted fashion.
For instance, many SaaS companies serve a wide array of industries and key decision makers to target specifically within those industries. Shore software, one of HubSpot’s SaaS customers, worked with HubSpot to create buyer personas (as well as buyer journey path-to-purchase) for each of the many industries Shore’s scheduling software is used by, from insurance and health-care to restaurants and auto repair shops.
When a target buyer searches online for health-care related scheduling software, for example, they might click through the search result to a custom landing page (designed, managed, and tracked through HubSpot) that will display content geared towards that specific buyer persona. And after the visitor signs up for a free trial, HubSpot nurtures the lead automatically on a marketing track tailored towards that persona’s buyer journey.
Custom landing pages for each buyer persona (as above in the healthcare field, for instance) can be implemented within HubSpot.
Building Inbound Processes
Another key need for SaaS companies is to use technology to build the bridge between marketing and sales. In effect, how can SaaS companies arrange their inbound lead generation processes to mesh with the right sales approach to compress the sales cycle as much as possible? One answer for SaaS companies is to work with HubSpot to build out an entire inbound process, from marketing and lead generation all the way through to sales.
Inbound processes are an essential part of any SaaS company’s marketing strategy. HubSpot is the perfect optimization tool for SaaS marketers to build and manage their inbound processes, from creating and managing content to converting leads into customers. With HubSpot’s drag-and-drop editor, marketers can quickly create visually appealing web pages and emails that will engage their target audiences.
The software also allows users to automate tasks like lead segmentation and email campaigns, streamlining the entire process. To further optimize the inbound process, marketers can use HubSpot’s analytics platform to track and measure consumer behavior across different channels, giving them valuable data to base decisions off of. Businesses can even access HubSpot’s CRM for free, which enables them to keep track of contacts, tasks, conversations and other important elements of customer relationships. Taken together, these features make it easy for SaaS marketers to efficiently execute their inbound processes with HubSpot and achieve desired results in no time.
BrightGauge, a SaaS business intelligence company, worked with HubSpot’s Inbound Training Program to rewire their entire sales team to take an inbound approach to sales. That means being able to analyze the lead data and profile when it comes in, cross-reference that with what is likely to be the best use cases for that company, and conduct a sales dialogue that focuses on the value of solving specific pain points.
A CFO from a financial company that uses an ROI calculator, for instance, will likely have a much different set of concerns than a CTO that downloads a technical whitepaper. Companies not only use HubSpot to help create these lead generation assets but work with SaaS companies like BrightGuage to build the backend sales processes to have to maximize the output of those leads.
Blogging and Content Marketing
For Saas companies, building thought leadership and a trusted market position is a critical part of reaching target buyers and building a customer base. Blogging, webinars, and writing white papers are just a few of the aspects to content marketing that many SaaS companies manage from within the HubSpot platform. Outside of being able to manage content marketing and blogging within the same CRM hub, SaaS companies work with HubSpot to develop and implement a content marketing program that generates high-quality leads on a consistent basis.
TravelTime, a SaaS brand dedicated to optimizing transport routes for various industries, used HubSpot’s content marketing hub as a way of generating more website traffic, leads, and eventual sales. Utilizing separate CRM, marketing automation, blogging, and content management system (CMS) tools are often complex, time-consuming, and requires a large investment of time and resources in mastering each one individually.
That’s not to say that tools like WordPress, MailChimp, and the like aren’t effective tools for SaaS companies in their own right. But the advantage that many SaaS companies view in HubSpot is being able to manage everything from one user interface, and take advantage of HubSpot’s expertise and professional services in designing a top-notch, ongoing content marketing and blogging program.
HubSpot allows SaaS companies to manage blogging and other forms of content marketing on their platform. SaaS marketers can use HubSpot to create effective content marketing campaigns and blogs that are tailored to target customers. With its segmentation feature, marketers can easily identify customer segments based on demographics, purchase history, and online activity so they can tailor their campaigns and content accordingly.
HubSpot’s blogging platform enables them to quickly publish compelling content with ease while also managing multiple blogs at once with just one interface. The platform’s automation features enable SaaS marketers to schedule postings in advance as well as set up automated emails for better engagement with readership. All of this makes it easier than ever for SaaS marketers to take advantage of the power of blogging and strategic content marketing when using Hubspot.
Automated Lead Nurturing
For SaaS companies, the time between capturing a marketing lead and actual engagement in a sales cycle can take weeks, months, or even years. Getting a target buyer to sign up for a newsletter or download a white paper with their contact information is just the beginning of the buyer’s journey. Leads often have to be followed up with, or nurtured, with additional content and information that will build trust over the long run. So for SaaS brands, HubSpot’s ability to automate the lead nurturing process is of particular utility.
LogiNext, a field service management SaaS company, is one great example of how automated lead nurturing through HubSpot can drive marketing results such as increased web traffic and lead qualification. LogiNext identified their key buyer personas and created specific lead nurturing tracks for each one. If a CTO signs up for a webinar, for instance, the follow-up lead nurturing email might contain specific information about now LogiNext integrates with other systems, the total cost of ownership (TCO) of the product or industry reports specifically of interest to a technologist.
Hubspot enables marketers to do automated lead nurturing by leveraging its powerful automation capabilities. Through its automation features, marketers can set up customized campaigns to nurture leads and ensure they stay engaged with the brand. The automation tools provide a wide range of options such as setting up event-based triggers, scheduling emails in advance, sending personalized messages and more.
HubSpot can the subsequently track the behavior of how these leads interact with subsequent nurturing content, and make a rules-based decision of what content to send them next in the nurturing track. Moreover, HubSpot can generate a “sales qualified lead” if the lead is highly engaged with the nurturing content, and automatically suggest that a sales representative reaches out to them. The result is that fewer leads slip through the cracks over the long run, and only the best leads are then passed over to sales.
SEO and Ad Campaigns
Finally, running ad campaigns and engaging in search optimization are also critical marketing needs for SaaS companies across the board. SEO can be much more complex from an SEO standpoint than many other industries, as companies to rank highly for multiple sets of keywords that might be of interest to various target personas and buyers.
And while companies certainly have a variety of SEO and advertising tools available, for SaaS companies the benefit of using HubSpot is that they can have an integrated approach with other digital marketing efforts like landing pages, content marketing, and email marketing.
Hubspot can be a great asset to SaaS companies when it comes to improving their SEO. Hubspot provides powerful tools and features that allow SaaS marketers to easily track SEO performance, monitor key metrics, and optimize content for better ranking.
One of the most beneficial ways that HubSpot helps with search engine optimization is its ability to track key metrics and improve content. HubSpot’s advanced analytics tools can track user behaviors and identify areas where improvement is needed to ensure higher ranking on search engine results pages. It can also provide deep insights into current SEO performance, enabling marketers to make better decisions for content and ad campaigns.
An intellectual property software company called PatSnap, for instance, worked with HubSpot to increase website traffic and leads by creating Google AdWords campaigns directly out of the HubSpot software, rather than using separate tools. From an SEO standpoint, SaaS companies like PatSnap can use HubSpot to see which marketing assets and efforts are having the biggest SEO impact, and easily create similar content within the same platform.
Key Takeaways
The veritable “Swiss Army Knife” of CRM and marketing automation, HubSpot places itself in a unique position when it comes to helping SaaS companies grow through inbound marketing and content creation.
Lead nurturing, SEO, and blog posts are just a few of the many use cases that HubSpot presents for SaaS companies of all shapes and sizes. As with any technology, it’s important to build up some internal expertise on the platform and engage with the right HubSpot partner that will help map our your inbound marketing journey.
If you are looking for a partner to drive your technology or software marketing, give us a call.