SaaS Marketing The Top 5 Missteps to Avoid

Hey there,

Today we’ll talk about the Top 5 Marketing Mistakes SaaS businesses tend to make

But first…

Building up a system in your marketing that is scalable and that you can run in a structured way without constantly having to figure out:

• what content to produce

• what topic to cover

• when to distribute

etc. takes time and along the way can seem a bit unattainable at times.

We have been building our content machine and just as a word of encouragement, let me assure you:

👉 while it may be difficult at times, when it starts to blossom it will be worth every minute you’ve spent with it, and will return your investment faster than expected.

Now back to our main story today 🤙

However, if you find these insights valuable, the best way to support our work is by inviting your friends to become Dot Connecters and learn more about Connecting The Dots between marketing activities and financial goals.

Topic Of Today

• Customer Understanding 🎯

• Misinterpretation of Insights 📊

• Missteps in Content Strategy 📚

• Missteps in Building Brand Identity 👷‍♀️

• Tripping Over KPIs 📈

Customer Understanding
Misfiring Rather than Hitting the Mark 🎯

Problem:
Businesses often misjudge their audience - either overshooting or undershooting their target. The reliance on B2C persona maps, the focus on individual leaders, and the overly broad or narrow targeting can lead to diluted messaging and wasted resources. Overlooking the crucial aspect of disqualifiers only compounds the issue.

Solution:

• Reorient towards an Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) which is rooted in the B2B context. It’s not about ‘XY, a school teacher, in her 40s, with 2 kids’. Instead, it’s about understanding the nuances of the decision-making process within the target organisation.

• Concentrate on decision-making drivers - the fears, issues, and motivations that truly matter, rather than irrelevant personal details.

• Embrace the fact that in B2B, you’re dealing with a Buying Committee, not an individual. Take into account all the roles involved, from the Champion who advocates your idea to the Blocker who opposes it.

• Don’t shy away from ruling out potential customers. Introducing disqualifiers will help you narrow your focus, and enhance the efficacy of your efforts.

Misinterpretation of Past Campaign Insights 📊

Problem:
The crucial step of analysing past marketing campaigns for actionable insights is often overlooked by SaaS businesses. Instead, they get stuck in a repetitive cycle of launching campaigns without reflecting on their performance. The problem here is not just the potential waste of resources, but also the missed opportunities. Often, there are unexpected patterns or buyer behaviours that emerge from these analyses that could significantly improve the effectiveness of future strategies.

Solution:

• Monitor campaigns: Keep a close eye on the campaigns as they run. This will help you identify trends, anomalies, or any aspect that’s working exceptionally well.

• Detailed analysis of past campaigns: Reviewing past campaigns isn’t only about understanding the performance metrics, it’s also about gathering qualitative insights. This means discussing with the teams involved to understand their experiences, what they felt worked, and what didn’t.

• Keep an eye out for unexpected insights: Be open to discovering and learning from unexpected buyer behaviours or specific language used by buyers. This can help you refine your messaging for future campaigns.

• Quick follow-ups: Timely follow-ups can make a significant difference in the overall effectiveness of a campaign. Be proactive and ensure your sales or customer success teams are aligned with marketing for optimal coordination.

• Carefully define your target audience: It’s better to have a more targeted approach rather than a ‘spray and pray’ strategy. Having a well-defined ideal customer profile can help you craft campaigns that resonate better with your audience.

Missteps in Content Strategy 📚

Problem:
SaaS businesses frequently make missteps in their content strategy. They produce self-centric content, overdo branding, thoughtlessly mimic competitors, and aim to conquer every platform all at once.

Solution:

• Position the customer as the hero, not your business. Understand their challenges, empathise with them, and present your solution as their saviour.

• Strike a balance with your branding. Allow your valuable content to shine, not be overshadowed by your brand elements.

• Avoid simply copying your competitors. Create original content that genuinely addresses your customers’ unique problems.

• Resist the temptation to conquer all platforms at once. Focus on one or two to begin with, master them, and then consider expanding.

Missteps in Building Brand Identity 👷‍♀️

Problem: Brand identity is often misconstrued in SaaS businesses. Many believe that a strong brand identity can be achieved by simply plastering their logo and tagline on every content they produce or by incessantly talking about their ‘outstanding’ solution. In reality, these actions often detract from building a genuine connection with their audience and tend to leave the customer feeling ‘sold to’ rather than ‘catered for.’

Solution:

• Shift the spotlight from your business to your customers. The real hero of your brand’s story should always be your customer, not your business or product. Your communication should therefore focus on addressing their pains, offering relevant solutions, and sharing success stories of similar customers.

• Be subtle with branding. While it’s crucial to have your logo and tagline on your materials, they shouldn’t overshadow the core message or the value you’re providing to your audience.

• Position yourself as a reliable source of insights and knowledge. By consistently sharing relevant and valuable information, you can become a trusted authority in your field. This helps to strengthen your brand identity and paves the way for deeper customer relationships.

• Leverage personal branding. Recent studies show that building personal brands of individuals within the company can be incredibly beneficial. When the ‘human element’ shines through, it can boost interest and generate a higher number of potential buyers. It’s worth encouraging your team to share their own insights and experiences, thereby adding a personal touch to your brand.

Tripping Over KPIs 📈

Problem: SaaS businesses often stumble when it comes to KPIs. Sometimes they are not tracking any metrics at all - essentially running blind. Other times, they might be tracking the wrong metrics or misinterpreting the metrics they do track, leading to misinformed strategies. Worst still, they might be tracking the right metrics but failing to utilise the insights they provide, missing golden opportunities to adjust their course of action and make meaningful improvements.

Solution:

• Get your tracking in order. If you’re not tracking metrics, it’s high time to get started. Metrics serve as the compass guiding your marketing strategy - without them, you’ll be sailing in the dark.

• Ensure that your metrics align with your business goals. If you find that you’re tracking metrics that don’t contribute to your overall goals, it’s time for a rethink. Redefine your KPIs to focus on what truly matters to your business success.

• Establish clear and common definitions. If your metrics are based on differing definitions, it can lead to confusion and misleading results. It’s critical to have a shared understanding of what terms like ‘leads’, ‘prospects’, etc. mean within your business.

• Don’t just track, act. Metrics aren’t meant to be a checkbox exercise for your reports. They provide valuable insights that can inform your strategies. If you’re gathering this data, make sure you’re also taking the time to analyse it and leverage it to optimise your marketing strategy.

That’s it for today…

We are releasing 2 new episodes of Business Companion, so stay tuned.

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Happy learning! ❤️

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