An integrated approach that focuses on inbound traffic to generate leads has quickly become a cornerstone of online marketing strategy. And as a digital marketer, you are well aware of inbound marketing’s effectiveness and the ROI in can provide.
While inbound marketing is obviously a key part of the online marketing playbook for lead generation, it has been conspicuously absent in everything else. In truth, few companies have been able to successfully translate the tactics of inbound marketing to anything beyond lead generation. As a result, SaaS companies have generally stayed away from the tactic when attempting to convert trial users into paying customers.
But the tactics of inbound marketing, when modified to help guide trial users toward activation, can be very effective for converting trials into paid subscriptions. And SaaS companies that don’t attempt to use a modified version of the strategy for activation risk leaving a significant number of potential customers on the table. See the following tips for how to modify your inbound strategy for activation.
Educate Your Trial Users
We begin with content marketing, a pillar of the inbound philosophy. Inbound marketing is based partially on the theory that by providing educational and helpful content to your audience, you will build credibility and trust that converts visitors into leads and ultimately customers.
As a result, experts often cite blog posts and webinars as important tools in the inbound toolbox. A 2014 study found webinars to be the most effective content marketing tactic, while marketers who prioritize blogging are 13 times more likely to enjoy positive ROI. Tweet
The importance of education, of course, is just as crucial for SaaS providers looking to convert trial users. Simply put, these users need a reason to begin paying money for the service that they are currently enjoying for free. Using blogs and webinars along with secondary tools like emails and social media posts that promote your content, you can educate your trial users about the myriad potential features and benefits provided to paying customers, making them more likely to convert.
Support Your Trial Users
Trial user support is an important part of increasing your customer conversion. If a problem arises for your trial users, you should know about it before they have even discovered it. Being proactive can make the difference between a trial user turning into a customer or turning to your competition.
SaaS marketers familiar with the inbound philosophy know this support as lead nurturing. If you consider your trial user as inbound marketers consider leads, you will understand the connection through consistent contact, and by keeping them happy with their current connection with your software, you can slowly nudge them toward becoming a customer. In other words, you are building a relationship that will make it more difficult for your trial users to opt out once the time for an upgrade comes around.
Reinforce And Track
At last, we come to the final stage of using the inbound-marketing philosophy for customer conversion, reinforcing the message. Trial users will likely not remember the first time you sent an email educating them about the benefits of your full product and therefore reinforcing that message is crucial. It is also important to remind your trial users, even after their trial has expired, why they should sign up for your software.
Social media lends itself particularly well to this type of reinforcement. Depending on your business, networks like Facebook and Twitter allow marketers to upload lists for direct user targeting, ensuring that your messages will only be shown to users on that list. For SaaS providers, that means you can upload a list of present and past trial users, using social media specifically to remind them about signing up for the full product and pointing them in the right direction. Tweet
Additionally, most social-media networks now offer conversion tracking, which is beneficial for SaaS companies advertising specifically to increase customer conversions. By installing a single pixel on your website, you can track just how many new customers you have gained as a result of your social-media ads, and use that data to adjust the message as needed.
The philosophy and tactics behind inbound marketing can be extremely beneficial for SaaS customer conversion. Through education, support, and reinforcement, you can effectively convert your trial users into paying customers.
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