Six Trends SaaS Marketers Should Know About

SaaS marketers can elevate a brand from one of many to a household name. But what was effective 10 years ago may not make a dent in today’s marketplace.??

As we start a new year, it’s important to think about what the future of SaaS will look like in 2023 and beyond so your business can plan for success as new trends emerge.??

Gartner predicts that public cloud spending (think: SaaS, IaaS, PaaS, etc.) will reach nearly?$600 billion?this year. Growth may be slowed because of inflation, but a tremendous potential for marketers remains.??

“Cloud migration is not stopping. IaaS will naturally continue to grow as businesses accelerate IT modernization initiatives to minimize risk and optimize costs,” said Sid Nag, Vice President Analyst at Gartner.?

We’re going explore how trends like technological advancements and the rise of the customer experience will shape what it means to be a successful marketer – challenging you along the way to consider how to best position your organization in a rapidly changing landscape.?

PaaS – The New Frontier for SaaS Marketers

B2B customer demands are shifting toward Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS). Here’s the difference between these two services.????

Simply put, SaaS provides immediate access to a complete product but is often limited to out-of-the-box features. PaaS gives companies the ability to use software and build custom applications in the cloud.??

Finances Online?presents it this way, “The PaaS market is expected to grow to $319 billion by 2030. The market benefits from the pandemic due to a shift to cloud and online platforms. Additionally, the rapidly increasing demand for online shopping is prompting small- and medium-sized businesses to leverage PaaS to scale up their online presence.”??

For marketers at SaaS companies making the shift to PaaS, this is the time to adjust messaging toward developer freedom and application customization.??

Customer Journey

The customer journey is a critical piece for successful SaaS marketers.??

It’s important to understand consumers’ wants, needs, and actions throughout the sales process. With this knowledge, SaaS marketers can better tailor messaging, products, and services to specific customer needs and interests. By understanding the customer journey, SaaS marketers can create more targeted marketing content such as ads, content, and email campaigns.?

When SaaS marketers track customer behavior, they can identify points in time when a customer may need additional support or have questions. This allows marketers to provide timely and personalized assistance, helping customers move along faster in their purchasing journey which leads to increased customer satisfaction and a better overall experience.?

Personalization

One aspect of the customer journey SaaS marketers must prioritize is personalization. As competition increases, companies can differentiate themselves by making marketing more targeted and personalized.??

Marketers can use data like a name, email address, job title, and location to personalize the buying experience. Additionally, they can tap into similar business data, like company size, annual revenue, and business challenges.??

Another way to personalize data is by using AI to deliver targeted content and recommendations.??

SaaS marketers can ask themselves, “what problem is my buyer facing and how can I solve it for them?”???

Omnichannel

For SaaS marketers, omnichannel marketing is a critical piece of the overall customer journey.??

By providing customers with a seamless experience across different channels — from email and SMS to social media, webchat, and more — SaaS marketers can build trust and loyalty with their target buyers. Not only does it help them optimize their engagement efforts, but it creates efficient pathways for customers to get the most out of their SaaS product, from research to purchase and ongoing support.??

A successful omnichannel marketing strategy can also provide SaaS marketers with valuable insights into customer behavior that can be used to further personalize offerings and improve the user experience down the line.?

Content

Content marketing is not new, but it will continue to be an important part of SaaS marketing efforts.?

It provides an invaluable opportunity to reach potential buyers and ultimately convert them into loyal returning customers. Content marketing fosters a relationship between the company and its buyers, and it also provides SaaS marketers with an avenue to demonstrate value through their communication channels.??

High-value content keeps customers engaged and satisfied, even during times of crisis or market downturns. This is a low-cost way to stand out from the competition and build trust within a customer base. When used strategically, content marketing can be a powerful tool for SaaS companies in brand building, acquiring new customers and retaining existing ones.???

Customer Advocacy

Word-of-mouth marketing has always been important, but in today’s virtual world, customer advocacy is one of the most powerful strategies for success.??

When more customers vouch for the value of their services, SaaS providers can not only boost trust in their own products, but also expand their reach and visibility to a valuable audience. Established customer advocates share insights with potential customers, covering topics around product suitability, value, and even ROI.??

One of the best perks is SaaS marketers don’t need to be the ones to initiate these conversations – customers who find real value in SaaS products can begin advocating on behalf of the organizations without any additional prompt from them.??

Marketers can survey their clients to understand their experience with their products. Those testimonials can be used on websites and social media. Video testimonials are another way to present a customer’s story.??

Looking Ahead

As the SaaS landscape continues to evolve, it’s more important than ever for marketers to stay ahead of the curve. By being aware of these six trends – personalization, customer journey, and omnichannel marketing, among others – you can set your company up for success in 2023 and beyond.??

If you need help implementing any of these strategies or don’t have the bandwidth to do it all yourself, Talentfoot can assist. We specialize in placing top-tier SaaS marketers with companies like yours.?Contact us?today and let us help you take your marketing to the next level.?