Most Effective Lead Generation Tactics for SaaS Startups

Selling a product is hard, but selling a service to the apprehensive modern customer can be an entirely different challenge. Nowadays, people are not so easily swayed by flashy advertisements, but will instead spend a lot of their time researching brands they can trust, filtering them out one by one until they find a company that is deserving of the money, and their loyalty. Needless to say, as a SaaS startup your goal should be to generate quality leads through brand trust and authority, because that is the only way to create a sustainable business model that will allow you to grow in a competitive market.

Now, the key objective here is to convert leads into paying customers, sure, but generating leads is just as important. However, the operating word here is “quality”, because you can’t expect to gain much from a random website visitor that has no need for your digital product or services. So, let’s dig into the subject matter and uncover the most effective lead generation tactics for a modern SaaS startup.

Stay on top of the relevant KPIs

Assuming that you have already assigned several key SMART goals to your lead generation strategy, such as optimizing conversions, bringing more traffic to your site, boosting brand recognition, and more, you can start assigning relevant KPIs. Monitoring your key performance indicators is essential if you are to stay on top of your lead generation strategy and adapt it according to customer data, industry trends, and market fluctuations. In essence, you need to use your KPIs to stay flexible and agile, able to shift your focus on a moment’s notice. 

The key performance indicators you need to monitor include:

• Organic traffic – the number of website visitors that find your site through organic search.
• Landing page conversion rate – how many visitors convert after visiting your landing page.
• Click-through rate (CTR) – tells you which of your links are performing best.
• Cost per lead – tells you how much it actually costs your company to generate new leads.
• Bounce rate – an important SEO metric that tells you whether or not your website is engaging enough for your leads.
• Traffic to lead ratio – tells you how many people have converted into leads. 

Map out the buyer’s journey

With this information in hand, you can start creating more detailed customer personas and you can begin mapping out the customer’s journey. Buyer personas are essential if you are to truly understand your customers, their habits and lifestyle, as well as what influences their decision-making process. A buyer persona will allow you to tailor your messages and content marketing as a whole to the needs of your potential and existing customers. 

Once you have created your buyer personas, you can put yourself in their shoes and start mapping out their conversion journey. For SaaS businesses looking for quality leads that will convert, it’s important to know that the customer journey can be quite long and winding, simply because of the emotional and financial investment that the buyer has to commit to. With that in mind, be prepared to craft engaging content, give out free trials and digital products, and communicate extensively with them until they make the decision to buy.

Use social proof for conversion rate optimization

Of course, you can’t hope to execute a lead generation strategy without focusing on social proof, especially if you are trying to bring quality leads to a startup in the saturated SaaS industry. To build social proof on your website, it’s important to leverage feature-rich CRO tools that will inspire potential customers to stay on your site longer, validate their decisions by showing them that other people are interacting with your site, and empower them to make the decision to buy. Complemented by website reviews, success stories, and user-generated content in general, these tools will help you build a trustworthy brand image that will not only improve conversions, but also generate repeat business.

Invest in a strong SEO strategy

Brand visibility is one of the most important elements of a successful lead generation strategy, which is why one of your priorities should be to appear high in all of the relevant SERPs through meticulous SEO implementation. Remember, the best kind of traffic is organic traffic, because these visitors are the people who are actually interested in your services, and have come to your site to find solutions to their problems. If you execute an SEO strategy the right way, you will invariably drive quality leads to your site, which will ultimately boost conversions while helping you build a brand authority and trust. 

Capitalize on reciprocity

Last but not least, reciprocity is a big part of modern lead generation, and conversions in general. Simply put, you should operate under the assumption that people will respond to selfless acts, meaning that if you give them something for free, you can expect them to return the favor by paying for your services. At the very least, they will start following your updates, sign up for your newsletter, or share your posts on social media with family and friends. Be sure to create free digital products like eBooks and guides, and offer a lengthy free trial to push leads through the pipeline faster.

Wrapping up

In the competitive SaaS sector, new business leaders need to focus on lead generation tactics that make the most financial sense. Be sure to use these tactics to take your lead generation strategy forward without breaking the bank.