There are so many options out there in terms of B2B SaaS marketing Channels, and so many ways to use them.
It’s no secret that choosing the wrong growth channels will lead your B2B SaaS with more than just wasted resources.
This guide cuts through the growth hacks and magic wands to address some tried and true resources to help you grow.
What Channels Should Your SaaS Or B2B Be Using?
For owners or members of startup B2B SaaS teams, you have limited time and resources available to learn about different marketing methods, let alone use them.
Many SaaS teams resort to outsourcing, and for groups with that mindset, let this be a resource to help you direct your attention to appropriate channels. Then start booking meetings with relevant companies.
For SaaS B2Bs ready to manage these channels on their own, I hope this acts as an aggregation of resources that enables you to jumpstart your learning.
For the record, if even slightly possible, I would recommend using at least two marketing channels for your SaaS B2B at a time. Your SaaS and your skills will thrive differently from case to case, so hedging your growth strategy will help you dial in what works without overwhelming you.
Factors In B2B SaaS Channels To Consider
When you are considering how to spend the limited resources your B2B SaaS has on various marketing efforts, you shouldn’t be testing experimental channels. Instead, you should be experimenting with proven channels.
Within that framework, this article takes these factors into consideration:
Profitable
Duh? Why would any growing B2B, Startup or SaaS invest time and/or money into it.
Ideally, with these channels you will be able to achieve way more than 1x ROI with the proper resource allocation (including time).
Flexible (Achieves A Variety Of Goals)
Can you use this channel to achieve your awareness goals, get more signups, target market share and more?
Choosing a channel that allows you to master multiple long-term digital marketing goals makes for a powerful marketing channel.
Measurable
A lot of owners still like to talk about things such as direct mail marketing, which could still have its place in a lot of marketing mixes. However, in most cases the results aren’t measurable enough to justify utilizing them early on.
Choose something with measurable metrics that you can react and optimize on.
Targeting
This is the bow that ties it all together. If you don’t have tight control over the group of people who are receiving your messaging, then you are going to waste time and money.
Top 3 B2B SaaS Marketing Channels
1.) SEO
87% of users find new products using search first. That’s across all markets. If you had to put all of your eggs in one basket, why not use search?
What other channel can reach an overwhelming majority of your customers?
However, search engine optimization is a time investment to say the least.
SEO for B2B SaaS yields very little immediate results but is so important for long term discovery. Most SEO advertisers agree that it takes on average 6-12 months to get your SEO strategy running.
It also mainly feeds high-funnel traffic, which is where the volume will be but not necessarily the conversions. Knowing what conversions to ask for and the intent of your keywords is super important to gaining customers from SEO.
What’s SEOs biggest asset for a B2B SaaS Marketing Plan? It’s free (if you do it yourself and have the time).
Having an SEO strategy is key to success in the long term. Figure out what your target users search for (outside of just your services) and try to help them wherever they are on the funnel.
SEO is also a great way to set up your site to convert more efficiently. Once the content is written, the impressions you receive from that content is free. Just another reason SEO is on the top of this list.
If all you can manage is one blog post every other week, then make that happen. Just get it started and try to do it in-house to start.
One important note on keyword tools; don’t get caught up with tools and especially with how pricey they can get. Use Spyfu’s free version or just the suggested searches when you search on Google.
These searches are a reflection of what the masses are searching.
SEO Pros:
- Free (doesn’t cost money)
- With time, it can become your main traffic driver to your site
- Higher-level concepts are fairly easy to understand and implement
SEO Cons:
- Rather ambiguous in terms of tracking results
- Slowwww. Expect to take 6-12 months (bad for investor fueled startups looking to learn quickly)
Resources For SaaS B2Bs looking to run their own SEO:
The Complete Guide To B2B SEO – SproutSocial
B2B SEO: A complete and Helpful Guide (2022) – Markletic
A Complete B2B SEO Strategy Guide for 2022 – Ahrefs
2.) Google Search Ads
Nearly 90% of Google’s revenue comes from advertising money. That’s proof enough that businesses are finding ways to meet their goals with it.
Not to mention, 65% of users click on a Google Ad when making a purchase decision.
Common gripes with Ads include it’s priciness and unsupported concerns about paying for fraudulent clicks (more applicable with display ads).
For SaaS B2Bs, especially ones with $1,000+ to spend per month, this can be a great way to get traffic flowing to your site in the short term.
Plus, It’s not a shot in the dark like SEO, you target specific keywords, track conversions and engagement at a granular level and can learn very quickly.
In the case of SEO-only users, it can take years for B2B SaaS companies to show up on page 1 for low-funnel searches with high conversion rates. With Google Ads, you can be there in an hour.
There is still an optimization period up front, but if you have a good idea of the search terms that are valuable to your SaaS B2B, it can be as little as a month before you reach positive ROI.
Google Ads optimize fastest when you offer a service that people are searching for like “sponsorship management tool.” If your solution is newer to the market, you will be stuck targeting the pains that your B2B SaaS addresses, which can often lead to slightly longer optimization periods (might be better to use channel suggestions 1 & 3).
Google Ads Pros:
- Fast
- A++ for targeting (virtually inbound)
- Boundless insights
Google Ads Cons:
- Can be expensive
- Requires more technical knowledge (In SaaS B2B, Google Ads automation can be lacking sometimes)
- Harder to keep up with Google Ads platform
Google Ads Resources:
Google Ads for B2B & SaaS: Best Strategies (VIDEO) – Lewis Mudrich
Can Google Ads Help My Business? – Search Click Boom
9 Tips To Help Your B2B Google Ads Campaigns Shine – SEJ
Schedule A Free Strategy Session – Search Click Boom
Step By Step Guide to Finding and Selecting a B2B PPC Agency – Dash Clicks
3.) Community Engagement
So, Google Ads came before this because in an ideal world with piles of VC startup cash, a SaaS B2B can pay-to-learn with Google Ads and have a profitable campaign in a matter of weeks.
Without that pile of cash, what is a SaaS B2B to do to expand beyond SEO?
Communities.
This could mean finding Twitter communities that solve other problems for your target businesses, finding a Reddit page that pertains to your target audience and so on. Pick one, you don’t have to be overly busy with this.
Communities like Product Hunt, Indie Hackers, Reddit, Twitter and more all have micro-groups of business people looking to share information or solve problems.
Find a happy medium between solicitation and direct helpfulness. Many of these interactions can lead to meetings, email collection and more.
A common misconception with social communities is that you are going to find your B2B customer just asking “I’m looking for [your solution].”
It’s not common that you’ll find your target buying personell just yelling into the dark, asking for help.
More likely you’ll have to think higher in the funnel.
IF your B2B SaaS is a process automation SaaS, you might look for searches about integrating two tools or efficiency.
Knowing your buyer and their needs is important because it will allow you to discover where they will be active.
Again, B2B SaaS customers probably won’t be asking for your service but if you think about the problems they might have, you can find them there.
Community Pros:
- Free
- Forces you to give prospects 1:1 attention
- You can learn a lot about your buyer persona
- Surprisingly targeted
Community Cons:
- Arduous process
- Slow
- Can be hard to find your customer
Community Resources:
Industry Forums & B2B Lead Generation: Helpful Wins – Weidert Group
B2B Sales: How To Find, Engage & Sell To The Modern-Day Buyer – Super Office
Conclusion
Take this all from the perspective of a Google Ads professional who spent the last 4 years building a business. As with any ‘marketing help’ article, it’s going to come from a specific lens.
But if you are looking for a quick answer with a few flexible and viable options, this is a great place to start. It has worked for me and for many of my SaaS B2B clients.
As always, feel free to reach out if you have any questions! Best of luck.