Analysing marketing in the SaaS industry
SaaS has taken off in recent years, powered by technology’s dominance in society. This has been led by the emergence of the cloud, which accelerated SaaS commercialisation by reducing barriers to entry for software startups. Furthermore, the pandemic has shone a light on the industry like never before. A shift to working from home has opened up new opportunities, with businesses across the board recording record growth.
But is that likely to continue? We’ve completed an in-depth analysis of the industry to find out. We’ve investigated current market trends, who’s capitalising and what they are using. The research provides crucial insight for any industry marketer, investor, or entrepreneur.
Market understanding
Given the complexity of recent societal shifts, we’ve separated industry trends from the trends driving marketing activities. From an industry standpoint, rapid growth has resulted from a confluence of societal factors. These include the emergence of new technologies such as AI and Machine learning, the rise of mobile, and the opportunities for SaaS to move into new and niche markets.
Consistent across each of these are four major marketing trends. The first is a focus on customer retention, with the reduction of churn a major priority for all SaaS businesses. This has placed greater importance on customer experience as a means to generate loyalty and competitive differentiation. Furthermore, pricing models have come under greater scrutiny, with SaaS businesses evolving different approaches. Finally, content marketing is becoming increasingly favoured as it provides a means to connect with potential customers at a time when they are actively searching, thereby reducing the marketing costs associated with broader awareness.
Marketing strategy
We’ve investigated the shape of the industry in response to these market trends. We’ve then highlighted their impact on three major players and three leading disruptors. This reveals a buoyant current situation in contrast to the economic downtown facing the broader economy as a result of the pandemic.
The major players are also behemoths in every sense of the word. They are amongst the most valuable global companies, with marketing budgets in the hundreds of millions. This means that they are able to bring together integrated strategies across a range of channels, and create a real-world presence beyond their digital existences. The major disruptors by comparison have capitalised in areas the major players have been slow to dominate, while pursuing aggressive growth strategies as a means to avoid being out-fought within them.
Marketing activation
With a core competency in technology, one might expect these businesses to be highly technical in the execution of the marketing activities. And this is exactly the case. They employ some of the largest marketing teams, all of which are equipped with the most sophisticated digital marketing tools. This is particularly poignant if we consider that these businesses operate primarily as B2B businesses, making them less concerned with generating broader societal awareness.
But this only provides half of the story. Being so focused on technology, they still often require the ideas and expertise of outside agencies to develop thought-provoking campaigns. These primarily focus on generating media attention, particularly in business press. This fits with the general belief that PR and content marketing are essential to any burgeoning tech business. Yet at the same time, brand design has also become increasingly relevant in response to current marketing trends.
This research includes
28 pages of analysis (6,000 words).
Evidence-based approach.
Case study examples and success stories.
Main tools/services/agencies.
References for additional reading.
Published November 2020.