Why Your SaaS Inbound Marketing Strategies Keep Failing and How to Fix Them

According to McKinsey's research, 92% of SaaS startups fail within the first few years. So, right from the start, the odds of your SaaS succeeding may seem pretty thin.

SaaS success depends on several critical factors: having a product that solves genuine customer pain points, product quality, a solid commercial model, effective churn management, and customer acquisition. However, none of these factors will matter if you don’t implement the right strategy that will attract the right audience for your products in the first place.

This is where inbound marketing comes into the picture. Inbound marketing attracts, engages, and ensures your customers are happy, satisfied, and supported, which ultimately helps your SaaS business grow and expand.

But just like with other marketing strategies, when it comes to implementing inbound marketing for your SaaS, there are plenty of opportunities to get it wrong. In this blog post, we will take a look at 5 common inbound marketing strategies, the reasons why they keep letting you down, and how to fix them.

1. Content Marketing

Inbound marketing strategies that attract your target audience and buyer personas are closely tied to content creation and development. Content marketing lies at the heart of every inbound marketing strategy, so it’s no surprise that the most successful marketers are allocating over 40% of their budgets on content strategy.

Content is probably one of the smartest investments you can make for your SaaS marketing. Think of it as hiring salespeople who work 24/7 to help your customers find the information they need or learn about your product.

It is much more than just crafting out social posts, blogs, or articles and hoping some of them resonate with your target audience. It shows expertise, promotes brand awareness, and keeps your business top of mind when it’s time to buy what you sell.

But if you’ve been working on your content marketing for quite some time and you’re still not seeing any results, chances are, you're doing something wrong.

So let's take a look at some of the most common mistakes marketers make when it comes to content marketing and see if any of them are behind your SaaS’s lack of success.

Lack of a Well-Defined Content Strategy

This is probably the biggest mistake you can make. Not having a well-defined content marketing strategy means having an aimless approach that leads to inconsistent content and an unengaged audience. In turn, that will lead to wasted resources, attracting the wrong kinds of audience, missed opportunities, and lost revenue.

There are a few key factors you should consider when crafting your content strategy that will help you avoid making this mistake in the future:

1. Clear strategy and tactical execution: Sit down and map out the content you want to produce, what channels you will use for distributing it, and how often. Clearly mark who will be responsible for each task and ensure everything is well documented. Creating content ad hoc without structured planning will lead to uncoordinated efforts, a lack of focus, and inefficient resource allocation.

2. Diversify content types: Content is not limited to blog posts. Experiment with various content types, such as whitepapers, how-to guides, checklists, webinars, podcasts, user-generated content (USG), videos, photos, and infographics. Discover what resonates with your audience and use more of that kind of content to keep things fresh and interesting.

3. Prioritize quality over quantity: We often see companies sacrificing quality for quantity in their content creation. Yes, it's important to keep a steady flow of content out there, especially if you're just starting out, but if it's not of good quality, it won't be effective. It's much better to craft one amazing piece of content than five mediocre ones. Talk to your content creators, find out how much quality content they're comfortable producing, and adjust your strategy accordingly.

4. Avoid hard-selling: Aggressive selling within content marketing is generally frowned upon and ineffective. Your audience wants content that helps them solve problems and improve their processes. If your content is too promotional and self-serving, it won't be received well. Instead, focus on providing useful information to help your prospects become more knowledgeable about their industry and create a favorable impression of you.

Neglecting SEO Optimization

You will miss out on a lot of potential traffic if you don't optimize your content for search engines. While having a blog is a crucial aspect of inbound marketing, it won't do you any good if no one can find it. Make sure your content is keyword-optimized and that you're taking steps to improve your search engine rankings, such as building backlinks, creating meta tags, and optimizing page titles. 

While SEO strategies change almost daily and new algorithm updates are released frequently, the basics remain the same. Quality content mixed with on-page optimization, keyword research, and quality link building are, to this day, still the foundations of successful SEO and content strategy. You shouldn't be afraid of testing new ideas, but it's important to remember the basics and not get too carried away.

Rewriting Competitor Blog Posts and Not Providing Anything Unique or Valuable

It's so easy to get on Google, find a well-performing blog post about a topic related to yours, and spin it into something new. But it's also a huge waste of time. Your readers can tell when content has been rewritten from somewhere else, and in many cases, it will make them less likely to read your blog or come back to it because they don't trust the authenticity of the content. 

That doesn't mean you shouldn't do a competitor analysis or check out what they're doing. But you should use it as a source of inspiration rather than a copy-paste job. Ask yourself: "What can I do differently?" or "Do I have something new to add?". Focus on providing value, not just filling up space with words.

Rewriting your competitor's blog posts without adding value will only harm your blog's credibility, SEO, and audience engagement. Moreover, search engines may penalize your website for having duplicated content. Plagiarism will damage your reputation and, in the worst case, result in legal consequences.

You're the one with the knowledge and experience about your product and industry. Put that expertise to good use and create original content that adds value to your readers.

2. Referral Programs

According to Qualtrics XM institute study, if a company provides  "very good" service, 94% of customers will recommend it. This means an army of satisfied customers can do a lot of legwork for you.

This is exactly why referral programs are one of the most popular inbound marketing strategies in the SaaS industry. They rely on the simple concept that one loyal customer can bring in a few more, helping you scale and expand your user base without investing more money in advertising.

The best part is that customer referral programs don't cost much - if anything to acquire. All you need to do is provide incentives for existing customers to refer your product or service. And yet, many SaaS companies find themselves failing at this strategy. Let's take a look at why that's the case.

Not Developing a Referral Program That Motivates Enough People to Share at Scale

This one is simple: Offering rewards can be an effective motivator, but it's not always enough to convince users to share their referral link or code with their network. Maybe they don’t understand how the referral works, they don't think it's worth their time, they don't know anyone who could benefit from using your product, or they simply don't feel like it.

The best way to motivate customers to refer your product is to make sure your incentive aligns with the needs and values of your target audience. Think about what drives your common user. Are they budget-friendly? Tech-savvy? Do they care more about free gifts than discounted prices? Make sure you offer rewards that make sense to them.

Additionally, your referral program won't work if your customers don't know it exists. You need to make sure it’s prominently displayed on your website and in all of your marketing channels (e.g., email campaigns and social media posts) so they can easily find and access it.

Providing Branded Merchandise Can Be Expensive and Not Always Lead to a Positive ROI

Offering branded swag as a referral incentive can be a risky move when it comes to SaaS. Unless your brand has already established a strong presence in the market, it can be difficult to generate enough interest in your business to motivate people to wear and promote your branded merchandise in exchange for referrals.

While this approach may be more effective in consumer marketing, it's not a strategy that's likely to generate returns in the B2B SaaS space and can quickly drain your marketing budget. Instead, go back to the chapter above and consider other types of rewards that are more relevant to your target audience, such as discounts on your software or exclusive access to new features.

Offering Certain Features for Free to a Referred User Can Be Costly and Challenging

It often happens that the great idea of giving referred users free access to certain features without any strings attached quickly turns into a nightmare. For smaller teams, this can be difficult to manage and expensive to maintain if too many users take advantage of the offer. It's also important to consider whether the reward is really worth it. Is it worth giving away your most valuable features in exchange for referrals?

Not to mention, it can be difficult to determine which features are necessary to make users refer to their friends. Conducting frequent testing or surveys may not always provide the desired results, and your product may still lack the necessary appeal to your customers. Adding feature locking later can be even harder, particularly if your established customers are used to the current features of your product.

One way to overcome this problem is offering a limited version of your product for free, with the option to upgrade to a premium version that includes additional features. This can help attract new users to your product without requiring a significant investment upfront.

3. Co-Marketing and Partnerships

Collaborating with other brands through co-marketing or partnerships may generate positive publicity and even attract investors. And for SaaS businesses, securing a funding round becomes easier when you have a track record of successful partnerships.

The downside is that such collaborations are time-consuming, require a lot of effort, and may not necessarily result in a significant return on investment. In fact, many companies end up experiencing poor results and disappointment from their partnerships.

The most common reasons why SaaS partnerships fail are:

Not Equal Benefits for Both Parties

Partnerships should be mutually beneficial for both sides. If one partner is getting most of the benefits and the other side is not getting much from the collaboration, it won't be successful or sustainable in the long run.

Continuously assess the partnership and make adjustments as necessary to ensure that both parties are receiving value from the collaboration. By doing so, the partnership has a greater chance of success and growth for both businesses involved.

Slow to Agree, Slow to Activate, Slow to See Results

Have you ever tried to establish a partnership with a potential collaborator only for them to take weeks or even months to respond? Or maybe you got stuck with a legal contract negotiation or a product issue?

Even after the partnership agreement is in place, activating it can still be a lengthy process, particularly if multiple stakeholders are involved. Plus, it may take some time to start seeing the results of the collaboration.

SaaS businesses should be focused on reducing the time required to set up and go live with a partnership. Having a streamlined process in place for onboarding partners can help maximize efficiency and accelerate growth.

Successful partnerships require integration into the day-to-day working practices of both businesses. Without this integration, partnerships will fail to thrive and fade away quietly. It is essential to approach partnership with care and attention to detail in order to ensure long-term success.

Partner Marketing Channels Are Not Always Dependable

When considering partner marketing channels, it's important to assess their reliability. Many partner marketing channels provide a good return on investment, but they may not be as dependable as other digital channels, such as paid search or display ads. 

For instance, partner marketing on social media can work well in the short term, but it might not generate consistent results over time. It's important to have a backup plan in place for when partner marketing channels fail to deliver results. 

Involve your in-house marketing team in the negotiation process, as they have the most knowledge about current acquisition strategies and channels that actually work. Don't forget to keep in mind that data laws may restrict the use of email lists, a partner's website promotion may not be sufficient, and social media channels may not have a large enough engaged audience to make a significant impact.

4. Influencer Marketing

The concept of influencer marketing involves enlisting the support of a famous or well-known public figure to promote your product on their own platforms.

When it comes to SaaS influencer marketing, this concept involves working with software experts and thought leaders. Instead of relying solely on your own branded channels, you strategically partner with niche influencers who have good authority, credibility, and engaged audiences in your space.

Influencers are selective about who they partner with, so you will have to create a pitch that persuades them to work with your brand. In the SaaS industry, if your target audience is highly specialized, your options for influencers may be limited.

The two most common reasons why this strategy backfires for your SaaS are:

ROI Is Dependent on Having a Suitable Offer That Converts

For example, if you are targeting a very small niche in the software industry, it is important to ensure that your offer resonates with them. This requires finding a reputable individual with a suitable reach to your target audience and establishing a collaboration that includes a solid conversion offer.

Attracting appropriate influencers at a good cost can be challenging, depending on the commercial model of your SaaS business. Additionally, conversion rates can be unpredictable, which can increase the risk of the investment if you cannot guarantee successful conversions resulting from the partnership.

Not All Influencer Relationships Are Perceived Positively

The second reason your SaaS influencer marketing strategies may fail is that not all collaborations are perceived positively by the public. Many followers don't like sponsored content, and they can easily detect when an influencer's message doesn't align with their brand or general interests.

This kind of endorsement can have a negative effect on your SaaS brand's reputation, so it is important to carefully assess the influencer's fit with your company and target audience before engaging in any partnership.

Additionally, make sure that you are transparent about sponsored content and use quality control measures to ensure that the influencer adheres to industry-wide standards.

Even if your partnership with the influencer was short-lived, it can be challenging to dissociate your brand from them. Therefore, conduct extensive research and analysis before finalizing an influencer collaboration to ensure the best possible outcome for your brand.

5. Email Marketing

A report by Salescycle indicates that 59% of individuals are influenced in their purchasing decisions by marketing emails. Additionally, at least once a month, 50% of people make a purchase from marketing emails.

Even though SaaS email marketing (especially enterprise SaaS) can be more complex than email marketing for other businesses, you can still use it to your benefit.

Even though it involves developing strategies for marketing, lifecycle, and transactional emails, which are based on customer data and segmentation, there are still many opportunities for you to engage with your customers.

However, SaaS companies still make mistakes with email marketing. The most common ones include:

Neglecting Personalization and Segmentation

According to an Experian Marketing study, personalized emails get 29% higher open rates and 41% increased click-through rates compared to non-personalized ones.

Your potential customers want to feel that you understand their unique needs and challenges, so using their name, referring to their industry or pain points, and including relevant content in your emails or website copy will make a big difference.

Failing to prioritize personalization and segmentation in your emails can have negative consequences on your click-through rates and overall success. Not making an effort to tailor your messaging to individual customers and putting all of your customers in the same basket, you risk losing their interest and ultimately hindering the effectiveness of your marketing efforts.

The good news is that most SaaS marketing platforms offer features that help you personalize your content quickly and efficiently. All you have to do is take some time to research and discover how you can make your SaaS marketing more tailored to each potential customer.

Sending Irrelevant or Generic Content

Getting generic or irrelevant emails annoys all of us, and it will definitely annoy your potential customers. People are more likely to sign up and stay if they're getting content that is relevant and valuable to their needs.

On the other side, your subscribers may become disengaged, unsubscribe from your list, or mark your emails as spam if they are not getting the content they signed up for, which will harm your reputation and make it more difficult to reach your goals in the future.

Before you start sending emails, have a clear idea of what you want to achieve. Do you want to increase awareness, generate leads, drive sales, or get feedback? Depending on your goals, craft different messages, segments, and calls to action.

Not Testing Before You Send

Broken links, formatting errors, or typos will make you look unprofessional and will make it even harder to convert potential prospects into customers. Before sending your emails, make sure all links work, images display properly, and the content is clear and accurate.

It's also important to test various types of emails with different targeting strategies before you send them out. A/B testing allows you to discover which type of email works best for you - what subject line resonates with your audience, what CTAs convert more clicks, etc.

Testing before you send also helps ensure emails are optimized for all devices. With more people opening emails on mobile devices, it's important to make sure your email looks great no matter what device they're using.

Conclusion

To make your inbound marketing work, you need to do more than just pick tactics and push them out. It may be tempting to reach for every low-hanging fruit, but if you don’t have a clear picture of what you’re trying to achieve and a plan for how to get there, you will find yourself listed in some of the above mistakes.

Take the time to really understand your product and target market, create interesting content that resonates with them, and reach out in a meaningful way. Every once in a while, take a step back and evaluate what is really working and what is not, and analyze why. That’s when you will start seeing real results.