What is Video Email Marketing?
When you incorporate video into email marketing, you have two mediums that exist in beautiful harmony to help you achieve marketing and sales goals and improve the user experience. Emails help video gain exposure, and video improves click-through rates on your emails and increases audience engagement.
4 Advantages of Using Video in Email Marketing
As you market a product, you want to show the target audience the benefits of your products and services. Before you begin transforming your email marketing, you want to understand the benefits of incorporating video.
- Improved Click-Through Rate. Regardless of the email type--newsletter, follow-up with prospects, automated alert--an email that mentions a video gets 3-4 times more click-throughs than ones that don't.
- Increased engagement. Getting people to your site is nice. Getting them to stay and engage in your content is better. Those who click through to a video spend substantially more time on your site than regular web traffic.
- Finding the right message. Tracking which videos your audience watches and which part they watch will help you deliver better content. If for example, the data shows your target audience prefers how-to videos instead of videos showing the benefits of your products and services, you know what types of videos to do to increase engagement.
- Better insight. The more data you collect, the more effective marketer you will become. Video allows you to collect better data. For example, if the only information you receive is who clicks through, then everyone who clicks through is equal. If, however, the data you receive identifies who clicks through, who clicks through and watches a video, and who clicks through and watches a video multiple times, then you have insight into who in your audience should be given the most attention.
Building an Audience through Email and Video
Before beginning or altering any marketing campaign or method, it is important to have specific, measurable goals, so you know whether the campaign wins or loses. Regardless of specific goals, all marketing campaigns carry the mandate to grow and build engagement with the target audience.
Here are five simple steps using video and email that will grow your audience.
- Compose an email that includes an attractive link to a video on your website
- Send the email to your email subscriber list
- Your audience shares the video or forwards the email
- New viewers discover your engaging content
- Your audience grows
These steps are, of course, contingent on a couple of very important factors. The most important consists of creating engaging, valuable content. If the content is not relevant and engaging to your target audience, then it will not matter how many people you send it to. The second important factor consists of having at least a small engaged email list to send it to, a list that has been created by offering valuable, engaging content to your target audience.
Identifying the Goal of Your Email
What exactly are you trying to do with the email? The most common purpose is to get people to visit your site, consume content, and share content with their sphere of influencers.
If your goal is expanding your audience and encouraging conversions, certain email and video tactics work better than others.
- Tell recipients there's a video. You can mention the video in the email subject line, in the text of the email, or with a video thumbnail that includes a play button. The easier it is for the recipient to see there's a video, the more likely they will engage and click through.
- Choose an enticing thumbnail from the video to show in the email. Friendly faces entice clicks.
- Link the thumbnail to a page on your website. You should have a play button on your thumbnail. The play button will get viewers to click. Clicking on the thumbnail should not play the video. Instead, it should link to a page on your website that contains the video. Unlike a video playing within an email (which can encounter all sorts of technical issues), a video playing on a company website is surrounded by complementary elements that strengthen the company's brand.
- Keep the number of calls-to-action limited. You have a high-quality, engaging video. Your goal is to get people to click on it and watch. Stay focused.
HARNESS is a team of digital marketing innovators with a unique focus on inbound marketing combined with video marketing. Whether as a complement to your content marketing team or as your entire marketing department, HARNESS consistently generates leads and drives sales through engaging marketing content.
Video Marketing: Top Reasons Why It's Highly Effective
It is projected that global Internet traffic from videos will make up a whopping 80% of all Internet traffic by 2019. Additionally, 78% of people watch videos online every week while 55% do daily (Source: Hubspot). These numbers illustrate the growing trend of video marketing and the importance of leveraging video in your business strategy.
You see, if you do not currently have a video marketing strategy in motion for your website and social media, you are missing a grand opportunity to reach and engage with your audience. Videos are incredibly effective in capturing attention, maintaining engagement, building relationships and getting viewers to take action. These are key metrics to any effective digital marketing plan.
In fact, here are the top six reasons why video marketing is so effective and the significance of honing this strategy in your inbound marketing.
#1 Consumers Vote Video over Text
Did you know that four times as many consumers prefer to watch a video about a product versus reading about it? Videos allow prospects to see your product in action, getting a full grasp on how it works, the features and its benefits. They can digest the information easier and faster when it is demonstrated through video.
Your customers are better positioned to make an informed decision quickly by watching your video than reading a blog article or social media post. Therefore, give the people what they want by implementing more product, how-tos and demonstration videos in your content marketing strategy.
#2 Moves Viewers to Action Quickly!
After watching a video, 64% of users are more likely to buy a product online. When optimized for conversions, videos are incredibly compelling in moving viewers to follow directions and take action quickly. You can bolster your lead generation and sales tremendously by giving a clear call-to-action in your videos that direct your audience to the proper link.
#3 Increases Brand Awareness
Video marketing is also effective in creating more awareness about your brand. From telling your story, sharing customer testimonials, to answering common questions relevant to your industry, your video strategy is the ideal tactic to increasing exposure and expanding your reach online.
With YouTube being the second largest search engine, building your channel with valuable video content is huge towards growing your presence, boosting visibility and getting in front of your target audience.
#4 Live-Streaming Videos Generate Tons of Engagement
People are spending three times longer watching live video on social media versus those that have been prerecorded. Live-streaming apps like Facebook Live, Instagram Stories and Periscope are generating crazy engagement on social media and brands and are taking full advantage.
The beauty of live-streaming is that it allows your followers to join you in real-time. You will quickly build the know, like and trust factor with your audience with these “at the moment” experiences. Whether you are hosting a live Q&A session, taking your followers behind-the-scenes to an event, or reporting breaking news, live-streaming is an excellent way to keep your social audience in the know and connected to your brand.
#5 Highlights Your Brand’s Personality and Culture
Videos have an amazing way of drawing your audience into your brand’s culture, giving them a taste of your personality and passion for what you do. It further humanizes your brand, making you relatable and reachable. People are craving authenticity and transparency, and your video strategy allows you to do both which significantly builds trust with your viewers.
#6 Positions You as an Expert
At the heart of inbound marketing likes sharing valuable content that solves problems, educates and inspires your intended audience. As a result, you will bolster your thought-leadership and position your brand as an authority in your industry. Your video marketing strategy serves as the perfect platform for showcasing your expertise, giving solid advice and tips, and addressing common issues that concern your audience. It is the best way to building credibility fast in your niche.
Video marketing is highly effective in boosting brand awareness, generating leads, increasing sales and connecting with your audience. With more consumers leveraging video, it is crucial to begin implementing a video marketing strategy to get in front of your audience. Doing so will yield positive returns for your business.
Much success.
Ready to use video to drive sales? Reach out to us here and discover how we can help you create a solid plan that gets your videos in front of your audience.
15 Things You Should Know About Marketing Automation
A new year is just around the corner. Many see that as the perfect time to transform their personal lives. Why not make it the perfect time to implement marketing automation as your advertising strategy? If you are not already using marketing automation, here are 15 things your boss wish you knew about it and why it should be your strategy of choice for better performance throughout 2017.
1. Productivity Increases with Marketing Automation:
Take advantage of software that automates the processes of an effective marketing campaign. Make better use of your time with automated solutions for customer segmentation, integrating customer data into a campaign strategy and managing a campaign. For example, create and schedule an entire month's worth of social media posts in a single day.
2. Workflow Efficiency:
Automate the following repetitive tasks: data processing of information collected on forms, managing calls to action (CTAs), generating conversion reports, etc. Complex tasks are smoothly delivered with accuracy through automation.
3. Channel Agnosticism:
A single platform can tie together all cyber venues for a campaign, as well as integrate multiple online tools. This increases your brand's visibility and also allows for customer interaction by the method they prefer. For example:
- SEO
- Social Media
- CRM Tools
- Texting
4. Revenue Growth:
The numbers do not lie.
- 78% of high-performing marketers credit marketing automation for revenue improvement.
- 68% of companies whose growth is surpassing their competitors use automated marketing strategies.
- 34% is the average revenue increase for businesses using marketing automation.
- 10% revenue increases have been reported within 6-9 months of beginning a marketing automation strategy.
5. Customer Retention:
Once a company makes the sale they need to keep a client coming back. Customer insight abilities of marketing automation imbue it with the capacity to gather intelligence on customers, discover their needs and analyze their decision-making process. This information can, in turn, be used to develop methods of engagement that are more appealing to the customer, increasing the likelihood of customer retention.
6. Data, Data, Data:
If you cannot track and monitor a campaign, you cannot measure its success. Campaign managers have access to graphs, statistics and report an analysis of data that are easy to review and utilize. At a glance, you can know which strategies are working and which have bombed. Making the most of the data maximizes leads and conversion rates.
7. Relationship Marketing:
Customer satisfaction is just as important as generating sales leads. A satisfied customer will become a brand loyalist that can also do the work of a brand ambassador. Marketing automation makes it possible to personalize strategies for particular customer relationships through digital footprint analysis, lead qualification, and marketing alignment. By defining specific restrictions, a laser-focused list of customers can be generated to receive a text or email designed especially for them.
8. Consistency:
Mainly where social media and blogs are concerned, consistency matters. Users and viewers become accustomed to the content being posted on particular days, perhaps even specific times during those days. Life happens. Any number of reasons could disrupt a regular post that customers have come to rely on. Marketing automation will deliver the content consistently.
9. Value:
Maximize revenue potential through the value of automated marketing. Time is money. Manpower is money. An automated process saves both as it makes the most of your resources. Industry research reports a potential of 50% more hot leads at a third of the cost.
10. Simplicity:
You do not have to be a technology wizard to manage an automated marketing strategy. Most software solutions are designed like a template that guides the user through the process.
11. Lead Generation:
80% of businesses engaging in marketing automation enjoyed more leads. Qualified leads increased by an incredible 451%.
12. Lead Nurturing:
Marketers report that creating better leads is the number one benefit of marketing automation. On average, nurturing leads resulted in a 47% larger purchase.
13. Detailed Customer Profiles:
It is easy to create customer profiles filled with the perfect kind of data to help marketers create more effective ad campaigns. Data such as:
- Opened email.
- Email responses.
- Purchases.
- Selected preferences.
14. Conversion:
77% of businesses who employed a marketing automation campaign increased their conversions.
15. Accuracy:
A campaign is only as good as its data. By automating, you can take out the one element that contributes to error, the human element. Whether it is spelling, punctuation, or number crunching, humans get it wrong quite often. One digit or a single letter can mean a complete fail with something like email delivery. Automate and get it right.
To get started on your automated marketing campaign strategy, please contact us. Our experts are ready to help you harness the potential of data automation and put it to work so that your business can grow.
Where Will Marketing Be One Year From Now?
Marketing in 2016 was a lot different from marketing in 2015. Every year it takes a considerable jump forward as new trends emerge. This also means that businesses have to update their strategies to accommodate the changes. With that being said, here's what you can count on in 2017.
Marketing Trends in 2017: More activity on Facebook and Google
A very bold prediction, we know. But the reason why there will be more activity on Facebook and Google might surprise you.
Other platforms aren't performing as well as the two giants. Businesses are therefore directing their attention to the two sites that bring the best results. According to this Mashable article, this trend will continue for the foreseeable future:
"According to the IAB, the digital advertising industry continues to grow nicely. But if you peel back the onion, you'll see that it’s actually Facebook and Google that is commanding the lion's share of the growth. In fact, outside of those two platforms, the rest of the industry is shrinking in Q2. This duopoly is scary, and potentially unhealthy. But I think it will continue next year and don't see how or when this trend will change."
If this is the case, then the rest of the industry will continue shrinking. This is one of the most exciting developments concerning online marketing because of the implications it has.
Marketing Trends in 2017: Brands using AR and VR
There have been surprisingly few Pokemon Go copycats, but that's just because brands are still thinking their strategies through. Make no mistake about it, AR, as well as VR, will be major hits in 2017.
The question is how businesses will integrate them into their marketing campaigns. This Forbes article states that we'll likely see the results soon:
"One of 2016’s biggest highlights was watching a screen-afflicted population carry their mobile devices out into the world to catch, yes, Pokemon. The biggest takeaway from this phenomenon was augmented reality’s ability to drive real business results. This has become a seriously viable option for marketers looking to bring the online into the real world."
AR opportunities will be similar to Pokemon Go. VR is a bit less certain since brands are still waiting to unleash their campaigns. Expect to see a few websites that support VR goggles.
Marketing Trends in 2017: Better content
About a year or two ago, we saw a significant shift from quantity to quality regarding content marketing campaigns. Businesses have learned that ten superficial blogs are not as useful as one well thought-out article.
You can expect more of the same in 2017. According to this Small Business Trends article, businesses will raise the bar even higher regarding content quality:
"Now, audiences are starting to take notice that there is a difference between valuable blog content and not so important writing. If your content isn’t informative and exciting to read, people aren’t going to stick around. 2017 is poised to be the year that brands invest in bringing their digital writing to the next level, which may mean hiring an “industry expert” to create higher caliber blogs."
This doesn't necessarily mean longer articles and videos because users are also demanding more digestible content. Instead, businesses will try to add as much value as possible while still sticking to short-form content. This, of course, is one of the greatest challenges of content creation, but it's the direction businesses are headed in.
This year will bring new changes to online marketing and its different practices. You can expect to see more activity on Facebook and Google, AR and VR integration, and better content from businesses. To talk more about marketing predictions, or anything else, contact us today.
How to Sell Video Marketing To a Skeptic
Although you may be hard-pressed to find someone unfamiliar with YouTube, that is no guarantee that the majority of people realize the value of video. If you want to know how to sell video marketing to a skeptic, you need to know the surprising statistics associated with the power of the strategy. Share the numbers, and you are sure to win over any skeptic.
The Numbers
An industry study released data this year that is incredibly compelling for the power of video marketing:
- 1200% - That is how many more times a video is shared compared to text and image only ads.
- 403% - Increase in inquiries for real estate listings with a video.
- 200-300% - Ratio of growth for click-through rates in email leads featuring video.
- 157% - Organic traffic increase to a site from search engine results when sites feature video.
- 100% - Rate of annual video consumption rising for YouTube.
- 92% - How many consumers share mobile videos.
- 80% - Conversion rate increase when featuring a video on your site's landing page.
Who's On Board With Video?
Once you have gotten the skeptic's attention with those phenomenal numbers, you may still have another hurdle to clear. They may not yet be convinced that their particular industry can benefit with video marketing. That is when you reveal that everyone is using video.
- 96% - That is how many B2B organizations use video marketing campaigns.
- 86% - That is how many institutes of higher learning have a YouTube presence.
- 80% - Expected amount of all consumer traffic to be video traffic by 2019.
Particular to B2B video advertising:
- 50% - How many executives prefer reviewing product or service information through video ads.
- 65% - Of executives who view video ads, this is how many follow through with a visit to the website marketed through the video.
- 39% - The number of executives that call a vendor after viewing their video ad.
The Effects Of Videos
The final word should always be about the audience. If nothing else gets a skeptic's attention, revealing just how many consumers care about video should. It is time to share the data of how video ads affect the consumer experience.
- 139% - The increase in brand association with consumers because of video ads.
- 92% - That is how many consumers are sharing videos through mobile devices.
- 90% - That is how many viewers use video in making a purchasing decision.
- 80% - That is how many consumers recall a particular video watched within the last month.
- 75% - Out of all video users, that is how many interacted with video ads.
Videos To Dollars
By now, you should have captured the skeptic's interest. It is time to seal the deal with a recap of how all of this video marketing data can translate into revenue.
- 144% - Increase in product purchases for e-commerce sites featuring video advertising.
- 77% - Consumers who become convinced to buy a product or service after watching a video ad.
- 75.5% - Number of marketers and small business owners who report a direct impact on the bottom line by video ad campaigns.
- 73% - That is how many companies report a positive ROI on video marketing campaigns.
- 64% - Number of video consumers who are likely to purchase a product after viewing an ad.
- 49% - Growth rate increase annually for businesses using video marketing strategies.
- 4.8% - Conversion rate for websites with video ads, which is nearly double the conversion rate for sites featuring no video (2.9%).
Videos That Sell
The skeptic should now be convinced and asking the question, "What are the elements of a great video ad?" The good news is that the same studies that reported these impressive numbers included that information as well:
- 97% - The degree by which consumers' purchase intent increases as a result of a video ad that is a pleasure to watch.
- 80% - Number of viewers who stay engaged in video ads less than one minute long.
- 80% - Number of viewers who click away should a video stall or take too long to load.
- 60% - Number of consumers who stop watching a video after 2 minutes.
Moreover, if the skeptic thinks that it is impossible to convey all the wonderful things about their brand in a one minute message, you have the skill to leap that hurdle as well. According to experts, a one minute video can contain the equivalent information of about 1.8 million words.
The final question from a marketing professional to a skeptic is, "When do you want to start production?" If you are ready to get started, please contact us to get equipped with the latest tools and innovative methods to maximize the marketing potential of your video campaign strategy.
Inbound Vs Outbound Marketing
You might not have heard the terms inbound and outbound marketing before, but you have most likely experienced both without realizing. Read the scenarios below about inbound vs. outbound marketing.
Outbound Marketing:
You’re in the middle of working at your desk and the telephone rings.
You: Hello, this is John.
Marketer: Hi John, this is Sam from [insert name of Company X here]. Company X manufactures widgets. We pride ourselves on our quality and superior service. We have managed to help other companies transition to our widgets, and in doing so, we were able to help one company raise their retention rate of clients by 50% in six months. I’d like to ask a few questions to see if I can provide you with our services.
You: Well, right now is not the time for me to talk. Let me think about it, and I’ll get back to you.
This is an example of cold calling, which is an outbound marketing tactic. You’ve probably experienced this before and felt caught off guard. This type of tactic doesn’t form a relationship with the prospect and is interruptive. It shows a marketer-centric mindset and usually is not very efficient and rather costly. Other types of outbound marketing are mass emails (spam) and interruptive ads.
While each of these tactics may have a place as part of a larger marketing campaign, they do not work on their own in a vacuum. Let’s take a look at an inbound marketing scenario.
Inbound Marketing:
The sales process has changed dramatically in the past few years. Instead of relying on salespeople to inform them about new products and services to solve their problems, buyers are doing research on their own and arriving at a buying decision often without ever speaking to a salesperson at all! For this reason, marketing companies are transitioning from outbound to inbound marketing. Because of this, buyers feel more connected to the brand or business because of the relationship building aspects of inbound marketing. Read this scenario and think of a time you might have experienced this:
Steve is the production manager for an outdoor product manufacturing company. He has a problem with a bottleneck on his production line that has slowed down operations and decreased efficiency. He hits the Internet to search for a solution.
While researching, he happens to come across a blog post outlining areas that most plants usually incur wasteful production and how to remedy such issues quickly. At the bottom of the post, he finds a call-to-action that asks for his email in return for an e-book entitled “10 Steps to Immediately Increase Production Efficiency.” Steve is happy to give his email in exchange for such valuable information. Thus he has moved to the next stage in the buyer’s journey, or into the sales funnel.
After receiving his ebook, Steve receives subsequent emails promoting content and videos that help Steve to solve further his problem as well as other related issues that production managers like him have encountered in the past. Through this process, the company promoting this content has accomplished a few things:
- They’ve established a relationship over time through a contact frequency that made sense to the stage of the buyer’s journey where Steve was at the time.
- They have established a high level of expertise in Steve’s mind. He trusts this company with helping him to solve his problems.
- The company has nurtured this lead (Steve) all the way through the Awareness and Consideration Stage of the sales funnel to where they can now position their product or service in a way that Steve would be very willing to listen - sure beats a cold call!
How is it different?
In this scenario, Steve didn’t get bombarded with spam emails that were irrelevant to his interests or feel caught off guard with cold calls. Steve decided on his own time whether he felt that the company’s services were for his business, and he made the decision to call.
With inbound marketing, the consumer can give permission to be contacted instead of the marketer acting as an interruptive sales person in the consumer’s day. Inbound marketing conveys a customer-centric mindset.
Inbound marketing uses tools such as blogging to create interest, social media to engage leads, email marketing as part of the sales funnel and providing value with free resources, such as a downloadable ebook. All of these tactics build relationships with consumers over time.
Inbound vs. Outbound. Which one would you choose?
4 Strong Ways to Boost Exposure for Your Software Business
We can all agree that the inbound marketing way is the strategy to promoting your Software business online. From social media to SEO, visuals, email, and PPC, these are the best channels to attracting qualified prospects and customers to your brand. However, with so many pieces to the digital marketing puzzle, trying to “do it all” can prove to be an overwhelming, daunting task. Especially as a startup or one that is rebranding with a new product, the challenge of knowing which techniques to focus on to create fast results can be frustrating.
We have compiled four simple, yet highly effective, inbound ways to generate more exposure to your software business
By focusing on these tactics, you will increase awareness, traffic to your website, leads, and better your thought-leadership.
#1 Bolster Your Blogging Strategy
Developing a well-thought-out blogging strategy not only positions you as an expert in your software niche, but it draws needed exposure to your brand. You see, 71% of business bloggers say their blog increased visibility in their industries. Also, companies who blog regularly have 434% more indexed pages than companies who do not (Source: Search Engine Land). They also generate more leads and sales.
Use your blog to educate your audience on the problems you solve as a SaaS business. Consider the common issues and questions your market has and address them via your blog. Additionally, publish blog content that highlights the features, benefits, and usability of your software.
The key to generating results from your blogging is consistency and ensuring that your topics resonate with your target audience. Use an editorial calendar tool to help you plan, organize, and schedule your content. The calendar will help you maintain a regular blogging cadence to boost brand awareness.
#2 Tell Your List
According to Forbes, email subscribers are three times more likely to share your content via social media than visitors from other sources. Your email list is your biggest fan, and they are waiting to hear from you to engage with your brand. Even if you have a small list or you are just starting out, keep your subscribers in the know when it comes to the development and promotion of your SaaS. Share your blog content and ask them to share it with their social networks.
One way to get your list involved is to extend a 2-week free trial offer of your software, so prospects get a real-life experience with your product. Send them a survey at the end of their trial to get feedback and reviews. This information can help you tweak and modify, so it aligns with your audience’s interest.
Also, continue to grow your list. Building your leads list is the safety boat of your business. With proper nurturing tactics, it is where the bulk of your sales will generate from. With 59% of B2B marketers saying that email is the most effective channel for generating revenue, it is important that you leverage assets like your landing pages, web forms, and blog posts to keep growing your sales funnel.
#3 Facebook Retargeting
Follow your website visitors everywhere with retargeting. Also called remarketing, this paid strategy allows you to place a tracking code on your site which will set a tracking snippet (or cookie) on the browser of those who visit your site. This tactic will position your ad content to “follow” recent visitors everywhere they go online. Retargeting is extremely useful in keeping your software brand “top of mind” long after people leave your website.
The same concept applies to Facebook retargeting. You will create custom audiences and tailor marketing content unique to them for better engagement. It is highly cost-efficient for your brand and is one tactic that should constantly be running to maximize traffic to your site and produce fresh leads.
#4 Host Live Webinars
Webinars are solid platforms to share a wealth of knowledge in a presentation-style broadcast. You significantly improve your thought-leadership as you delve deeper into topics for more depth and understanding. In regards to marketing your product, webinars provide an opportunity to demonstrate, share the features and advantages, and allow participants to see your new software firsthand. Answer questions live to boost engagement and give the chance for viewers to purchase at the end with the benefits they will gain from acting now.
Finally, a webinar is a great method to growing your leads as each participant must register with the name and email info to join your broadcast. Simply promoting your upcoming webinar to your social channels and list can foster new leads every time.
Following the suggested inbound marketing tactics will increase brand awareness and exposure for your software business. Focus on getting good at implementing two of the tips, test your results, then ramp up from there. The key is to stay consistent in your efforts to measure what's working and resonating with your audience accurately.
Ready to leverage a professional team to help bolster your inbound marketing strategy for 2017? Use the form below to reach out to us. We are equipped to help you step up your marketing game!
Challenges and Opportunities Present in Software Business & SaaS Marketing
SaaS marketing is a much more challenging endeavor for a software business than for many other types of businesses for some reasons. First, and foremost, there is no tangible, physical product for a customer to look at, observe and 'test drive.' To get potential customers interested in a software product, a software business often has to give away a free trial of the product to reap potential future business through a process known as customer onboarding. Also, some other factors pose unique challenges to SaaS marketing for software businesses among them:
- Constantly changing software and product features
- Extremely short sales cycle (generally a year or less)
- Limited market for many types of software
- Concept of selling a service more than a product
SaaS Marketing and Customer Onboarding
For most businesses, giving away the full product, even for a limited duration, at no cost would be suicidal. However, for software businesses, giving away the product for free is one of the most widely used and accepted SaaS marketing strategies. There are many variations of these free product model strategies such as:
- Free 7-, 14-, 30-day trial periods
- Freemium model (money is charged for proprietary features, functionalities, and other goods.)
- Free Trial w/ a credit card
There are other strategies besides these three variations, but the one thing common to all of these strategies is the giving away a free software product version.
Once a potential customer has access to the product, the key role in SaaS marketing is to convert the customer using the product into a paying customer. On occasion, the conversion happens quickly if the customer sees real value in the product. However, many customers will delay making a decision until the end of the free trial period or just before the first charge on their attached credit card takes effect. Communication between the SaaS marketing personnel and the customer is critical during this time allowing the software business to determine what concern a customer has about the product, and what inducement could entice the customer to commit to purchasing it.
Extremely Short Sales Cycle
Whereas most businesses consider 12 to 24-month sales cycles to be typical or even accelerated, in the software business, many software products are obsolete even at the low-end of this range. SaaS marketing emphasizes rapid sales by finding customers who like the product and are willing to commit now. The fast, even transaction process of buying software is predicated on the inherent nature of the software industry. Software products evolve quickly over time, and it is not uncommon for six, eight or more versions of one software product to be released over the course of a year. A long and drawn-out sales process runs the risk of product obsolescence as demonstrated by the fact that the best, most efficient and comprehensive 2014 tax preparation software is useless in 2016. Therefore, SaaS marketing must focus on increased sales velocity to generate extra revenue and a larger customer base for a software business.
Limited Market for Certain Software Products
Smaller software businesses often focus on niche targets, either due to limited capital or to the nature of the software product itself. Marketing to this small market space allows a software business to specialize in one or two areas of expertise, recognize potential barriers to entry in this market and look for possible opportunities for future growth. SaaS marketing helps cultivate customer and business relationships allowing the software company to communicate with their clients and select a product roadmap that makes sense.
Concept of Selling a Service vs. a Product
The most critical concept to remember in a software business is that the vast majority of the business' revenue comes from its existing customer base. Under the tried-and-true 80%-20% rule, 80% of a business' future revenue will come from only 20% of its customer base. SaaS marketing plays a critical role in customer retention by emphasizing the concept as selling a service as well as a product. When creating a SaaS marketing plan, a software business should focus on the establishment of a fully integrated architecture combining a high-quality software product, with excellent service and savvy consumer marketing. When SaaS products of similar quality and price exist in a marketplace, promoting excellent customer service with even a personal touch or two helps a software business and its associated products stand out in a crowd. The primary goal is to a business is to have its SaaS speak for itself.
These methods will help software companies start or improve their marketing efforts to generate leads and build their branding. To gain further knowledge and expertise, contact us using the form below, and let us help you create a strong online presence.
Gym Marketing & Customer Retention: Keeping Members to Build Your Business
Gyms work to retain members, and fighting the "member churn" of people who come in and move out after a few weeks or months is a constant struggle. You work hard to develop a positive gym community and retain your members, but how do you grow your membership, and create a place where members are eager to evangelize on your behalf, to share that perfect spot to work out with their friends, co-workers, and family members? Is your gym membership retention where you want it?
Writing in the Harvard Business Review, Peter Bregman recounts a bad experience that he had with a gym membership from an expensive gym facility. He had a critical insight about his experience, and his gym treated him that applies to nearly any gym:
"My gym made a critical mistake — it treated me poorly. After that incident, my feelings about the gym changed dramatically." In a luxury business, it does not take much to make someone resent the fees he pays. Moreover, once that happens, the business dies.
It seems clear from Bregman that keeping a customer means building a positive relationship with him or her. While he does not name names in this article, you can bet that he told his friends and family about the outrageous way he felt that his gym treated him, thus poisoning any chance this gym had with attracting these people as new customers.
This is the essence of two suggestions given by Athletics Business in a recent article on gym membership retention. The key to retention is in two areas: 1. Being proactive in reaching out to members, and 2. Creating fun and focused spaces for social interaction.
Retaining Members Means: Reaching out to Members!
Keeping a gym member is easier than finding a new one. To make sure that you keep those members that you have, you must also ensure that you remain in contact with them. Be willing to reach out to members who have gone recently inactive. If you have not seen a member within 21 days, consider contacting them to find out what's been going on in their lives that kept them from working out recently. Knowing that an individual member matters on a personal level can help retain that customer.
Beyond this, be sure that you and your staff are always prepared to deal with problems customers have, and that you make yourselves available to your members. Particularly important in smaller gyms, showing that the owner and the staff use know the facilities and clearly care about their customers goes a long way to making gym members feel connected and relevant to the gym community.
For many people, a gym is a social meeting space, where friendships and relationships outside of work or family take place. Owners and gym employees should engage with whatever community they serve to encourage these social bonds. The simple action of front desk staff greeting members and, whenever possible, knowing them by name, can go a long way to making new members feel welcome, and to help integrate them into your gym's fitness society. Sharing pictures and videos of member's exercise successes -- a photo of that successfully completed early morning spin class, a video of that weightlifter setting a new PR, that picture of the Tuesday afternoon swim aerobics class members smiling and chatting with each other -- on an official Facebook page or Instagram allows your members to share their positive gym experiences with friends and family, and helps your community to grow outside the physical walls of your business.
Creating Active Social Communities Inside the Gym Matters!
Larger gyms may have dozens of themed classes that meet in a week, smaller gyms may have a few personal trainers that work with small groups, but whatever the setting and whatever the size, your gym can benefit from fun, interesting exercise groups for members to join. Not only will your members be building muscle, but they will also be building interpersonal relationships with other members and with the staff member in charge of the group. When exercise becomes a physically challenging social activity, it becomes natural for your customers to want to include their other friends in their early morning spin class or evening boot camp.
Even helping to organize informal groups not run by a personal trainer or other staff can help to foster this sense of community. People in a new gym in a new town will often be looking for a workout partner, someone they can meet with regularly to get encouragement and inspiration from, as well as someone to vent their workday frustrations to. Facilitating a workout partner search for new members, or going the extra step to introduce new members to other members with similar exercise interests can plug newcomers into your existing gym social structure, making them more likely to stay in the long run.
Successful gym marketing starts with establishing positive relationships with your members. The more they want to go to your gym, the more others will want to go with them. Let Harness help you create a supportive, reaffirming gym culture. Contact us today to find out more.