In the SaaS world, marketing is critical to growth and success. However, many marketers in SaaS organizations continue to make common mistakes that can lead to ineffective marketing tactics and wasted budgets. Long gone are the days where sizeable marketing budgets can easily cover up marketing mistakes.

Those spammy email nurture campaigns – yeah, they don’t actually work. More to the point, as the workforce continues to evolve and contract, rookie marketers can no longer afford to continue throwing money into ineffective marketing funnels.

According to Zipdo, The average SaaS company spends 75% of its revenue on sales and marketing for the first three years. In this blog post, we’ll discuss the most common mistakes that SaaS marketers make, and how you can avoid them to create marketing funnels that convert.

Top 3 mistakes in SaaS marketing:

• Chasing vanity metrics. Vanity metrics are metrics that look good on paper but don’t actually measure the success of your marketing campaigns (it’s a broad challenge for Marketing across industries as well). For example, leads generated is a vanity metric because it doesn’t take into account the quality of leads. A lead is only valuable if it’s a qualified lead that’s likely to convert into a customer. Sure, you could garner thousands of leads, but if they aren’t interested in your products or services, you’re setting up your sales team for disaster.
• Choosing the right marketing channel. Not all marketing channels are created equal. Some channels are more effective for certain types of businesses than others. For example, if you’re selling a B2B SaaS product, you’re probably not going to get a lot of traction on Instagram or Pinterest. So even if you have a ton of followers, those followers don’t necessarily translate into customers or sales.
• Not understanding terminology. There are a lot of technical terms that are used in marketing and marketing SaaS is no different. If you don’t understand these terms, you’re going to have a hard time tracking your results and making informed decisions about your marketing campaigns. A study by Demand Gen Report found that 40% of SaaS marketers don’t understand the difference between lead generation and lead nurturing. This lack of understanding can lead to ineffective marketing campaigns. Don’t get caught up in the jargon and make sure you understand exactly what your strategy entails.

By correcting these mistakes, you can refocus your marketing to achieve your goals. Let’s talk about what you can do to improve your current marketing initiatives.

Focus your marketing efforts in these areas to achieve your goals:

• Focus on the customer journey. We talk about the customer journey a lot, and there’s a reason for that. It’s the process that a potential customer goes through from the moment they first become aware of your product or service to the moment they make a purchase. When you understand the customer journey, you can tailor your marketing efforts to each stage of the journey. This is where you start planning your marketing strategy.
• Use data-driven insights. In order to know if your strategy is resonating with your customers, you need to measure your results. Data-driven insights and analytics are your friend. Track your results so you can see what’s working and what’s not. This will help you make informed decisions about your campaigns. And, as an added bonus it’ll also help you celebrate your wins with your team.
• Test and iterate. Put your problem-solving cap on and don’t be afraid to experiment with different marketing channels and strategies. The best way to find what works for your business is to test different things and see what gives you the best results.

Look, we get it. Marketing is hard and SaaS Marketing has its own unique set of challenges, but it’s essential for businesses to thrive. In this blog series, we’re going to tackle the common challenges and best practices, giving you the tactical tools and insights to be the best marketer you can be. Stay tuned for the next post in this 5-part series and bolster your marketing strategy while being kind to your budget – get ready to learn how to create a winning SaaS marketing strategy.