How do SaaS & tech companies get leads?

It doesn't matter how great your products or services are. They could be the best in the world, the most unique and innovative ideas anyone has ever come up with in the history of absolutely everything. 

Still, you can't afford to sit around and wait for customers to come and find you.

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The SaaS and tech spaces are too competitive for this passive approach. 

That's why it's time to talk about lead generation. 

We'll start with a brief overview, followed by a look at how SaaS and tech companies generate leads. And we'll round it up with a closer look at the best strategy for boosting your lead rate.

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The lead generation process

The typical lead generation journey looks something like this:

Attract:

At this point, your leads are still strangers. They might not have even heard of you before. But you're going to change that by grabbing their attention (and precious click) through one of your marketing channels, like a blog, email, or social media page. 

Convert:

Your stranger is now a visitor. Here's where you answer their search query and sell your benefits.

Close: 

This is where and when you collect your visitor's information. You don't have a visitor anymore. You have something much better; you have a lead. 

Make lead generation your priority RIGHT NOW. 

You're not the only marketing professional with lead generation on their mind.

A 2022 HubSpot survey found that most marketers have made increasing their lead generation a top priority in the next twelve months.

And 53% have decided to allocate half of all their spending to help make that happen. Only around 1 in 3 (34%) marketers will spend less than 50% of their budget on lead generation in 2023.

Did a shiver just run down your spine? Good.

Because you've just realised what you're really up against. 

Over half of your biggest competitors are dedicating the majority of their time, energy, resources, and talent to targeting the same customers you're targeting.

Yikes.

The challenge of generating leads.

Don't worry if you're struggling to boost your lead rate. You're not alone. Your competitors are having a hard time, too. 

Lead generation is more complex than it used to be, which explains why 61% of business leaders call it their number one challenge. It ranks above finding the right tech, securing budgets, hiring, and every other metric.

FOMO is another big issue for marketers. Research shows that up to 65% of marketing managers worry about other companies generating more leads. They also tend to overestimate the number of leads rivals generate.

In any case, every lead generation expert will tell you the quality of your leads is more important than the quantity of your leads. And the stats that really matters are your lead conversion rate, sales value, and lifetime value.

How are Tech and SaaS companies getting and converting their leads?

"Clients are always worried about getting more leads,"

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says AXD director Alan Davies.

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"And I tell them all the same thing. Lead generation is hard, but it's hard for everyone. And that's not a bad thing. It's actually an opportunity; the smallest advantage and marginal gains can make a huge difference in saturated markets. It's just about finding the right targeted approach."

Here's a breakdown of some of those targeted approaches.

Marketing automation: 

80% of companies now use marketing automation software. And they're reporting some outstanding results. In some cases, lead generation rates have increased by over 400%!

Follow up quickly: 

A 2019 study found that companies who follow up leads within the first five minutes boost their conversion rates by 900%. Impressive. And combining marketing automation and rapid follow ups can take your chance of success a step further.

Outbound: 

The outbound approach is still very much alive despite the fact that less than 1 in 5 marketers think outbound practices like cold-calling provide the highest-quality sales leads. There is no doubt a structured, systematic, or Account-based Marketing approach to cold-calling can work wonders, with any ambivalence to cold-calling wonderfully explained by Fun Boy Three and Bananarama, "it ain't what you do it's the way that you do it and that's what gets results".

Social media:

Social media is a time and cost-effective funnel for bringing in new leads. More than 6 out of 10 (66%) marketing professionals generate leads from spending only six hours weekly on social marketing campaigns.

What strategies generate the most leads for a SaaS company? 

Let's talk about strategy, i.e. your plan to implement a lead generation campaign.

And you do need a plan.

76% of B2B and B2C SaaS and tech companies use a formal marketing plan to shape and direct their marketing activities.

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Freestyling your marketing campaign is a guaranteed way to miss out on opportunities. Your competitors operating within a structured framework will outperform you. It's that simple. 

There are several approaches you can take to drive more leads, including:

• A pay-per-click ad campaign. 
• Email marketing. 
• Live events.
• Demos.
• Outbound campaigns.
• Partnerships.

Many of these are OK. You could even call a few of them 'good.' But you're looking for great. 

So why not do a bit of everything.

Content marketing for lead generation

Content marketing is creating and publishing valuable content that attracts website traffic and generates more leads. It's a cost-effective, sustainable approach that promotes long-term results which compound over time. For example, one click on a PPC ad is only ever one click. A blog or catchy tweet is out there forever and can keep getting shared and shared, turning customers into promoters of your brand. Content marketing should become the foundation for marketing automation, cold-calling, social media, and so much more.

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69% of those surveyed named content marketing their top lead generation strategy. And 80% of B2B marketers now use content marketing for lead generation.

Why is content marketing good for lead generation

Switching to a content marketing campaign could reduce your lead generation costs by 62%.

Websites utilising blogging to attract customers and leads generate 13X more traffic than those that don't. Now is the time to start that company blog you've been putting off.

Blogs with attention-grabbing and SEO-optimised titles can boost click rates by 500%. You did not read that wrong. A good blog title could increase your page views by 5X. And, SEO content can convert at around 7-8% rate, with the average conversion rate for pay-per-click (PPC) advertising around 2-3%.

Let AXD help

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We are a B2B copywriting and content marketing agency based in Manchester. Our technologists, business leaders, and copywriters have experience in various technology industries — from early-stage startups to scale-ups and Fortune 500 companies. Whether you're a startup or a global brand, our international experts will give your content the edge, enabling you to open conversations, build relationships, & drive customer loyalty.

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We create content that illustrates precisely what you do and why you do it better than anyone else. It's simple. More clicks, more leads, and more sales.

To find out more, book your free discovery call today.

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