With the offer of ever-evolving improvements for business management, software has become a crucial performance tool for almost every company. As a 2013 McKinsey report states, “Greater automation, integration, and standardization can lower cost and boost performance significantly, while social enterprise tools can facilitate collaboration and provide greater agility.”
Software as a Service (SaaS) is revolutionizing the industry, causing a shift from physical infrastructure and installed software to cloud-based software delivery.
But given the deluge of software platforms available for virtually every function, you may ask, “Is there a way to distinguish my software company online?”
Yes! The Internet can be a big, scary place — but just as shining a flashlight under the bed ameliorated our fear of monsters for the night, I want to shed light on some digital marketing practices that will allow you to attract more leads and increase company visibility with confidence.
An option that many small to mid-size software companies have adopted is software bundling. Bundled software is a goup of programs that are sold together, and can include operating systems, utilities, and accessories for both computers and mobile devices. By pairing their software with larger, established companies that already have a strong following, businesses can penetrate the crowded market with the credibility they enjoy through this connection. But while this approach may save time and money in terms of marketing, it will cost you in revenue share.
Time and money are both in short supply for software startups (trust me we get it). If you don't want to compromise your revenue but don't have the budget to hire a full-time marketing manager, why not try inbound marketing for your software company?
Here are 3 easy, inexpensive ways to make a real impact on website traffic and lead conversion.
1. Work on Your SEO
Despite the recent buzz, SEO is still vital to increasing website visibility! Create content on your website that focuses on keywords that potential customers will type into a Google search bar. Include a mix of short and long-tail phrases that relate to your online content. Make sure to keep track of which keywords are ranking well and appearing on the first page of Google; not only will you learn more about what people are searching for, but you can also continue to focus on these successful keywords. We recommend HubSpot for this, which has a handy Keywords Reports dashboard that shows you exactly how each keyword is ranking, both individually and in comparison to competitors.
2. Blog!
While you may think your software is totally self-explanatory, there are plenty of tech-challenged people out there, like my dad. (Who am I kidding? *like myself!) By creating a company blog, you can teach people like me more about your service and the industry in general. Don't use the blog as a sales tool! It should be purely informative, which will establish your company as a trustworthy source of information. As potential customers move down the sales funnel, they are more likely to choose a service provided by a company that they know and trust. Because blogging can dramatically increase your online presence through backlinks and SEO, a good blog will increase brand recognition.
3. Write Newsletters
While blogs are great for reaching people who are using the Internet to answer a specific question, email newsletters or press releases are an effective means of maintaining connections with leads and clients over time. Keep your contacts informed about software updates, new service offers, or recommended downloads according to recent activity through email nurturing.
With these three practices, you can increase company visibility and website traffic. But while results are awesome, information on the genesis of these improvements is even better. BrightGauge, a SaaS business-intelligence platform software company, was practicing these inbound methods with a variety of marketing tools, and the lack of an integrated platform meant that they couldn't gather information on leads. Discovering the HubSpot COS, they now have all-in-one marketing platform that has allowed them to acquire and retain more customers. When a website visitor (who has likely found them through their SEO, blog, or email newsletters!) fills out a Demo Request landing page, for example, the sales team recieves a notification prompting them to reach out while that person is still thinking about BrightGauge.
HubSpot has helped BrightGauge to achieve an 87% increase in customers YOY and a 55% decrease in customer attrition. And with inbound marketing, BrightGauge has seen a 152% increase in revenue YOY — a number that would be significantly diminished if they had chosen to bundle their software with a larger company.
Are you not sure where to start with all of this? Download our free Ebook and check out how you can target the right market!
