SaaS Marketing in Dubai - What you need to know

Dubai is one of the most technologically advanced cities in the world, and Software as a Service (Saas) businesses are beginning to make their mark throughout the buzzing metropolitan - and for good reason. Dubai is a growing business and tech hub and SaaS is becoming one of the most viable business offerings in the world, with Dubai in the center of this business boom. Because of the rise in SaaS services, marketers in the city have started honing in on the most effective tactics to use for SaaS marketing. 

Software as a Service or SaaS marketing is one of the most recent forms of marketing, which means it is the most questioned, with many asking what distinguishes SaaS from all other types of marketing tactics. 

In this article, we take a look at what SaaS is, what SaaS Marketing is, and how you can begin creating your SaaS marketing strategy. 

What is SaaS Marketing?

As stated previously, SaaS stands for Software as a Service, and this service allows users to connect and use cloud-based apps via the internet. To put it as simply as possible: you are able to hire an application for your business, which ensures your users are able to connect to the internet - and businesses provide this software as a service. 

SaaS Marketing focuses on selling and promoting subscription based products, and is a way for businesses to sell their products through cloud-based apps with added functions and consistent updates. Think about it like this, SaaS businesses offer their clients a “rented” service at a monthly fee, compared to businesses with physical products. and if your business in Dubai is offering Software as a Service, it becomes difficult to put together a marketing plan to achieve the highest conversion rates - so, where do you begin when it comes to SaaS marketing? 

What you need to know about SaaS Marketing

As SaaS businesses are not providing their clients with a physical product or service, marketing strategies can become difficult and end up falling flat. Below, we take a look at five important aspects of marketing for SaaS, and help you gain greater insight into the world of SaaS marketing.

1. Informative Content is Key

When looking to market and sell your SaaS product, you need to make sure you provide your potential clients with sufficient information regarding your offerings so that they have enough understanding to make an informed decision about what platform they want to use. 

There is a reason that marketers throw around the term, “content is king,” and when it comes to SaaS marketing this couldn't be more relevant. Through informative, quality and helpful content, you are able to draw your target audience into your buying journey, leading them to make a purchase decision. 

Your SaaS marketing relies heavily on information and content distribution because your buyers will not simply make a purchase without doing the relevant research - they will compare products and prices before they even attempt to make a decision regarding a SaaS platform. This is why you need to invest in high quality content creation that can be used across your digital platforms, from your website through to your social media pages, PR articles and beyond. 

This kind of content does not only help inform your target audience, it also forms part of a Search Engine Optimisation strategy. If you are creating helpful, engaging and informative blog posts through your website, the search engines will recognise your website as an industry authority which will help you rise above your competitors in the search engine results. 

Content is a win win in this situation as it helps your audience find you, and has the power to keep your audience on your website for longer - helping you acquire leads and make more sales.

2. Optimise your Website for Leads Generation and Conversions

Lead generation is the lifeblood of any business and you need to put tactics in place to gain leads and make conversions. Your website is a great place to begin and you should have a conversion option on every page of your website. This consists of strong Call to Action buttons that direct the visitor to take a certain action, and in some cases requires them to fill in a lead form. 

For example:

• Subscribe to our Newsletter
• Download our free ebook 
• Begin your free trial
• Follow us on Social Media

As stated above, blog posts are important when it comes to your marketing strategy and you need to use your blog posts to your advantage regarding lead generation. This means that you should always offer downloadable, helpful content on your blog page that is helpful for the viewer. I.e.: A white paper outlining the importance of SaaS and how it can help businesses grow. If a viewer wants to have access to this content they will have to fill in a form with their contact details, which you can add to your marketing database for lead nurturing campaigns. 

3. Nurture Leads

SaaS products are not a simple sell and the process of selling a SaaS product will inevitably take some time. This is not a once off product that can be seen as an impulse buy and most of your website visitors are still in the research phase of the buying process. 

As stated previously, you need to have tactics in place to capture lead information, from lead forms to ebooks and more. Once you have your lead information you need to nurture them in order to build trust and ultimately make a sale. In order to nurture your leads correctly, you need to understand the buying cycle and create content such as drip email campaigns or social media retargeting ads, to keep your business front of mind at all times.

Rather than spamming your leads with sales related emails this early in the buying cycle, consider sending through helpful content including:

• Video Guides
• Whitepapers
• User Guides

This requires an in-depth content strategy which thanks to technology, is made easier through a Customer Relationship Management platform. A CRM is able to store your lead information in a centralised place and through this platform you are able to segment your leads - reaching them at the right time within the buying cycle - with the right message. The lead nurturing stage is about informing and gaining the trust of your prospective customers, and is not about “sell sell sell.”

4. Keep it Social

Make sure to build a social media presence as you need to be visible on a variety of online channels - and you need to find your buyers where they are most active online. Through social media marketing you are able to build a community, distribute helpful information, generate leads and engage directly with your target market. This strategy allows you to build a loyal, trusted following, which in turn leads to loyal customers and more sales.

Not only will social media help you organically raise your business profile and increase your website visitors, but you are also able to target specific audiences through paid lead campaigns made available through social media apps. What makes this tactic so powerful is that social media platforms such as LinkedIn and Facebook allow you to target your ideal customer based on demographics, career, behaviours, likes, dislikes etc. 

5. Customer Relationship Management (CRM)

From Content Marketing, email marketing and Search Engine Optimisation to lead generation and social media marketing, the amount of marketing activity you should be implementing for your SaaS business is almost limitless. This may seem overwhelming however, Customer Relationship Management platforms (which we previously touched on) are able to make the entire marketing and sales process easier. 

A Customer Relationship Management (CRM) platform is a combination of strategies, processes and technologies that companies use to manage, analyse and measure their prospective and current customer interactions throughout the entire buying cycle - and beyond.  This kind of software is designed to improve marketing, nurture leads and current customers, and drive sales growth.

A CRM will benefit your SaaS Business in a variety of ways: 

• Data Collection: A strong CRM compiles and stores in-depth customer data from a variety of channels, or points of contact, between the lead/customer and a business. 
• Data Driven Sales Insights: As a CRM stores all the data your marketing and sales team will need, it streamlines all processes from a single place - making for greater sales and business growth. 
• Understanding the Buying Cycle: Having in depth customer information such as data regarding online interactions, helps sales reps understand buyer intent.
• Marketing and Sales Alignment: A CRM is also able to deliver and measure marketing campaigns, and provide greater insight into audience behaviour and trends through reporting features.
• Marketing Automation: A CRM provides sales and marketing automation software that ensures your leads receive communication from your business that is triggered based on specific actions. 

A CRM is one of the greatest tools on the SaaS marketing arsenal and helps businesses reach the highest quality leads, monitors the entire buyers journey, and intricately reports on marketing success and business growth. 

In Summary

When putting together a SaaS marketing strategy for your business, be sure to consider:

• Content Marketing
• Website Optimisation for Lead Generation
• Lead Nurturing Campaigns
• Social Media Marketing
• Customer Relationship Management 

A powerful CRM system is able to do all of the above from a centralised location and HubSpot CRM provides a variety of tools and tactics that empower your SaaS business by increasing the efficiency of your marketing and sales teams - helping you achieve business growth. 

Nexa is proud to be a Diamond-tiered HubSpot Partner and this places us in the top 2% of HubSpot Partners globally.

If you are interested in implementing HubSpot for your SaaS business, our HubSpot development team has experience integrating HubSpot's CRM with a number of platforms that can increase the efficiency and data access for your business.  

Contact Nexa today, or fill in the form below, and begin your successful SaaS marketing journey.