bringing your saas apps to market
TRANSCRIPT
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Josh MartinProduct Marketing ManagerLogi [email protected]
“I cannot name a single song by Taylor Swift.”
ABOUT ME
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• “What an Amazing Presentation”• “It hasn’t even started yet and my app is already 40%
better”• “A conference session for the ages”
Some Social Suggestions…
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The impact of SaaS
Finding & Winning Users
Why Poor Planning Leads to Failure
Conclusions
What You Are Going to Learn Today
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YOUR CHALLENGESaaS has changed expectations— making it harder to win, retain, and monetize customers
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SaaS Impact on Software Companies
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Abundant Free Trials Short/No Contracts Low PricesFree Upgrades
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The 5 Essentials for Success
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1. Spend ad dollars in the right channels
2. Optimize landing pages for rapid conversion
3. Clearly define tiers of service (and value)
4. Develop a funnel strategy for trials
5. Mix and match business models
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Attention spans are shortening….
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Leanplum; Hubspot Blog 2014; MarketingLand Blog 2015
15Seconds
Before Abandoning
30 Seconds
Before Abandoning
.1%Engagement
Rate on
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Finding & Monetizing Users in a SaaS World
“The harder I work, the luckier I become.”
- Samuel Goldwyn
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Spending Priority
Step 1: Advertise in the Right Channel
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You need a media strategy that mixes paid advertising with free brand-building channels
Finding the right leads Finding engaged users Finding the right personas
Brand building
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Step 2: Get the Download
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Optimize Landing Pages Match Copy to Your Ad Offer Social Proof
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Step 3: Price & Package Clearly
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• Avoid multiple pricing options– Bundle features/services/benefits into tiers– Simplify choices for mass audience– Limit number of tiers– One or two major reasons for upsell
• Entry tier must be more than viable– Basic/trial: entice user to purchase– Freemium: drive usage for vast majority
• Requires that you really understand distinct needs of customer segments
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Step 4: Offer an Easily Accessible Trial
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Unlimited
Trial Type Trial Payment Trial Access
Limited Yes, Sales Contact
No,Simple
Download
Users get feel for the service
User pain fuels upsell opportunity
Move to auto bill post trial
Increase potential downloaders
Develop a relationship
More non-serious downloaders
Trial is too overwhelming
Users deem service not good enough
Limit potential downloaders
No way to transition to paid service
Severely inhibit number of downloaders
Less serious downloaders
Credit Card
No Credit Card
Unlimited No Credit Card
No, Simple Download
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Step 5: Mix & Match Business Models
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Subscription Business Model
Pros: Recurring revenue streamCons: Churn risk, Continuous marketing
Upgraded TiersPros• Unlimited upside• Product extensions
Cons• Requires ongoing
development• Must master marketing
TransactionsPros• Guaranteed revenue• Low churn risk
Cons• One-time revenue• Need to offer ongoing
support
ServicesPros• Unlimited upside• Expanded target market
Cons• Invest in resources• Not enough users could
result in loss
AdvertisingPros• Unlimited upside• Allows for freemium tier
of service
Cons• Risk alienating users• Complicated to set up
and run
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Great Examples to Emulate
“Give a man a fire and he's warm for the day. But set fire to him and he's warm for the rest of his life.”- Terry Pratchett
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Trials to Emulate: Mozenda – Web Scraping
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Free Trial featured on home page
Usage-Based TrialFull Access
No CC Required
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Trial/Pricing to Emulate: Wishpond – Landing Pages
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Free Trial featured on home page
Clearly defined tiersTime-based trialExplicit Pricing
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Pricing to Emulate: Google Drive - Storage
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Robust Free TierClearly defined tiers
Explicit Pricing
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Business Models to Emulate: LinkedIn
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Subscription Business Model
Upgraded Tiers Transactions Services Advertising
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A Cautionary Tale“Always remember that the crowd that applauds your coronation is the same crowd that will applaud your beheading. People like a show.”
- Terry Pratchett
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Warning: Your Conversion Rate will Stink
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“We have about 80 million users globally, and that’s a combined number for free and paid. Our conversion rate increases linearly with cohort age, so the longer you use Evernote, the more likely you are to convert to premium”
- Evernote CEO Phil Libin
• Slack is reported to have a 30% conversion rate• Dropbox has a 4% conversion rate• Google Drive is .5%
Source: process.st
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1. Product Extensions Failed– Clearly, Skitch, Food
2. Partnerships failed to deliver– Lifestyle product store closed in February (Notebooks, bags, etc.)
3. Didn’t stay ahead of the competition– Microsoft OneNote, Google Keep, Apple Notes
4. Failed to better differentiate its service tiers– Poor conversion rates from free to paid– Failed to understand what would drive usage– No other business model to monetize free users
5. New Pricing Hurt Highest Value Customers Most
What Else Happened to Evernote?
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Key Takeaways
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Create a checklist to review your current customer acquisition strategies
Focus on consumer-style trial, adoption, pricing packages, and behavioral analysis
Consider what features might allow for the creation of new service tiers
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