Marketing a product can be difficult enough, but marketing a service where the features are constantly evolving can be even more of a challenge.
That is why in the world of SaaS marketing, your web design can sometimes speak louder than copy when it comes to locking down a sale. Your website is your business’ avatar. It represents the company and establishes your thought-leadership, while also marketing your services to your customers. Up to date website design can even increase your service firm’s conversions by 33%, according to Kissmetrics.
The primary purpose of your software-as-a-service (SaaS) website is lead generation. The design elements, link structure, and offerings play a very important part in converting leads into sales.
You’re offering software that you believe in and that customers are seeking. So the trick is to ensure that your website design gets your visitors to the demo or to sign up for a free trial so they can experience the great software you’ve created. In order to increase your leads, it’s important that your web design and call to actions are easy to understand. But those are just a couple items you should consider. We’ve outlined the integral tips to ensure that the majority of your website visits are converted into leads.
Having a simple, easy-to-navigate website that describes your software program without too much clutter or an over-flow of information is important. In this age of technology where we constantly face information overload, most customers don’t spend too much time on a busy home page. The user should understand where they should click next and not end up with dead ends or presented with too many options.
For the majority of your traffic, it may be the first time the user has ever seen the site so you want to make a great first impression and send a clear message to prospects about your brand and service. That is why it is key to balance a simple design with the right amount of information, as not to overwhelm prospective clients when they come to learn about your services.
Eventmobi, a mobile app developing company targeting event professionals, has an easy to follow site with 3 call to actions on their home page. These CTA’s clearly give your website visitors a next step to follow, whether it’s learn more, call us, or sign up for your free trial, it leads your visitors to convert. CTAs on a home page, or any site page for that matter, shouldn’t just ask for the sale since you don’t know where this buyer might be along their journey.
Kissmetrics swears by prominent call-to-actions (CTAs) on home pages since it increases conversion by 591%. A prominent call to action means that it’s easily noticeable and that is exactly what Eventmobi does by placing CTA’s in 3 prominent places on their home page.
Their project trial and featured service pages are up top and easy to find. These small details matter from a conversion standpoint because too many call-to-actions or an influx of modal windows or overlays can confuse people when they come to your site.
Rather than distracting them with too much information for them to digest, you’re scaring them off and not effectively selling your service. Keep it simple.
Call-to-actions on every page
Not only are CTAs important on your homepage, it’s important that you have one on every page of your site. Your site will get a range of visitors; some who are familiar with your service and need less information before they sign up, to others who have only just started researching what you offer. Providing CTAs throughout your website creates a click stream or a path for your user to follow.
While the first group of prospects may come to your site and respond to the CTA on your home page, others need more time to look at your services. By providing CTAs on every page of your website, you’re leading them through their journey and giving them the opportunity to respond when they’re ready, whether that’s on the second site page they visit, or the eighth.
This example has a CTA present on every page of their site and each page links to another service. Interlinking from one page to another makes the user journey easier.
By providing CTAs and a clear flow of links from one page to another, you’re giving clients a user-friendly website so they don’t have to go fumbling back and forth between pages to make their way through your website. Interlinking must be done from all your website pages from one page to the next, for each silo.
For example, if you have a services silo with the main page being a list of solutions your software provides, you need to ensure that there is clear interlinking from one page to the next within this silo. It’s essentially a loop – where one page must link to the next, and the last web page should come full circle and link back to the first page and the main service page (the parent level). Your website is essentially a web and each page connects to another, so there is a clear flow that always circles back to signing up for the demo for SaaS firms. (Hint: This also boosts your SEO!)
Content In Exchange for Emails
If a prospect fills out a form, that means that your website convinced them enough to trust you with their email address and they want to download your eBook, sign up for a demo, or learn more about your software. What’s the next step? They expect to get valuable content in return. Whether they download an eBook or sign up for your newsletter, they’re becoming a lead in your database by offering up access to their inbox. Make it worth their while.
How do you do that? Through lead nurturing email campaigns that target your specific audience. SaaS companies that excel at lead nurturing generate 50% more sales ready leads at 33% lower cost.
Once your leads have signed up for a demo or downloaded a guide or eBook off of your website, they offer up their email address as a sign of faith. This means they trust your software, so you need to ensure that you build on that trust by addressing their specific issues and convert these prospects into leads through lead nurturing.
Lead nurturing is nothing like cold-calling, where you’re taking a shot in the dark. If a customer is getting generic emails, you’re not going to differentiate yourself from other companies out there offering them the same services. That is why it is key that you don’t overcrowd their inboxes and send them spam, but rather send them high “segmented” or “personalized” information.
Knowing your buyers.
Personalized emails increase click-through rates by 14%, conversion rates by 10% and results in 18X more revenue. Before you can send out targeted email campaigns or content that offers your buyers value, it’s important that you get to know who your buyers are. What are their pain points? What solutions are they looking for?
Directly addressing specific buyer personas on websites made them up to 5x more effective and easier to use by targeted users, according to Hubspot.
Understanding your buyers and their issues is the first step if you’d like your software to provide them with the solutions they are looking for. You need to keep your buyer in mind every step of the way so that you can address their unique concerns.
As a SaaS company, you must set yourself apart by addressing your client’s concerns and designing a user-friendly, well-connected website that’s easy to navigate. By doing so, you’re showing potential clients that you care about them and their journey. As a software provider, your website is the optimum tool for exhibiting not only your services, but your brand’s emphasis on customer service and understanding your customer’s journey.
The goal of your website is to get customers to your demo — you want to manage sales velocity through automation, and a clear-routed journey does that for you. Once you’ve gotten potential clients to test your product, the product sells itself as long as you’re addressing their pain points on your website, with your SEO & website content and with the actual product demo itself.
It may sound like a lot to consider. Getting clients to the demo on your site wins half the sales battle for you. That is why it’s important to design your website in a way that clients make it to the demo. If your team isn’t fully equipped to reinvent your website, a b2b content marketing agency can help you make changes to your site to help convert your web leads into sales. Consult with our design experts at Jumpfactor to see how our Professional SEO Services can help you assist your buyers along their journey, to ensure a sale every time.
