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Content is king! This expression is doubly true for any SaaS platform that wants to retain existing customers and attract new ones. How to generate content, how it should be, so that customers do not lose interest in your services and products? We answer the main questions in this article.
SaaS customer retention. What content and delivery channels to use?
Let’s say you’re a new online service that’s very convenient for affiliate marketing clients. What do you need to do in order to explain the benefits of working with you, tell you exactly how you differ from your competitors? How to interest those who are still considering whether to give their money to you or use the service of another SaaS platform with similar functionality?
Email marketing is one of the most important content delivery channels for retaining SaaS customers early on. During the trial period of using the free version of your product or service.
What content should be sent to customers by e-mail during this period?
Be sure to think about a welcome letter from the head or creator of the service.
Thank you for your interest in your SaaS platform, tell us about all the conditions of the grace period, when it ends and what the client can do after. If you have any special conditions for those who make quick decisions (discounts or special rates), please let us know about that too. Leave the coordinates of the support service so that the client can receive prompt assistance from your specialists.
It’s good if such a welcome letter does not sound like a dry official message, but you write it in a simple and understandable language. A personal story of the creator of the service or a story about how and why he developed his own online platform would be very appropriate.
We often read about “storytelling” and that it is one of the types of content for retaining SaaS customers, but few people know how to properly use this powerful tool.
It’s really simple: don’t hide behind officialdom, but show your customers the ordinary person behind the product.
USA, Europe, the EU – any person in any country loves honest stories and reads them with pleasure.
Plus, there is such a stereotype in our mentality that the head of a particular service or online platform is almost a celestial being who cannot be reached. And then your potential client receives a letter from him directly.
It’s like some iPhone buyer would receive a thank you letter from Steve Jobs for purchasing the gadget. Do you think this approach will work to retain SaaS customers? We think the question is rhetorical.
You should not limit yourself to one letter from the head. Prepare a series of emails to your customers explaining the full functionality of your product.
For example, the Alanbase SaaS platform has detailed instructions on how to use our online service. This still does not prevent us from turning the instruction into additional content, breaking it into small portions and sending letters to potential clients, which will describe the settings for individual functions.
This is how we increase the number of contacts with a potential client, and the client receives information about a specific function of the SaaS platform in expanded form. Win-win for both sides.
Track user actions on your site, send them triggered emails. For example, if a client tried to create an offer for an affiliate program, but for some reason did not complete it, it is logical to ask if he had any difficulties? Say that in this case he can use the help of your specialists.
Before the end of the trial period, be sure to send a letter with a direct call to the client to choose the appropriate tariff. In addition to the CTA, in such a letter you can once again briefly talk about the advantages of your SaaS platform over competitors, explain why it is more profitable for the client to conduct affiliate marketing with you, what tools he will not find from your competitors.
Company blog. Another important tool for delivering content to users and retaining SaaS customers.
It is important that you have a clear content strategy for the development of this resource. In any case, a blog is a way to build long-term trusting relationships with your customers.
What content does a blog need to retain SaaS customers?
If the SaaS platform is focused on working with affiliate programs, the best option is to regularly publish cases on attracting traffic, on the features of working with specific sources, recommendations on how to pass moderation, etc.
The second option of cases is how your customers use your product, what business processes they manage with its help, how much their life has changed before and after they started using your product or service. And one of the best types of content for retaining SaaS customers is to regularly post their real testimonials.
On the company blog, in addition to cases and customer reviews, it is logical to publish information about the news of your company, about new features of the SaaS platform that you plan to launch in the very near future or that you plan to start working on.
Educational materials can be singled out as a separate line. They can be done in both text and video format.
Youtube channel is another great way to retain SaaS customers.
Statistics show that people are more willing to watch videos than read long manuals, even if they are of very high quality. It is worth using a bunch of youtube channel and your online service website to retain SaaS customers.
The only thing you may face when creating a video is that the costs will be higher than for text content. You will also need special equipment: a camera, lighting, etc. Although this problem can be solved by capturing a computer screen, or if a more classic video is needed, then it can be shot on a smartphone with a good camera. But what you definitely can’t do without is without first creating scripts for your future videos.
Resume
If you want to achieve retention of SaaS customers, you must constantly work on the materials that you provide them with and think over the channels for delivering your content to potential customers.
The three most effective channels of interaction with your customers are:
- e-mail marketing, no matter how they say that he is “dead and does not work”,
- blog of your company, provided that you write materials to it not once a year, but at least once a week,
- a Youtube channel where you can post tutorial videos on how to use your platform, as well as post those videos on your own website.
It is important to keep in mind the regularity of content delivery if you want to succeed in retaining SaaS customers and make sure that all the materials you prepare are of high quality and truly useful to the target audience. First, develop a long-term strategy for creating materials of all kinds and formats, and then implement it into your daily practice. This is the main secret of retaining your users.
