As a B2B SaaS company, it is important to have a great product to stand out in the market. But what’s more important is to get users to subscribe to it. After all, the success of your brand depends on happy, paying customers that don’t churn.
This means that as a B2B marketer, you need to focus on conversion rate optimization or CRO.
Understanding Conversion Rate Optimization for B2B SaaS
Conversions are at the heart of any business. But conversion rate optimization for SaaS companies is different from traditional B2B and B2C brands. B2B SaaS companies do not drive customers toward a single purchase. Instead, they ask buyers to subscribe to their solution and integrate it into their own companies. But what does CRO mean for a B2B SaaS company?
The conversion rate is the percentage of users who take the desired action out of your total visitors. But if you don’t direct your leads in the right direction at the right time, you’ll end up losing time and money. This is why you need to focus on conversion rate optimization. It accelerates the buying cycle and helps you push qualified leads down the sales funnel quickly. This improves your conversion rate and contributes to a more predictable pipeline.
Types of Conversion Rate Optimization
CRO came into light as an e-commerce strategy to push users to make a purchase instead of leaving the website. But in SaaS, there are different types of conversions with different benchmarks and best practices. Your conversion rate optimization techniques will depend on the type of conversion you’re targeting. This will again depend on the SaaS model you’re operating in. Let’s break it down for you.
1. Freemium Conversions
The first step to converting users is gathering qualified leads. Most users won’t even consider your SaaS product if you don’t let them try it for free. Therefore, pushing users from visitors to freemium or free trial plans is crucial to show them the benefits your product offers.
Free Trial: This allows users to use your product for a limited time.
Freemium: This allows users to use a simple version of your product with no time limitations.
2. Freemium to PQL Conversion
PQL or Product Qualified Lead is the number of leads that have used your product and are likely to purchase it. This conversion depends on whether they liked your product and found it a good fit for their company.
You must focus on a few simple CRO techniques to convert users from free trial/freemium to PQL. These include:
- An easy sign-up process
- A user-friendly UX
- Seamless onboarding
- Quick customer support
3. Free Trial to Paid Conversions
This is the percentage of users that sign up for a free trial and convert into paying customers. While a freemium option is also a great way to get users to know about your product, it doesn’t work as well as a free trial for B2B SaaS. Why? Because B2B SaaS companies typically have a high CAC, freemium doesn’t help compensate for it.
A high free trial conversion rate means customers understand the benefits of your products and trust you with their investment. But a low conversion rate suggests you need to work on the quality of your product.
4. Freemium to Paid Conversions
Getting freemium users to convert into paying customers takes a lot of work. But you can achieve it with the right strategy and upselling skills.
Even if the conversion rate is low, you can benefit from this model by providing exceptional service and building social proof for your business.
Conversion Rate Optimization Strategies for B2B SaaS Marketers
Implement these simple strategies to maximize the benefits of conversion rate optimization.
1. Ace Your UI/UX
Your website must be user-friendly and easy to navigate. According to a Google research, users find simple websites more appealing than visually complex ones. And with B2B SaaS, as most conversions happen online, you need to present your content in a simple, digestible way to help users understand what your business does.
Make sure visitors get all relevant information as soon as they open your website. Use a catchy headline to convey what your product does, and don’t forget to add a CTA.
2. Offer a Free Trial
No company will happily hand you thousands of dollars unless they see the worth of your product. A free trial not only encourages potential leads to try your product but also allows you to showcase its unique capabilities.
Depending on your niche and the time it takes to value your product, you can decide on the length and type of the free trial. Most marketers believe that a 14-day trial is ideal for boosting conversion.
3. Highlight Your Achievements
A strong online presence is non-negotiable for a SaaS business. It helps you establish authenticity and credibility and boosts the trust of users.
Reach out to existing customers for feedback, publish their testimonials on your website, share case studies of companies that benefited the most from your product, run referral programs, etc. This helps you build social proof and boost your conversion rate.
4. Personalize Your Content
Our last CRO strategy is to give your audience maximum value through personalization. Visitors only spend a few seconds on your website before deciding if they’ll buy the product. So make sure you optimize your landing pages for business-wise use cases to place the product as a value-for-money proposition.
Monitor and Refine Your CRO Strategies
Conversion rate optimization is an ongoing process for B2B SaaS companies. A/B testing and growth monitoring are crucial to analyze conversion rate optimization. And even if you have achieved your desired conversion rate, make sure to monitor the progress and analyze the data to keep converting visitors to customers.
