How Can SaaS Companies Drive Growth with Word of Mouth Marketing

In a world where we are constantly bombarded with advertisements on our screen, hearing about a product or service from a friend or family member carries a lot of weight. And when it comes to trying out new software for your business, you are quite likely to consider them. The software sounds reliable if it comes as a recommendation from someone you know and trust by word of mouth marketing or recommendation.

The power of word-of-mouth promotion is undeniable. But how can SaaS companies take advantage of this and drive growth?

In this blog post, we’ll explore some word-of-mouth marketing strategies that SaaS companies can use to get people talking and recommending their solution to everyone.

What is Word of Mouth Marketing?

Word of mouth marketing (WOMM) is quite simple where loyal customers or brand advocates refer your business to others. It’s considered to be the most powerful type of marketing, as it comes from a trusted source. 

People are more likely to try out a new product or service if it is recommended by a friend, family member, or colleague. Another term for word-of-mouth marketing is mouth to mouth advertisement or word-of-mouth promotion.

Some of the most common mouth-to-mouth marketing strategy examples are referral models, reviews and feedback sharing, social tagging, and other similar approaches.

Benefits of Word-of-Mouth Marketing Strategy

There are numerous advantages of leveraging Word of Mouth Advertising (WOMA) to grow your SaaS business.

• Incredibly effective: It’s an extremely powerful way to reach new customers and can help you to stand out in a crowded marketplace. You can build credibility, trust, and brand awareness with WOMM if you do it right.
• Cost Effectiveness: Word of mouth promotion is a cost-effective marketing strategy – it’s effectively free advertising! As a marketer, you don’t need to spend money on ads or marketing campaigns. The key is to create a product business owners will want to talk about.
• Ever Growing Reach: There’s no limit to how many people your brand advocates can reach out to. Besides the great of mouth marketing grows exponentially with time.
• Loyal Customer Base: Customers acquired through word-of-mouth marketing are loyal and associate in the long run with the company.

Let’s take a Word-of-mouth Marketing example: A customer who takes a free trial of your payroll software after taking a recommendation from a colleague is more likely to convert to a monthly subscriber compared to someone who has availed the trial through a paid ad.

Importance of Mouth to Mouth Marketing for SaaS Providers

There are a few key reasons why word of mouth marketing plan is particularly effective for SaaS companies.

• Often priced differently: SaaS solutions are typically subscription-based, with different tiers for different modules. Due to this, managers or owners need to know which plan is feasible and fulfills their requirements before procurement. Here, word of mouth helps your potential clients select the right plan according to their needs.
• Complex modules: These often come with a lot of features and integrations that can be confusing for customers. Again, hearing about the product from a trusted source would help clients understand your application and the problem it solves.
• Longer sales cycle: Businesses do not purchase or subscribe to a cloud application right away. WOMM can be a great way to keep your brand top-of-mind so that when they’re finally ready to buy, they think of your product first.
• A critical investment: Unlike lifestyle products, SaaS applications are used by businesses and professionals. It requires a significant amount of time and investment to implement a SaaS in your business operations.

For Example, a wrong choice in CRM solution could lead to operational losses, lower ROI, and customer acquisition. Therefore, managers and owners make sure that the software is worth it. Therefore, they believe in recommendations and reviews more than paid ads.

Suggested Read: Marketing Vs Advertising: Which Will Work for Your SaaS Product

How to Create an Effective Mouth to Mouth Marketing Strategy for SaaS?

Although, word of mouth advertising is an effective marketing model. However, developing an effective WOMA strategy requires long-term focus and vision. Here are a few things to consider if you want your mouth advertisement to work.

• Make sure you have a great product: The first rule to follow is to make sure the product/service you offer is great. If you have a product that doesn’t address and solve the problem of a business, your WOMM campaign is doomed from the start.

SaaS products like Canva and Salesforce, have seen exponential growth with mouth-to-mouth promotion as they are the best of their kind in the market. This is one of the most relatable words of mouth marketing examples in recent times.

• Provide Impeccable Customer Service: Provide customers with reasons to talk about your brand. Making your customers happy will turn your customers into your brand ambassadors.

• Encourage Customer Feedback: Make it easy for your customers to share their feedback – whether it’s through online surveys, in-person interviews, or even just a simple comment box on your website. The more feedback your SaaS solution gets, the better. Not only will this help improve your product or service, but it will also give your customers a chance to share their experiences with others.

• Create a community: Creating a community around your brand is essential. There are several ways to do this, including online forums, social media, and even offline events. The important thing is to give your customers a place to connect with each other and share their experiences.

• Monitor and Respond to Online Reviews: Keep an eye on your brand’s online reputation and respond to both positive and negative reviews in a timely manner.

For example, eCommerce giants like Flipkart and Amazon take tweets about their service seriously and respond to them quickly.

• Encourage User-Generated Content: Make it a point to encourage your customers and fans to generate content about your brand. A blog post, a social media post, a video, or an interview can all be used to promote your business.

• Make it easy to refer friends: Include referral links or forms on your website or in your email marketing campaigns. This will allow businesses to quickly recommend

• Be active on social media: Social media is a great way to connect with potential customers and build relationships. Make sure you’re active on platforms where your current users could share your posts for better visibility and promotions.

• Engage with influencers: Influencers can reach a large audience with their endorsement. Identify influencers in your industry and reach out to them to see if they’re interested in promoting your product.

• Referral Programs: Referral bonus is another great way to get people to talk about your product. By offering existing customers a discount or other perks for referring new customers, you’ll not only acquire new customers at a lower cost but would also retain them in the longer run.

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Suggested Read: Tips to Reduce Customer Acquisition Cost and Increase SaaS Conversion

In a Nutshell

Word-of-mouth marketing strategy is a powerful advertising vision that can be extremely effective for SaaS companies. By focusing on creating a great product, providing outstanding customer service, and encouraging feedback, you can automatically create the best strategy to promote your business.

What you need to keep in mind is that word of mouth promotion is the long-term vision. It might take a few months or even years before you start seeing a spike in your revenue. However, if you plan and do it rightly, you will see exponential growth for your SaaS business.

Questions About Word of Mouth Marketing

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