SaaS! It might be fun to say, write, and read on paper, but SaaS isn't all that glamorous. It is software as a service after all. Woo freakin hoo… I say this while writing for a software company, so don't get me wrong, I believe in the power of software Image Masking services like WordStream, Salesforce, GoToMeeting and all the other SaaS systems I spend my days on hanging out… I mean working productively. Software marketing image of an owl saying "No you don't." For many of us, software has become an important part of our lives. Think about it, the average worker spends 46.7 hours a week Image Masking working, according to a recent Gallup study. I imagine the average marketing and sales manager spends a lot of that time in the trenches of a software system.
And let's face it, well-designed software is powerful and makes our lives much easier. As a software marketer, I really understand the challenges of marketing in B2B and specifically in the SaaS space. Sales cycles are longer, competition Image Masking and comparative buying are inevitable, and measuring ROI is a challenge. Why is PPC important for SaaS marketers? Paid search has become an essential part of the sales cycle when it comes to discovering a SaaS system for a potential buyer. When an employee has a problem, they hop on Google to find a solution to that problem, and hey, hello! The Image Masking searcher is greeted at the top of the SERP with your beautiful software solution, quietly shouting “Click me! Give me your email!" Recently, I had a productive conversation with Richard April, Senior Vice President of Marketing at Repsly.
Repsly offers mobile software solutions to improve the management of field activities, and despite its recent birth in 2010, they have experienced remarkable growth with customers in 40 countries. They even have engineers stationed in Image Masking Croatia (how cool)! Richard explained the critical role paid search plays in winning leads in their longer and more difficult sales cycle. “(A prospect's) journey usually starts with PPC. They're looking for something, either directly related to the problem or trying to answer a question,” says Richard. “It gives us the ability to engage them with content, put them into Image Masking a workflow to present them with content similar to their original interest, and continue to drive them down the path of demo, trial and become a paying customer. PPC has proven to be absolutely essential in exposing our brand to potential new customers.