Hi there,
Really happy to give you some initial thoughts and guidance on your issue. I've run quite a few campaigns for B2B SaaS companies, and scaling spend while maintaining ROAS is a common challenge. Hopefully I can point you in the right direction.
We'll need to look at ad frequency...
First off, I'd really look closely at your ad frequency. It's pretty common, especially with a smaller audience, to fatigue them as you scale spend. You'll wanna analyse the frequency metrics for each campaign, ad set, and ad. If the frequency is high (like over 4-5 times per week), you may need to broaden targeting or rotate your ads more regularly. It's a classic problem – you start strong with a niche audience, then the returns diminish as you broaden your reach. As you scale software campaigns, your spend will plateau at some point where you can't scale further without lower ROAS/higher CPA because you are only selling one product and there will be a limited number of people likely to convert for this product, which means costs increase.
To avoid ad fatigue, here's a few tactics you can try:
- Broaden your targeting: Look at expanding your audience demographics or interests.
- Rotate creatives: Keep your ads fresh by swapping them out more frequently.
- Use frequency capping: Limit the number of times a user sees your ad per day.
I'd say you really need to assess the audience saturation...
Audience saturation is a real concern, especially in niche markets. It's possible that you've exhausted the pool of high-intent users within your initial target audience. Before you go any further, you need to know where exactly you're wasting budget. So start with a health check. A few questions to ask yourself: What is the overall audience size in each ad group, and how does that compare to the number of impressions you're serving? Are you running any frequency caps on your ads to avoid showing them to the same users too often? The answers to these questions will give you a much better understanding of whether or not you are really reaching saturation.
You can also try layering in new signals to your lookalike audiences. By all means test things. You'd want to think about your ideal customer persona and which ad platform they can be reached on. A) If your target audience is actively searching for your solution -> Google Search ads; Do some keyword research to find keywords related to what your ideal customer persona might be searching for when they need your services.
E.g. you could target keywords like "OKRA implementation service", "OKRA agency near me", "software agency near me", "OKRA developer near me" - depends on your services of course B) If they aren't -> Social media/display ads, for B2B your main option here is usually LinkedIn as that's where you have narrow B2B targeting available. Meta - limited B2B targeting. Reddit - limited B2B targeting but maybe with the right subreddits. Your main options here are lead form ads (lower cost per lead, but will require more effort to turn into a customer) versus pointing the ads to a landing page (higher cost per lead but much better qualified).
You probably should adjust your ad copy and landing pages...
Make sure your messaging still resonates as you reach a broader audience. Maybe the initial campaigns were hyper-targeted to early adopters, and now you're talking to a more general crowd. You might need to adjust your ad copy and landing pages to speak to a wider range of pain points and use cases.
Also have a look at your landing pages. Are they optimised for a broad audience? Your sales process may work best if the first step is to either fill out a lead form or to schedule an intro meeting or consultation. You could also offer a free audit or strategy review. Depending on what the first step is that people need to take, this is what your website's start page should lead people to. Optimise this page with sales copy, make it really persuasive to take the first step. - Some professional copy could really go a long way.
You'll need to consider adding some new channels...
If you're saturating your audience on one platform, think about expanding to others. Content syndication can be really effective for SaaS, or even exploring niche job boards where your target audience hangs out. Maybe there are some industry-specific publications or online communities you can tap into. Another approach is to start creating organic content, like blog posts and videos, that helps educate your target audience and draws them into your sales funnel. It's a longer-term strategy, but it can pay off big time in terms of brand awareness and lead generation. If your target audience is actively searching for your solution -> Google Search ads; Do some keyword research to find keywords related to what your ideal customer persona might be searching for when they need your services.
I've detailed my main recommendations for you below:
| Area | Recommendation |
|---|---|
| Ad Frequency | Analyse frequency metrics and broaden targeting or rotate ads if needed. |
| Audience Saturation | Assess audience size, impressions, and frequency caps. |
| Messaging | Adjust ad copy and landing pages to appeal to a wider audience. |
| Channels | Explore new ad platforms, content syndication, or niche job boards. |
Scaling campaigns can be tricky, and it's easy to feel like you're banging your head against a wall. That's where a fresh perspective can be really helpful. For example, I remember one campaign we worked on for a software company where we reduced their cost per user acquisition from £100 to £7 by split testing and optimising their campaigns across Meta Ads and Google Ads. This goes to say: You may benefit from working with someone with expertise in scaling software campaigns.
If you'd like a more in-depth review of your account, we offer a free initial consultation where we review your strategy together. If you're interested, feel free to book in some time.
Regards,
Team @ Lukas Holschuh
