Solved: Need Scalable Customer Acquisition Strategy for SaaS Startup

Hi there,

Thanks for reaching out, I'm happy to give you some initial thoughts and guidance on how to approach customer acquisition for your accounting software startup. It sounds like you've got a solid foundation with your product and seed funding, and that initial word-of-mouth traction is a good sign! However, moving beyond that requires a more structured and scalable approach.

We'll need to look at optimising your customer profile...

First things first, lets have a look at your ideal customer profile (ICP). From my experience working with other B2B SaaS companies, getting this right is absolutely fundamental. Don't try to be everything to everyone. Think about your existing early adopters – what are their common characteristics? What kind of companies are they? How many employees? What industry are they in? What are their key pain points that your software solves?

For example, is your software particularly well-suited to small businesses with 10-50 employees who are struggling with manual bookkeeping? Or is it better for larger companies with more complex accounting needs? By narrowing down your focus, you can tailor your marketing efforts to reach the right people and avoid wasting time and money on unqualified leads. For a B2B SaaS accounting software, it's important to know what stage these businesses are at in their business cycle. Are they startups looking for easy accounting systems, or are they enterprises with existing complex systems that are looking to consolidate with your offering?

One thing you might find useful, is to conduct some customer interviews with your early adopters to really get inside their heads and understand their needs and challenges, this can be the best way to find out their pain points.

Once you have a good understanding of your ICP, you can start to think about which channels are most likely to reach them.

I'd say you need to start thinking about content marketing...

Next up, I'd say you need to think about content marketing. Content marketing can be a very effective way to attract and engage potential customers, especially in the B2B space where people are often looking for information and solutions to their problems. Think about what kind of content your ideal customers would find valuable. This could include blog posts, ebooks, webinars, case studies, infographics, or even short videos.

For example, you could create a series of blog posts on topics like "5 common accounting mistakes small businesses make" or "How to choose the right accounting software for your business". You could also create an ebook on "The ultimate guide to cloud accounting". By providing valuable and informative content, you can establish yourself as a thought leader in your industry and attract potential customers to your website.

I know a SaaS company, they really struggled until they niched down to focus on companies with 50-200 employees. What software are they allready using? This could inform your targeting when it comes to content. Are they all using the same outdated software? Highlight the pain points you can solve in your content to attract their attention.

You probably should be considering a freemium model...

Thirdly, you probably should be considering some form of 'freemium' model. I've run quite a few campaigns for B2B SaaS. Some see ROI within a few days. But many take longer to optimise. A lot will depend on your offer, a completely free trial usually works best to get people in the door, then you can onboard them, nurture them, and upsell them to a plan later. To get people interested, you need a landing page with persuasive copy - we use a copywriter for this with experience writing for SaaS. To get people interested, you need a landing page with persuasive copy, and a friction free way for them to access your accounting software.

I see you have a demo but that's not quite the same. No one is going to commit to an accounting system without even trying it out. Your competition probably offers several months of trials and discounts to get people in the door. Offering this, or at least some form of trial will make your software much more appealing to businesses looking to change systems.

You'll need to set up paid ads correctly...

Fourth, you'll need to set up paid ads correctly, either on Google or LinkedIn.

Google Ads: 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 "AI implementation service", "AI agency near me", "software agency near me", "AI developer near me" - depends on your services of course

LinkedIn Ads: LinkedIn usually works best with a narrow audience that targets your specific ICP.

Think about your primary target audience. Who are the companies that will benefit most from your solution. Who are the decision makers at these companies that will make the buying decision? Then look at the targeting options you have available and try to target them as accurately as possible.

E.g. contact data enrichment: Primary companies: SMEs 50-200 employees Decision makers: CMO, CSO, CTO, head of marketing, head of sales, head of IT, etc. Industries: business services, software, marketing and advertising, financial services, etc. You can also make a list of target companies that you'd like to see your ads and then target the decision makers at these companies. E.g. with Apollo.io or ZoomInfo.

Lastly you might want to partner up...

Lastly, you might want to partner up with other companies. Can you partner with other software companies who serve a similar audience? Maybe offer a discount to each other's customers. Did this for a HR software company and it worked a treat. Think about other companies that offer services or products that are complementary to yours. For example, you could partner with a CRM software company or a payroll processing company. By partnering with other companies, you can reach a wider audience and offer more value to your customers.

That being said, your website needs a lot of work to make the ad campaigns work. For example, I'm not sure whether "Where business meets privacy." is a value proposition businesses care about. They probably care about their accounting system being reliable and that it has all the features they need. There is lots of competition that has privacy built-in already, so not sure whether this is much of a selling point.

I've detailed my main recommendations for you below:

Implementing these strategies can be challenging, especially when you're already stretched thin. I've seen many startups struggle to juggle product development, sales, and marketing all at once. That's where having expert help can make a big difference. We've worked with numerous B2B SaaS companies to develop and implement successful customer acquisition strategies, and we'd be happy to help you too.

If you'd like to discuss your specific situation in more detail and explore how we can help you achieve your customer acquisition goals, feel free to book in a free consultation. We can take a look at your current marketing efforts, identify areas for improvement, and develop a tailored strategy that fits your budget and goals.

Good luck!

Regards,
Team @ Lukas Holschuh