Loading...
Answers
MenuWhat are the best Market Entry Strategies for a SaaS (Software as a Service) based company, gaining market share in Australia and Europe?
This question has no further details.
Answers
If retention and monetization rates are healthy, and you want to focus on acquisition, I would go with the following:
- Niche or vertical focused landing pages on your website, to build and grow a list of emails/phone numbers for your sales team.
- An Adwords search campaign targeted at your competitors, to try and steal some of their not-so-satisfied customers.
- Social. This is an obvious one, be on the social networks your customers spend the most time on, and engage them with valuable content (Do not try to sell them anything through social, at least, not at this stage).
- Offline marketing if you have the budget to do that, if not, focus on local barter deals and partnerships.
Best of luck :)
Mohammad Lafi
Lafi.me
It would help to know a little bit more about your business. What are you selling? Who are your ideal customers?
Who are incumbents in the market today? Market leader?
How much do you charge? What is your sales cycle? Process? How established are you in your current market? What is your team makeup? Sales people? Marketers? Content writers?
Based on a more clear picture I'd be happy to offer some tips.
I assume that you are based in the US ? My experience pertains primarily to Europe where I am based. I work for Xpenditure.com a leading SaaS company based here. Again I am assuming you are B2B as that will impact on the advice. Similarly the price points of your offering will also impact on the strategy - Freemium v Field Sales. Finally, I am assuming you are funded (at least Series B).
Our offering is a leading expense management solution and not surprisingly we utilise a mix of different approaches incl:
1/ NB of a Local Presence in Europe (rather than trying to access remotely). Dublin and London are popular choices.
2/ Aggressive investment in PPC (Google)
3/ Attendance at local events and exhibitions relevant to your market
4/ Influencer engagement in Europe
5/ PR (As Mark Suster always maintains there are numerous silent benefits)
6/ Localised Content
7/ Social Media Activity (paid and organic)
The above represents a short list of some activities (it is far from exhaustive).
Hope this helps
@alangleeson
VP of Marketing
Xpenditure - Expense Management
I am not trying to sell you on calling me. Really, I am pretty busy with my businesses and consulting. However, I need more info before I could have a greater impact in helping you.
Ask, Ask, Ask, then Ask again.
Bonus:
Here is $10,000 worth of information for free and in a nutshell.
Concentrate on the 3 M's. There are actually 7, but 3 will do for now. These are Market, Message, and Media. They come in that order.
Who is your target market (customer, clients, buyers, users, etc.)?
Tailor your laser focused message for this target market.
What is the best media mix to get your message to that market?
Here's what you do...first, make it an offer that is so incredible that they cannot resist. Secondly, do all the work for them. Make it so easy to make the purchase now that they can do it virtually without effort. Thirdly, give them an incentive to act right now. Fourthly, offer an almost unbelievable guarantee. Fifth, offer a bonus for acting now. There are many other incredible steps, but these steps should help the novice to the professional sell anything.
Whether you are selling B2B or B2C, you have to focus on selling to only one person. You can actually sell to one person at a time while selling to millions at a time. They are one and the same. Don't get off track, what we call digital marketing selling is just selling in print. And that has not changed since Cluade Hopkins wrote "Scientific Advertising." Really long before he wrote the book.
The secret to success: I have had the pleasure of knowing and working with some of the biggest names in business, celebrities, actors, entrepreneurs, business people, and companies from startup to billion dollar operations. The number one reason for their success is doing what they know and love while doing it in new, creative, and innovative ways.
Ask, Ask, Ask. Have thick skin and learn from each "mistake." In a short while, the market will tell you what you need to do and who and what you need to ask. But get started now even if that just means asking a contact on LinkedIn.
While you are thinking, think big and think of something at least 1% better, newer, or different. And being cheaper is not a winning strategy.
Make decisions quickly and change decisions slowly..unless you are actually going off a cliff.
Remember these two 11 letter words...persistence and consistency. They are two of the most important tools ever invented.
Treat everybody you talk to and everybody you meet (including yourself) like each is your number one million dollar customer.
Best of luck,
Take massive action and never give up.
Michael
Michael Irvin, MBA, RN
The best way to start a SaaS based company and start gaining market share is through free-trials, testimonials and media coverage.
Have you got a free trial available at the moment? How have you been promoting it so far?
I'd be writing blog posts, sharing them out to related industries. Finding influencers and offering them trials in return for a review or a post (if they like the product).
It really comes down to getting users onto the product, and getting their experiences out there.
I'd love to jump on a call and walk you through these strategies and more if you're interested! It'll be easier to give you specifics when I know more about your particular business!
Related Questions
-
What are average profit margins in Ice Cream store business?
Hi! I am owner of an ice crean chain with 45 stores in Chile. We have stores in shopping centers, streets and also karts that you can put in events and parks. The average cost margin of ice cream (depends on the amount of materials you use in producing the ice cream) is around 40%. This is italian gelatto where you serve the ice cream without a specific measurement so your costs can vary due to the size of each portion you serve. About the brand you should focus on your unique value proposition and what kind of ice cream you are selling. We import the pastry from Italy and the fruits and milk from our country. Your ROI depends on your sales price and costs. If you focus on high market ice cream you can charge high and keep costs down.MF
-
What is the most creative way to introduce myself (and therefore my service) to 100 key decision-makers without selling or pitching anything?
You've answered your own question. Reach out to your prospects with the question, such as "How would you...". Ask what people want then give it to them if you can with integrity and thoughtfulness.DI
-
How does my startup hire an affordable marketing expert?
I don't even know how to answer this. Do you know what the difference between McDonalds and the local burger joint that is filing for bankruptcy is? It's marketing. McDonalds is worth billions of dollars not because of the quality of their food, but because of their marketing. Marketing is not an expense. A janitor is an expense. Your computer is an expense. Marketing is an INVESTMENT. Would you shop around for the cheapest heart surgeon? Of course not. Because you would likely end up dead. Why, then, do you shop around for a marketing expert? Are you ok with your company going bankrupt? Is that worth the small savings to you? No. Of course not. Hire someone who is good at marketing. Hire someone who knows what they are doing. Buy yourself a Lamborghini with your profit the first quarter. Get a beach house in hawaii. Grab a yacht. Or, try to find your business the cheapest heart surgeon you can and then spend the next five years wondering why such a solid business idea failed in the first 6 months. I'm passionate about this exact topic because all those statistics you read about "70% of businesses failing in two years" are solely because of horrible marketing.AM
-
What advice do you give to a 16 year old entrepreneur with a start up idea?
First, hat tip to you for being a young entrepreneur. Keep it up! If you have the funds to build out your MVP, hire a developer and possibly a mentor. If your idea is marketable, you don't need to give up equity by bringing in a co-founder. If this is your entrepreneurial venture, I would recommend you do retain a coach to help you see all the things you may not know. Have you already done your SWOT analysis? Have you identified your target market? What is your marketing plan? What will be your operating expenses? There are lots of questions to ask. If you would a free call, I'd be happy to help you in more detail. Just use this link to schedule your free call... https://clarity.fm/kevinmccarthy/FreeConsult Best regards, Kevin McCarthy Www.kevinmccarthy.comKM
-
How can I become an idea person, as a professional title?
One word: Royalties This means you generate the idea and develop it enough to look interesting to a larger company who would be willing to pay you a royalty for your idea. This happens all the time. Rock stars, authors and scientists routinely license their creative ideas to other companies who pay them a royalty. Anyone can do it. Your business, therefore, would be a think tank. You (and your team, if you have one) would consider the world's problems, see what kinds of companies are trying to solve those problems, and then develop compelling solutions that they can license from you. You have to be able to sell your idea and develop a nice presentation, a little market research and an understanding of basic trademark and patent law. The nice thing about doing this is that if you develop enough cool ideas you will have royalties coming in from a lot of different sources, this creates a stable, passive revenue stream that requires little or no work to maintain. Start in your spare time and plan on the process taking 3-5 years. Set a goal to have a few products in the market that provide enough revenue (royalties) to cover your basic living expenses. Then you can quit your day job and dedicate more time and increase the momentum. A good idea business should have dozens, if not hundreds of license contracts generating royalties. It's possible to pull this off. And it is a fun job (I'm speaking from experience).MM
the startups.com platform
Copyright © 2025 Startups.com. All rights reserved.