SaaS stands for “Software as a Service”. SaaS companies provide software applications that are hosted in the cloud and delivered to customers over the internet. Instead of installing software on their computers or servers, customers access the software through a web browser or an application interface provided by the SaaS company.
SaaS companies typically offer their software as a subscription service, where customers pay a recurring fee for access to the software. The SaaS model offers several advantages over traditional software licensing, including lower upfront costs, easier maintenance and updates, and greater scalability.
Email marketing campaigns for SaaS are very different from any email campaigns for other industries. Emails for SaaS are to be designed to follow several stages that span the entire customer lifecycle. It is important to customize your emails not only to address the unique problems and demands of each customer but also to target them according to the different stages of the lifecycle. To target prospects and customers passing through different stages in their journey with your brand, marketers need to adopt a data-driven approach in email marketing.
But before you start working on strategizing SaaS email marketing campaigns, you need to understand the different types of SaaS emails and how they work for different segments of customers. First, check out if the email campaigns fall under any of these categories:
- Automated behavioral emails that are triggered by actions taken by users
- Broadcast emails that are manually sent to larger segments of your list
Once you have understood the type of emails you need to create, check out the following types of SaaS emails for companies:
Onboarding Emails
Onboarding emails are a type of communication sent to new customers, users, or employees to introduce them to a product, service, or company. These emails are designed to provide important information, set expectations, and guide your recipients through the onboarding process.
Onboarding emails typically include a welcome message, a brief introduction to the company or product, information about how to get started or access the service, and the next steps or necessary instructions. They may also provide links to resources or support channels to help the recipient get up to speed quickly.
Onboarding emails can enable or encourage email recipients to sign up for a trial or create a new paid account. By engaging and educating new users to build the habit of using your product, onboarding emails help build long-term engagement with customers in the early days.
Types of onboarding emails SaaS companies can create
- Welcome emails – You can start driving your customer engagement after a customer subscribes to your email list by sending them a welcome email. These emails help introduce your brand to your prospects and also explain to them how they will benefit by engaging with your brand. Remember that the initial impacts play a crucial role. Therefore, create an interesting welcome email that not only attracts attention but also helps build the trust of your prospects.
- Activation emails – SaaS companies need to keep reminding their users to take action. If a person forgets to complete a task or has not logged in for a while, it is your responsibility to remind them by sending an activation email that will prompt the user to take the step.
- Product tours – Product tour emails are a type of marketing email that is used to introduce the product or service to potential customers. These emails typically provide a guided tour of the product, highlighting its key features and benefits. The purpose of a product tour email is to educate potential customers about the product and demonstrate how it can help them solve a particular problem or achieve a specific goal. The email may include screenshots, videos, or other visual aids to help illustrate the product’s capabilities.
Educational Emails
Educational emails for SaaS companies are marketing emails designed to provide useful information to potential and existing customers. The purpose of these emails is to educate recipients about the SaaS company’s product or service and how it can benefit them.
By providing valuable content, SaaS companies can keep their audience engaged and interested in their product or service. This information can attract potential customers who are interested in learning more about the SaaS company’s product or service.
Different types of educational SaaS emails
- Tutorials – Tutorial emails provide step-by-step instructions or guidance on how to complete a task or use a product. They are often used by companies to educate their customers or users on the features and functions of their products or services. Tutorial emails may include visual aids such as screenshots or videos to help illustrate the steps being explained in emails. They may also include links to additional resources or support channels when users seek further information or assistance.
- Webinar – Webinar emails are email invitations, reminders, and follow-ups sent to individuals or groups to encourage them to attend a webinar or online seminar. These emails typically include information about the webinar’s topic, time, date, and how to access the webinar. Webinar emails may also include additional details such as the presenter’s bio, information on any guest speakers or panelists, and a brief description of the content that will be covered during the webinar. These emails are an effective way to promote webinars, engage with potential attendees, and provide valuable information about the event.
- Blog post alerts – Blog post alerts are notifications that let your subscribers know when a new blog post has been published on your company website. These alerts can be sent via email, RSS feed, or even through social media platforms like Twitter or Facebook. By subscribing to your blog post alerts, subscribers or prospects can stay up-to-date with the latest content and news from your website without having to constantly check the website for new posts. These emails are a great way to keep your potential customers informed and connected to online communities.
- Newsletter – Newsletter emails can enable you to share relevant and valuable information to keep your subscribers engaged and drive traffic to your website. That’s why email newsletters are considered a cost-effective branding tool that enables you to talk directly to your customers, keep them updated, and build trust with the readers.
Promotional Emails
Promotional emails are marketing messages sent to a targeted audience to promote a product or service. For SaaS (Software as a Service) companies, promotional emails can play a crucial role in driving customer acquisition, retention, and revenue growth.
Use promotional emails to engage with prospects and nurture them through the sales funnel. By sharing valuable content, offering product demos, and providing personalized recommendations, SaaS companies can build trust and establish a relationship with their prospects.
Types of promotional emails SaaS companies can create
- Discount offers – Discount offer emails by SaaS companies are marketing emails that offer discounts or special deals to customers who are interested in purchasing their software products or services. These emails typically include information about the discount, the product or service being offered, and any terms and conditions associated with the offer.
- Referral programs – Referral emails are a marketing strategy employed by SaaS companies to encourage their existing customers to refer their products or service to other potential customers. These emails usually include a unique referral link or code that customers can share with their friends, family, or colleagues. The referral email typically highlights the benefits of the SaaS company’s product or service, and offers an incentive, such as a discount or credit, to both the referrer and the referred customer when the latter ends up signing up or making a purchase.
- Seasonal promotions – Seasonal promotion emails are marketing campaigns to their customers during specific periods of the year. These promotions usually coincide with major holidays, such as Christmas, Thanksgiving, New Year’s Day, Valentine’s Day, Halloween, and other events such as back-to-school, Black Friday, Cyber Monday, etc. The goal of seasonal promotion emails is to encourage customers to take advantage of special discounts, limited-time offers, and exclusive deals that are only available during the holiday season
- New feature releases – New feature release emails are communications sent by SaaS companies to their customers to inform them about the latest updates and improvements made to their software or service. These emails typically highlight new features or functionalities added to the product and explain how they can benefit the users.
Retention Emails
Though marketers use advanced tools and strategies for successful email marketing, most of them make the mistake of not focusing on retaining lost subscribers. SaaS marketing professionals need to effectively nurture both the prospective leads to convert them into buyers and scored leads to retaining them for longer. It costs a greater amount to attract and acquire new customers than to retain existing ones. Thus, besides acquiring new customers, marketers also need to focus on improving the experience of existing customers. Customer loyalty and satisfaction is very important to retain your old customer and thus you need to meet and sell to the needs of the customers.
Types of retention emails SaaS companies can create
- Renewal reminders – Renewal reminder emails are messages sent to their customers to remind them that their subscription or service is about to expire or renew. These emails typically include information such as the renewal date, the cost of the service, and instructions on how to renew. Renewal reminders are an important part of a SaaS company’s customer retention strategy. By reminding customers that their subscription is about to expire, companies can reduce the risk of customers forgetting to renew, which can result in lost revenue and customers.
- Abandoned cart reminders – Abandoned cart reminder emails are used to encourage users to complete the checkout process and their purchases. These emails typically include personalized content, such as the items left in the cart, along with a call-to-action to encourage the user to complete their purchase. The goal of these emails is to remind users of the items they added to the cart and incentivize them to make a purchase.
- Upsell and cross-sell offers – To get the most value from specific accounts, SaaS marketers need to encourage upselling with additional features or plans to engage customers. Make sure you send these emails only to selected customers who are interested in or want the benefits of certain product features and grow their accounts. Cross-selling offers are marketing tactics used by businesses to encourage customers to purchase additional or complementary products or services to what they are already buying. This involves suggesting or recommending related products or services that might interest the customers, based on their initial purchase or browsing history.
Re-engagement Emails
Re-engagement emails are a type of marketing communication that SaaS companies use to reconnect with inactive or disengaged users. These emails are typically sent to users who have previously interacted with the company’s product or service but have not engaged with it recently.
Re-engagement emails are important for SaaS companies because they help to reduce churn and increase customer lifetime value. By targeting inactive or disengaged users, SaaS companies can prevent these users from canceling their subscriptions or switching to a competitor.
Types of re-engagement emails SaaS companies can create
- Inactive user reminders – Inactive user reminder emails are automated messages sent by companies to users who haven’t interacted with their product or service for a certain period. The purpose of these emails is to remind users of the value of the product or service and encourage them to engage with it again.
- Win-back offers – As important as it is to create an engaging email marketing strategy, re-engaging with lost or inactive customers is also crucial to retain your old customers. The process of re-engagement involves finding those disengaged subscribers who are worth giving one more chance to engage with your brand before you are sure they no longer want to receive your messages.
- Feedback requests – If you are aiming for complete customer satisfaction, you should consider listening to customer feedback and acting on it. This helps understand your customer expectation better to strategize a more personalized email marketing strategy. Spend some time interacting with your subscribers to learn more about them and understand what they want. Try to find patterns in the feedback and work on them.
Transactional Emails
Transactional emails are automated messages that are sent to users in response to specific actions they have taken on a website or application. These emails are an essential component of any SaaS company’s customer communication strategy, as they provide critical information and help establish a relationship or build trust with customers.
Transactional emails are important for SaaS companies for several reasons.
- First, they help to ensure that customers have a positive experience with the company by providing them with the information they need in a timely and efficient manner.
- Second, these emails help reduce customer support inquiries by providing customers with answers to common questions or issues.
- Third, they can help to increase customer engagement and retention by providing personalized and relevant information to customers.
Types of transactional emails SaaS companies can create
- Order confirmations – Order confirmation emails are sent after customers make a purchase. Being a confirmation of the order, these emails contain important details such as the order number, the product or service purchased, the date of purchase, the billing information, and the delivery or access details.
- Shipping and delivery notifications – Shipping and delivery notifications emails are automated messages sent to provide information about the status of their order or subscription, including when it will be shipped or delivered. They may also include tracking information and estimated delivery dates.
- Password reset – Password reset emails are sent to users who have requested to reset their passwords. These emails typically contain a link or a code that allows the user to reset their password and regain access to their account.
- Account and billing updates – Account and billing update emails refer to changes or modifications made to customers’ accounts, how accounts are managed, and how they are charged for using the service. These updates are often communicated to customers via email, in-app notifications, or through the company’s website.
Conclusion
SaaS email marketing spanning the entire customer lifecycle must focus on how to help customers with their goals and how these emails can increase your marketing revenue. If you want to create an effective email marketing strategy to increase company ROI, you need to segment your customers based on their customer lifecycle journey and target them accordingly. Sootra Consulting can help in this process by setting up your email marketing campaign and assisting you till the end with our certified marketing experts.
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