SaaS PR: Agency Insights on What Works
The technology landscape isn’t getting any less competitive and SaaS PR is a requirement for cloud-based solution providers interested in gaining a foothold in the current software-as-a-service marketplace.
As a leading tech PR firm, we understand the important role the right SaaS PR strategy can play in your company’s growth curve. But marketing SaaS offerings is different from promoting traditional software. To make an impact, you need a public relations strategy that is geared to the nuances of the cloud solutions market.
The Problem with Most SaaS PR Pitches
Software-as-a-Service solutions enable customers to lease functionality and operate hosted software via web clients rather than buying and operating licensed software on their own IT infrastructure. Several years ago, the novelty of SaaS made it newsworthy, but today cloud technology is commonplace. Unfortunately, many SaaS PR pitches still focus on promoting product attributes or basic benefits.
Want to draw a yawn from a reporter? Then send them an SaaS PR pitch that touts these simple benefits:
- Faster implementation
- Lower IT procurement costs
- Lower IT maintenance costs
- Ability to buy a subset of the SaaS provider’s full functionality and upgrade to additional modules over time
- Faster access to new technology, functionality and upgrades
More than ever, SaaS PR pitches need to feature a new approach and new strategies for raising the visibility of cloud-based solution clients.
Tips for More Effective SaaS PR
Savvy tech PR firms have developed insights that are useful when pitching SaaS companies to reporters. Although strategies vary based on client objectives, there are several ways brands and PR firms can improve the impact of their SaaS PR campaigns.
- Know your product. Not all SaaS offerings are the same, so your SaaS PR approach will change depending on the type of SaaS software that is being marketed. This means that it’s important to understand the various products in the SaaS marketplace (e.g. SaaS CRM solutions, SaaS financial solutions, SaaS productivity solutions, etc.) and adapt your strategy accordingly.
- Focus on customer adoption and customer impact. For many prospective SaaS customers, the transition to a cloud-based technology environment is a source of stress. Rather than focusing on benefits, good SaaS PR will address issues surrounding customer adoption and customer impact. Most customers already know what your product can do for them—now it’s time to show them how seamless the transition will be.
- Tie pitches into larger news stories. There’s nothing wrong with “newsjacking” larger PR stories with SaaS messaging. In fact, some of the most successful SaaS PR pitches leverage other newsworthy stories or trends, and connect cloud technology to events that are happening elsewhere in the technology marketplace.
- Pitch customer survey results. When it’s available, reporters prefer real-world information from your customers rather than hearing your executive talk about your SaaS solutions. Surveys are a great way to solicit feedback from your customers, but they can also be effective tools for SaaS PR. Consider developing a survey for your customers with the intent of pitching the results to reporters at targeted media outlets.
It’s always important for technology companies to enlist the assistance of a PR agency that understands their industry. But given the intricacies of the cloud-based solution market, it’s especially critical for Software-as-a-Service providers to partner with a firm that is experienced in SaaS PR and in raising the profiles of brands in the SaaS space.