Is it Time to Increase Your SaaS Marketing Budget?

In building your SaaS (Software as a Service) business, you can’t overestimate just how essential it is to wring maximum impact out of your marketing budget. No matter how much money you have available to apply towards your product, the strategy behind its marketing is the key to your future success.

After all, the long-term service-oriented element of SaaS products alone sets them apart from other business models, and one must be more mindful than ever before about how those precious marketing dollars are spent. However, eventually the time will come when your SaaS marketing budget will restrict further growth, becoming more of a hindrance rather than a tool to spread awareness about what your product can do.

Here are five telltale signs that you should boost your SaaS budget now.

Of all the SaaS marketing metrics that should play a role in guiding your strategy, your ARR may be the most important. This figure is widely considered the truest representation of how much profit your product brings in. And while monthly numbers can ebb and flow, a marked rise in ARR indicates that your subscription base is strong enough to step up your marketing efforts. If you calculate your marketing budget as a percentage of revenue, then a boost in your ARR is one of the strongest green lights you could receive to punch up your marketing accordingly. If you are needing some help with this topic, be sure to download our free eBook which details "Understanding & Calculating Your SaaS Marketing Budget."

Sometimes, an influx of marketing funds is exactly what your product needs to reach its intended customer base. Of course, any increase you make should be carefully and purposefully calculated using the metrics you have available. In this case, creating buyer personas can help you better define your target market, allowing you a far greater opportunity to translate your increased marketing expenses into an expanded customer base. Likewise, you can then tweak your product to better fit the needs of your ideal customers.

Regardless of how cutting-edge your product may be, sales cannot be made without the requisite leads driving your salespeople to pursue fresh business. Marketing professionals continue to debate about the best strategies to convert leads into successful sales -- with eBooks and other content marketing among the most popular approaches -- but the fact remains that additional marketing funds will likely be needed to devote the necessary resources to generate the data-focused leads that will grow your business.

Virtually every company reaches that point when what used to work no longer budges the bottom line. When that happens, you can either keep doggedly pursuing the desired results with the “tried and true,” or adopt a broader understanding of how innovation can usher in a new era for your marketing efforts. As the future of the software industry, SaaS is largely defined by its ability to instantaneously provide customers with improved service, and the marketing strategy employed to develop more and more qualified leads should reflect that kind of forward-thinking.

If you’re starting to feel like your product is slipping behind your competition, it’s a good idea to dust off your marketing budget and evaluate what changes can be made. This could extend to scrapping certain initiatives, redirecting funds, or even launching new approaches to grow your business. Still, don’t be afraid to make strategic increases to your marketing budget. The SaaS arena is filled with increasingly harsh competition, and you cannot afford to skimp on your marketing budget. Such a move may initially save money, but the results could be disastrous in the long-term.

Do you want to read about some SaaS marketing tips that will help save you money? If so, check out our article on that exact topic here. 

Do you need help determining if you should boost your marketing budget? If so, download our free eBook, "Understanding and Calculating your SaaS Marketing Budget."