Join me today as we face a journey of trials and tribulations that ends in triumph. Okay, that might be a tad overdramatic. Really, I’m going to be talking about SaaS.
And more specifically, a key part of SaaS marketing that people often neglect: qualified leads.
I run an ads agency and have already made a video covering this topic, which is why I feel qualified (see what I did there?) to share this information with you.
What's the sitch?
I’m a seasoned adventurer in the wild world of digital marketing, with seven years of experience. They haven’t all been easy. I’ve had my struggles, but I’ve come out stronger due to the knowledge I gained during the trying times.
Within my ads agency, Snowball Creations, we’ve managed countless ad accounts for SaaS companies, and I’ve seen a troubling trend: the lack of a proper funnel. You can have the best marketing efforts and marketing team for your SaaS business, but if your funnel isn’t performing, you’re going to feel like your business is a ship headed straight for an iceberg. You’re thinking too shallowly, my friend. We need to go deeper.
The issue? Money
When it boils down to it, money is almost always the issue, and it’s no different when it comes to paid ads for SaaS. Budgets can range from pouches of gold to treasure troves fit for dragons. Some try to scrape together enough pennies to keep their doors open another month, while others live in excess.
And sadly, thanks to the world we live in, the chances are that you are in the former category – as in, the “how am I supposed to pay for ads?” category. That’s where I come in. I’m going to help you figure out every step of your funnel as well as the lead qualification process so that your ads perform well – regardless of whether your cup overfloweth or runneth dry.
The other issue? You’re stuck in a shallow funnel
Let’s test the waters, shall we? Shallow funnels are abundant. Everyone likes swimming where it’s safe. People may sign up to your email list, fill in a form, or add things to their baskets . . . but actual purchases are as rare as a phoenix sighting.
It can seem like your ads are doing well, but you’re not really getting those great conversions. What you really want is a sales-qualified lead that your sales team can turn into a paying customer. And if you’re struggling to get those, you may need the help of a Saas PPC agency.
The beacon of hope
Amidst the darkness, we have some hope: the fabled qualified lead, A.K.A. the holy grail of SaaS marketing. This is the key to unlocking untold riches for your business. This is what keeps sales and marketing teams afloat when they want to give up.
When you can determine what a good marketing qualified lead is, you get to separate the good from the bad, the salt from the sugar, and the knights from the jesters.
Okay so. . . why are qualified leads important?
Data quality is of the essence when it comes to paid ads, especially now, with the rise of AI and algorithms. Every click has a story, and you need to accurately feed that story to your algorithm in order to make it work properly.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: algorithms are only as smart as the data you give them.
This is where qualified leads come in. You get the lead, and then your sales team decides whether it’s a good or a bad lead. There are loads of ways to track this and send the data back to Google. But that’s the important thing – that you send the data back to Google.
Qualified leads basically mean you tell Google “Hey, this is a good lead, now try to get me more leads like this”.
And aside from that, you can see which days or ad groups get more qualified leads. Not all conversions are the same. One ad group may get you twenty signups, and another might get you three sales, qualified leads, or paying customers. Those are both conversions, but the purchases are much more valuable than the signups, despite having a lower quantity. P.S. If this sounds overwhelming, consider getting a Google Ads agency to help you out!
Similarly, some leads are also more valuable than others in different ways. For example, you may get ten students visiting your website, but if they can’t afford your product, they aren’t great leads. On the other hand, you may only get one CEO visiting your website for every ten students, but that CEO is much more valuable. They’re rare, and they can actually afford what you have to offer.
When it comes to sales, qualified leads help Google determine where to spend your budget.
Final words
As mentioned, I do have a YouTube video covering this topic, which is linked at the top of this post, so if you want to see an actual example of me showing how qualified leads work and going much more into depth about the topic, that’s the place you should go.
But I hope that this post gave you some helpful insight into how qualified leads can help your SaaS brand perform best when it comes to paid ads. If you need any help with your paid ads, fill in the form below to have my SaaS ads agency arrange a call to talk through your options.