Are you an early-stage B2B SaaS marketer? Or maybe a seasoned marketer with limited resources to uncover the audience data you need to succeed?
In this episode of SaaS Half Full, Lindsey sits down with Ryan Sonnenberg, Director of Marketing at SavvyMoney, as he spills the tea on how B2B SaaS marketers are leaving valuable audience data on the table and what tools early-stage marketers can use to help them in their audience identification journey.
Think big, get big results.
Let’s face it: 2023 has been a rough year for marketing. Most departments are dealing with tough economic headwinds and tightened purse strings.
Still, we’re all searching for ways to keep kicking ass and taking names. Ryan’s biggest piece of advice? “Think about audiences in a bigger, broader context. So think about regional location, job title, industry, these kinds of bigger things and then reduce down from there,” said Ryan.
It may seem counterintuitive to think big when trying to “do more with less.” But Ryan said thinking in broad strokes can help spark creativity as you hone in on your ideal customer profiles (ICPs).
For example, if you’re boosting ads through Meta or Google and want to engage with a well-established company based in Miami, why not exclusively boost your ad to Miami-based audiences? Chances are, those ads will find your ICPs — and from there, your regional brand recognition will grow, leading to a much more productive top-of-funnel conversation.
Lean on your trusty tech stack.
More likely than not, you’re incredibly familiar with analytics tools like Google Analytics. Ryan also suggests becoming acquainted with other budget-friendly but essential tools. At SavvyMoney, his team employs the following (among others):
- HubSpot — Tool for directing ad spend and understanding audience segmentation.
- Hootsuite — Social media planning and scheduling tool that integrates with HubSpot.
- Customer Match — A new tool from Google that allows marketers to synthesize and understand their ads en masse.
Of course, marketers should also conduct due diligence around pivotal platforms like LinkedIn. On these established platforms, it’s not always about running ads but building a robust content engine that signals your market understanding to interested prospects.
“If you’re brand new to LinkedIn, I would [suggest using] it as a tool to get information, but then keep posting and make sure that you make it a regular cadence for yourself,” said Ryan. “Then, pull that information and pull data in while building your audience.”
Forget B2B and B2C — it’s time for H2H.
Around here, we like to focus on the nuances of B2B vs. B2C marketing. We’ve discussed how these realms continue to merge as professionals spend more time on platforms like TikTok. But Ryan suggests an even more poignant newcomer on the scene: H2H, AKA human-to-human connection.
It’s easy to get lost in all the acronyms. But, great sales and marketing strategies should revolve around genuine connection. How can marketers create a productive back-and-forth between their prospects?
Ryan suggested leaving the overtly promotional tactics at the door (when appropriate). For example, at a recent event, the SavvyMoney marketing team provided “savvy” travel tips to non-locals, including information about the best nearby restaurants, coffee shops and trails. This outreach established a strong line of communication between SavvyMoney and several industry vets.
“As marketers, we’re facilitating a connection. So even if it’s a happy hour, you might be facilitating or conversing with a prospect, [and] they might meet someone else who helps check off some of their business goals,” said Ryan. “They’re going to know that you facilitated that and think, ‘Wait, they were really helpful for me to do this. How are they going to help me with other instances and other parts of my business?'”
Listen to episode 358 of SaaS Half Full for more of Ryan’s insights.