How to Acquire Customers for a SaaS
The Differences Between Organic and Inorganic Growth Strategies
There are different ways to acquire customers for a SaaS startup. You can either acquire them through organic or inorganic means. In this section, we will discuss both of these ways.
Organic growth
Organic growth refers to the growth of your company by gaining new customers from the existing customers that you already have.
For example, if you have 100 customers and out of those 100 customers, 5 of them refer your product to their friends and they start using your product, then you can say that you have grown organically by 5%.
In other words, organic growth is achieved when you have a positive feedback loop in place. It is important to note that the goal of organic growth is not only to increase the number of users but also increase their value (in terms of retention and engagement).
Organic growth can be done by focusing on different strategies like:
Referral Program
The best way to acquire new users for your SaaS startup is by getting your existing users to refer their friends and family members.
This strategy works very well if you are able to create an incentive for them which would be beneficial for both parties involved i.e., the existing user as well as the referred user.
There are many tools that you can use to create a referral program for your SaaS startup.
Email Marketing
Email marketing is another way to acquire new users for your SaaS startup. You can send emails to your existing customers and ask them to share your product with their friends and family members.
You can also provide them with some incentives if they are able to refer someone.
There are many tools that you can use for email marketing such as MailChimp, GetResponse, Constant Contact, etc.
Offline Marketing
Offline marketing is another strategy that you can use to acquire new users for your SaaS startup.
In offline marketing, you can give presentations in schools and colleges and talk about the benefits of using your product.
Another offline marketing strategy is attending meetups and networking events where you will be able to meet people who are interested in your product or people who are using similar products as yours.
In offline marketing, you should make sure that all the users who will be referred by you will have a positive experience of using your product so that they can recommend it further to their friends and family members.
Inorganic growth
Inorganic growth refers to the growth of your company by acquiring new customers from outside sources like Adwords, Facebook Ads, LinkedIn Ads, etc.
For example, if you have 100 customers and out of those 100 customers, 5 of them refer your product to their friends and they start using your product, then you can say that you have grown inorganically by 5%.
In other words, inorganic growth is achieved when you have a negative feedback loop in place.
The goal of inorganic growth is to increase the number of users as well as their value (in terms of retention and engagement).
Inorganic growth can be done by focusing on different strategies like:
Advertising
The best way to acquire new users for your SaaS startup is by advertising your product through Google Adwords or Facebook Ads.
There are many tools that you can use for online advertising such as Adwords, Facebook Ads Manager, etc.
Online Marketing
Online marketing is another way to acquire new users for your SaaS startup. You can post links on websites like Reddit or Product Hunt and try to get people interested in your product.
Another online marketing strategy is publishing blog posts on Medium or Quora where you will be able to reach a wider audience and promote your product.
Which method is the most effective?
As you can see, both organic and inorganic growth have their own benefits and drawbacks. It is up to you to decide which one will work best for your SaaS startup.
Regards,
Alexander
About the Author
I am the Founder of Cudy Technologies (www.cudy.co), a full-stack EdTech startup helping teachers and students teach and learn better. I am also a mentor and angel investor in other Startups of my other interests (Proptech, Fintech, HRtech, Ride-hailing, C2C marketplaces and SaaS). You can also find me on Cudy for early-stage Startup Founder mentorship and advice.
You can connect with me on Linkedin (https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexanderlhk) and let me know that you are a reader of my Medium posts in your invitation message.
