Only relevant for those in the SaaS industry:
How to Win in SaaS with REFERRAL MARKETING –
and how to raise Venture Capital with unshakeable proof-of-sharing.
(Especially important for start-up's.)
1. You can add viral potential at every touchpoint of every customer journey.
At any call-to-any-action in the funnel/s.
See it that way:
a. There is a Fast Lane to your product = for people willing to pay full prices.
b. There is a Referral Lane = for people who hate to pay for retainers / continuity /recurring fees.
These people might be willing to "Pay by Sharing".
It's just another pricing structure = REFERRAL PRICING
2. In SaaS you have all kinds of "Free Trial"-buttons.
3. In SaaS you have a Prices / Pricing page.
(The one page that matters the most for your clients, probably.)
How do we implement REFERRAL PRICING?
Typically you have a tier of plans: bronze, silver gold.
Or basic, advanced, professional.
Labels don't matter.
Let's say it's: 100, 200, 300$ per month.
Give them a hefty referral discount of 25, 50 or even 100%!
In the first year, or even "life-time", when you are at the pre-seed stage, or even pre-money stage:
The aggressiveness of the discount strategy ONLY depends on the stage of the SaaS company.
(Linear Growth, or exponential/viral Growth wanted?)
What will happen:
You might increase the number of trials, the number of sales and the size of your marketing list.
You might even go viral.
(Yes, you will have many more users, but lose some money per sale.
How much has to be tested.
Nobody knows the trade-off upfront.)
But by far the most important result:
You WILL LEARN, if people are willing to share your product/s.
And how much incentive it takes to activate them.
You WILL LEARN, if people love your product and HOW MUCH.
And now the SECRET, spilt for good:
An SaaS with "proof-of-sharing" will be so much more attractive to potential investors compared to one that ONLY CLAIMS that "people will like it".
(Since it's "so awesome".)
Any pitchdeck out there should have a "proof-of-sharing" included!
Bonus for those, who don't wish to discount their prices:
Add all kinds of boni / services to your OFFER 1st and give these services away in return for the sharing:
A course, a book, a "concierge service",
access to a Customer Happiness Officer,
support to implement the product,
an invitation to join a group, to join an (online event) etc.
