Templates offer your audience with instant gratification without having to commit to trialing or buying software. That is why they are such a popular tactic among B2B SaaS companies when it comes to inbound lead generation.
I think we’re all aware of the shift in content consumption leaning more towards instant dopamine hits than war and peace. So why when selling B2B to do many companies only offer the option of trialling their product as their first interaction? One example of this is that if you look at Google search data. In the USA alone, around 30,000 people search for a “budget template” each month.
Did you know that only 10% of your addressable market are actually ready to buy at any given time. So apart from demand generation and brand advertising, how do you get the attention of the other 90%? For SaaS companies there is a well-worn tactic that is still under utilised - creating useful templates to be lead magnets.
Many companies are focused on short-term results, investment in strategies such as these have been overlooked and under-utilised by SaaS companies around the world. Of course the most successful lead generators have libraries full of useful content for their wider audience. Quickbooks have these handy invoice templates. HubSpot are also renowned for their useful resources.
A template is a valuable piece of content that addresses your audience's immediate needs or problems without committing to purchasing your software right away. They are often created in simple tools like Microsoft Word, Excel or Google Sheets - tools everyone has access to.
By providing value through these templates, you can capture leads and potentially convert them into paying customers in the future when they realise the benefits of your software.
Now this may seem like a pretty basic and uninspiring strategy. But ask yourself this, why would some of the biggest and most successful SaaS companies around spend so much time on creating this type of content?
Ok so there are lots of B2B SaaS companies in the world so we are just going to pick a few to show you how companies like yours are using templates on their website to generate inbound leads.
A Risk Assessment Template by Woba. They provide HR software for companies.
Eloomi are an e-learning platform. They have a US Cybersecurity checklist on their website.
Creating a template isn't too difficult, the problem is that it takes time and commitment to produce a high volume of quality content. Here is a quick step-by-step checklist for creating templates that can help you generate inbound leads.
Clearly define the specific problem or pain point that your software addresses. A lot of the time, software has been designed to replace pen and paper and spreadsheets, so what are the spreadsheets that your audience are using?
The hardest part is to develop high-quality templates that offer real value and help potential customers solve their problems, even if temporarily. It may seem intuitive in some ways to provide your audience with a template for something you are trying to replace, but its a long game we are playing here.
Offer these templates for free on your website or through lead generation campaigns. This will attract your potential customers looking for solutions to their problems, usually through Google. As many of you have probably 'Googled' a template at some point in your life. There are some common examples like 'CV templates' etc.
In exchange for downloading the templates, ask users to provide their contact information, such as their email addresses. This allows you to build a list of potential leads interested in your software. At this point even though they don't go into your sales pipeline, they are in your database.
Once you have collected leads, nurture them by providing additional resources, information, and updates related to your software. Share success stories, case studies, and educational content to showcase the value of your product. This is typically done through email drip campaigns but because you have collected 1st party data you can also use retargeting as part of your nurturing process.
Over time, gently introduce your software as a more comprehensive and efficient solution compared to the temporary templates. Explain how your software can provide a long-term solution and offer a seamless transition from the stopgap content.
If your leads need more of a nudge you can always encourage them to try your software by offering discounts, trials, or limited-time offers. Make it easy for them to experience the full benefits of your product.
This is important. Monitor the conversion rate from leads to paying customers to evaluate the effectiveness of your strategy. This can show your senior stakeholders the ROI of this type of strategy, which, to a lot of people can seem a bit boring, basic and slow, but it works.
The key to success in this strategy is to provide real value through your templates and build a relationship with your leads over time. This will help you convert them into loyal customers who see the long-term benefits of your software.
Check out the latest articles from our blog.
