13 Effective Strategies for B2B SaaS Lead Generation in 2024
Leads are the main components of any B2B SaaS company. And it’s easy to see why.
Without leads, there’s no growth, no new customers, and no revenue. Simply put, they are what drive a company forward and help it succeed.
Getting potential customers to turn into paying clients is not always simple, but it’s the key to your business's growth, and the results are always worth it.
In this guide, we’ll walk you through 13 proven strategies to help you attract, convert, and encourage high-quality leads for your SaaS business. Let’s get started.
What is B2B SaaS Lead Generation?
First things first: What is B2B SaaS lead generation?
B2B SaaS lead generation is the process of finding and attracting potential customers to a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) product. In this case, potential customers are not individual consumers but businesses.
So, this process is all about finding businesses that might need your software, attracting them through your strategies, and then keeping those leads interested.
There are so many strategies you can use to reach potential clients. The more you ‘experiment’ with them, the easier it gets. Once you get someone’s attention, you need to guide them through their buyer’s journey by providing the solutions they need from your product or service.
Good lead generation helps you build a steady stream of qualified prospects who are more likely to convert into long-term users.
13 Strategies You Need to Generate Leads for Your B2B SaaS
Now, let’s get started with the top 13 strategies that are proven to generate leads for your business.
1. Create High-Quality, Value-Driven Content
Content is still king when it comes to lead generation. B2B buyers want to be educated, not sold to. For this reason, the main goal of your SaaS company should be to provide value through good content.
The information you share shouldn’t be confusing, overwhelming or ‘abstract’. Instead, it must inform and solve your audience’s problems. This is how you become a trusted resource in their eyes.
Here are some of the content forms that work to generate leads.
Blog Posts & Articles
Write about topics that your target audience is interested in. Address pain points and offer solutions rather than promoting your product outright. After all, people initially search for solutions, not services to purchase.
E-books and Whitepapers
E-books and whitepapers are powerful tools for lead generation. For example, HubSpot is one brand that does this right. They provide in-depth, great content that people love, and in exchange for this valuable insight, they have to share their emails. That’s a win-win.
Webinars and Live Demo
Webinars or live product demos are another great way to share valuable content with your potential customers. They’ll get a firsthand look at what you can offer and eventually build trust.
2. Email Marketing for Lead Nurturing
Once you’ve captured leads, don’t let them go cold. B2B SaaS lead generation doesn’t stop after someone fills out a form; in fact, that’s just the beginning.
The first email your lead receives should introduce your company, explain the value of your product, and guide them toward the next step (e.g., signing up for a free trial or scheduling a call).
But there are other strategies you can use to promote your brand, such as:
On-going Informative Content
A lot of marketers follow this strategy. They send a series of valuable content via email to promote their brand indirectly.
Drip Campaigns
These are automated email sequences that can nurture leads over time. For example, if someone downloads an e-book, you could send them a follow-up email a week later with related blog posts and then a product demo invitation the following week.
Pro Tip: Personalize your emails based on where the lead is in their buyer’s journey. This will increase your chances of conversion.
3. Invest in Paid Ads (But Spend Smart)
Paid advertising is a great way to get more eyes on your service, but it can also burn through your budget if not done properly. The key is to be strategic.
Google Ads
This can work well for SaaS companies, particularly with search ads targeting keywords like “best CRM software” or “marketing automation tool for B2B.”
LinkedIn Ads
Since LinkedIn is a platform for professionals, it’s a goldmine for B2B SaaS companies. You can target by job title, industry, company size, and more.
Retargeting
Not everyone who visits your website will convert right away. That’s why marketers retarget aads to reach those visitors again and give them another chance to engage with your product.
Pro Tip: Monitor your ad campaigns closely. Use analytics to see which platforms and messages are delivering the best return on investment (ROI), and don’t be afraid to update your approach.
4. Partner with Industry Influencers and Leaders
In the B2B world, word-of-mouth and recommendations go a long way. If a trusted voice in your industry promotes your SaaS product, their audience is more likely to give it a try.
Here’s what you can do:
Testimonials and Case Studies
People search for reviews online before purchasing any product or service. In fact, according to the statistics, 92% of customers report that reading an online review or testimonial had a direct impact on their purchasing decisions.
Nothing speaks louder than results. It’s best to get success stories from collaborators or interview industry leaders about their challenges and solutions. These can be shared on social media and used in your content marketing efforts.
Guest Blogging
Reach out to influencers or industry leaders to see if they’d be open to collaborating on a guest blog post. It’s so much easier to have access to their audience this way, and you can present your brand name as credible.
Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is another super popular tool for marketers to promote a product or service. And it’s simple. You collaborate with partners and offer them a commission for every lead they refer to your SaaS product.
Think of it as an indirect promotion of your brand. It’s a bit challenging at first, especially if you don’t have a large audience, but it does work in the long run.
5. Offer Free Trials and Demos
Sometimes, the best way to generate leads is to let people experience your product firsthand. That’s why we often come across calls to action like “Start Your Free Trial”, or “Book a consultation”.
Free Trials
Free trials of your service don’t necessarily guarantee immediate success, but they’re a great way to get potential customers to try your product without any risk. Once they see the value, they’re more likely to commit to a paid subscription.
Product Demos
If your product is more complex, you can offer live demos. A demo allows you to walk potential clients through your software and show how it can solve their specific problems.
Apple does it every year with their new iPhones, and it works great. Their product demos generate massive excitement and give potential customers the experience of seeing what the product can do.
Follow up emails
Follow up with trial users via email to check in on their progress, answer any questions, and gently encourage them to upgrade to a paid plan.
6. Build Relationships through Social Media
Social media is an excellent tool for B2B SaaS lead generation when used right. Its role is not just about sharing content but also about building relationships.
Think of it as a tool you should use to listen to your audience and ask for feedback. You’ll build stronger relationships and attract more quality leads in the process.
To get there, you should first identity the channels where you’ll share content.
- LinkedIn: This is a no-brainer for B2B SaaS companies. Join relevant groups, participate in discussions, and share insightful content to position your brand as an industry leader.
- X: Use to engage in real-time conversations, share updates, and respond to inquiries. Engaging with your followers can help build trust and nurture leads.
- Facebook and Instagram: While these platforms are more B2C-focused, they can still work for B2B, especially if you have a strong content strategy.
7. Implement a Referral Program
People trust recommendations from their network, and if your SaaS offers value, your customers will gladly refer others. Keep the referral process simple. Make it easy for your customers to share your SaaS with their network via email or social media.
Here are some strategies you can follow:
- Offer discounts
- Free months of service
- Exclusive features to customers who refer new users to your product.
And don’t forget to track referrals. Use referral tracking tools to easily monitor who’s referring whom and reward them accordingly.
8. Attend Industry Conferences and Events
Sometimes, the best leads come from personal interactions. Now, while you can also attend virtual events, sometimes it’s best to meet potential customers in-person. Having “real-life” communication gives you the chance to build more authentic relationships.
Networking Opportunities
Conferences are a platform to meet key decision-makers from other businesses. Having a booth or speaking at an event positions your brand as a leader.
Hosting an Event
With so many event marketing tools available online, it’s super simple to host your own event. You can then promote the event to get more people to join it and increase the chances of converting them into customers.
Sponsor Webinars
If attending in person isn’t an option, consider sponsoring or co-hosting webinars relevant to your SaaS product’s niche. This allows you to connect with an engaged audience.
9. Optimize Your Website for Conversions (CRO)
Your website is one of the main representatives of your services. So, it’s very important that it’s designed to convert visitors into leads.
Here are some ways to do that.
Clear Calls to Action (CTAs)
Your website should make it crystal clear what you want visitors to do. It can be, for example, signing up for a free trial or booking a demo. CTAs should be prominent, easy to understand, and placed strategically throughout the site.
Landing Pages
Landing pages can be designed for different audience segments or campaigns. A good landing page has a single focus: making sure visitors take the desired action.
Lead Capture Forms
Keep your lead capture forms simple. Don’t ask for too much information upfront.
Instead, focus on getting the essentials like name, company, and email. You can always ask for more details later.
Pro Tip: Use A/B testing to experiment with different headlines, CTAs, and form lengths to see what works best for your audience.
10. Partner with Other SaaS Companies
Strategic partnerships can help you tap into new audiences and drive leads you wouldn’t reach on your own. You can collaborate with other SaaS companies that allow you to offer solutions.
Joint Marketing Campaigns
Run joint webinars, blog posts, or co-branded marketing campaigns. This exposes your SaaS to your partner’s audience and vice versa.
Offer Deals
Partner with another SaaS company that complements your product, and offer deals that benefit both of your customers.
11. Use Chatbots for Lead Qualification and Engagement
Chatbots are becoming a go-to tool for SaaS businesses to engage with website visitors in real time. Basically, the do “all the work” for you. Capture leads, answer common questions, and guide prospects down the sales funnel.
Instant Interaction
Chatbots engage visitors as soon as they land on your website. They provide instant assistance. They can help qualify leads by asking specific questions about the visitor's business needs.
Lead Qualification
A well-programmed chatbot can collect data like the visitor’s name, email, company size, and specific challenges. This is how qualified leads are passed on to your sales team, saving time and increasing efficiency.
24/7 Availability
Chatbots are always available, meaning you can capture and qualify leads around the clock, even outside of normal business hours.
12. Leverage Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
SEO is a long-term investment, but when done right, it can continuously bring in leads without the need for ongoing paid advertising.
On-Page SEO
Optimize your website’s content with keywords relevant to your audience. Use clear headings, meta descriptions, and alt tags for images to improve your site’s ranking in search engines.
Content Strategy
Focus on creating evergreen content that answers common questions from your target audience. The more helpful and relevant your content, the more likely it is to rank high in search results.
Link Building
Encourage other websites to link back to your content. Backlinks from reputable sites help improve your domain authority and search ranking.
13. Use Exit-Intent Popups
Sometimes, users leave your website without taking any action. That’s where exit-intent popups come in. These popups appear when a visitor is about to leave your website, giving you one last chance to convert them.
You can:
- Offer a discount on their first month or a special offer to encourage them to stay.
- Promote a free e-book, guide, or webinar to capture their email before they leave.
Pro Tip: Make your exit popups relevant and non-intrusive. They should feel like a helpful suggestion rather than a distraction.
Final Thoughts
Lead generation for B2B SaaS companies doesn’t have to be complicated. Following these 13 strategies will make the process simpler than ever before. After finding out what works best, you can create an effective process to attract high-quality leads and convert them into loyal customers. Remember, lead generation is an ongoing process that requires constant testing, improvement, and creativity.
FAQs
What is B2B SaaS lead generation?
B2B SaaS lead generation is the process of identifying and attracting potential business clients to a software-as-a-service (SaaS) product.
Why is lead generation important for SaaS companies?
Lead generation helps build a group of qualified leads that can be converted into paying customers, ensuring long-term growth.
How can I improve lead generation for my B2B SaaS business?
You can improve B2B SaaS lead generation by using one or more of the strategies we shared in this blog post. Some of the best ones include optimizing your website for conversions, creating valuable content, offering free trials, and using targeted paid ads.
