

Ask HN: SaaS Distribution and Customer Acquisition - jhaski

I was wondering if anyone could talk about how they acquire customers for SaaS (B2B) companies as opposed to consumer (B2C) websites. Are there any viral or SEO techniques commonly used?
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binarymax
Well, good SEO and getting brand recognition are important in any scenario
(viral or not).

I think it depends on the type of B2B you are speaking, in terms of market
size.

An enterprise business or government probably wont start using a SaaS
application on an enterprise scale because they found it on google...the
process is typically through RFP and the selling company will need to go
through those channels. So if you are trying to bag an elephant it wont happen
through SEO and viral only.

Now if you are counting small business (<500 employees) or even midmarket
(<5000 employees) it starts getting fuzzy. The acquisition process is usually
not that mature and sometimes it can get lucky as much as a top spot on google
to get noticed.

For any B2B though, unless you have some great new way of getting noticed,
your best bets are through typical business channels - cold calling,
networking, trade shows, responding to RFPs, and so on.

I guess the viral version of B2B might be having the best spectacle on a
trade-show floor or miraculously getting a nod in Forbes.

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exline
I don't think you need to limit it to SaaS. There is a slight difference
between SaaS and desktop applications, but from a marketing perspective, I'm
not sure it is a huge difference.

I recommend reading up on Bassamiq (<http://www.balsamiq.com/blog>). There is
a log of good information about how he grew his business.

Personally, I'm using Adwords and standard SEO techniques. I'm going after the
small businesses. I don't see much chance for a viral techniques in my market.
I going to experiment with some cold calling to see what the conversion rate
is to see if it is a good use of time. I've started talking with a marketing
guy and he has several ideas that I will try. No idea if they will work or
not.

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jeffepp
One great way to acquire customers is by becoming involved / networking with
others in the startup community.

SEO is crucial. Good techniques are all over the place. Make sure to target
the correct keywords, etc..

Finally, consider creating an affiliate or referral program. It can be pretty
inexpensive to get going and you pay for performance (signups or users).

