Effective Tips and Best Practices to Increase SaaS Conversion Rates with Mobile Apps

Mobile devices and the apps that come with them are used more and more every day. As a matter of fact, if we were to take a look at some mobile marketing statistics for 2019, we would see that the total number of mobile phone users worldwide from 2015 to 2019 has been steadily increasing, with 4.1 billion in 2015 and an expected 5+ billion by this year.  It seems like it was just yesterday when textbooks, flash drives, and newspapers were the prime ways of consuming and sharing content and information, and now smartphones and applications are quickly becoming the more practical and powerful way for people to share and consume virtually anything! With apps to learn, gather information, read, shop, share files, and so much more, they’ve become the ultimate tools.

As it happens to be, these tools have completely changed the world of SaaS. 

What Is SaaS? 

SaaS, also known as “software as a service,” is a type of software that allows data to be accessed from any device with an internet connection. If you have ever used SaaS marketing channels like Google’s apps, Dropbox, Slack, or basically any subscription-based sharing service that is accessible online, you are one of the many SaaS users out there. 

As you can imagine, the Saas industry has completely changed the way people share information and collaborate online. SaaS has simplified the world of business and education with tools like Google Drive, where project teams can collaborate on the same document at the same time—something that would be impossible without SaaS. 

“Gartner predicts SaaS revenues to reach $85 billion in 2019.”

It’s no secret that SaaS tools are here to stay and are rapidly evolving. In fact, 86% of users say SaaS applications help them succeed more than desktop alternatives, and 94% have reported significant benefits from adopting SaaS tools. As for the future of SaaS, while nobody knows for sure what is in store down the line, we all know there’s a lot to get excited about when we consider the current services that are already steering the present of the working world. 

Marketing with SaaS

The top SaaS marketing challenges come from the fact that there are so many options in the market. Why should your audience consider you instead of your competition? This is what your SaaS product strategy needs to answer if you plan on getting your product out there and used by as many people as possible. After all, the demand and love for SaaS tools is clearly present, the question is how to set yourself apart from the extremely saturated market that has been created and is still growing swiftly. That’s why we’ve collected the following SaaS marketing tactics, best practices and tips for you to increase your downloads and conversion rates, followed by some tips that are specific to using mobile apps to do so.

SaaS Marketing Best Practices You Need to Know

Like we just touched on, you need to get your SaaS out there, seen and liked by your audience. This is how you do that:

Use Freemium Models to Interest Your Audience

Offer a freemium model to allow your audience to get familiar with your services. This will ensure they know what they are getting with each plan, as well as bring a larger audience to your page. A good example of this is LinkedIn, who offers a free model as well as an added subscription model to get the full experience, which many are interested in after using the free model.

Don’t Offer Too Many Options

Having too many options tends to stress people out. Limit your plans to around three to five offers for the biggest impact. A good example of this is Birchbox, an eCommerce subscription beauty box that offers three plans for their service. They offer a monthly, six-month, and 12-month plans giving their customers enough options to fit their needs, but not an overwhelming amount.

Keep It Simple and to the Point

Keep your service easy to use and don’t overcomplicate things. A simple service that many use and love is Google Docs. It’s no secret that Google Docs is incredibly successful due to its powerfully basic and easy to use service.

Make It Easily Accessible 

Going off of the last point, ensuring that your service is accessible on all devices is huge for increasing SaaS conversion rates. The beauty of SaaS is that you can access them on any device. That being said, it must be effective on mobile devices, tablets, and websites. A great example of a service is Google Drive.

Offer Referral Rewards

Offering your customer rewards for referring others will not only bring more users to you but also bring loyalty to your customers. A company that offers referral rewards for their app is Lyft. After the referral ride is completed, users will receive a free Lyft ride as a thank you for their loyalty.

Tips to Increase SaaS Conversion Rates with Mobile Apps

Now that you know some general best practices to bolster your SaaS growth strategy, it’s time to delve into mobile-specific tips that will help push you across the finish line.

Keep the Sign-Up Process Short

In such an instant world, nobody wants to spend over five minutes filling out a questionnaire prior to signing up for an app. The average human attention span is 8 seconds. Keep the sign-up concise and to the point to ensure that the customer doesn’t lose interest before finishing signing up for the app. 

Show Visuals and Videos 

Mobile apps consist of a very small screen that is expected to fit a lot of information. According to Fast Company, content with visuals gets 94% more views than ones without. Providing the customer with visuals and videos will allow them to understand what is being portrayed without flooding their screen with unnecessary text.  

Provide a Search Feature

Nothing is worse than being on a mobile app and not finding what you’re looking for. Providing an easily locatable search feature to your mobile app will provide users with a quick and easy way to find what they’re looking for. 

Offer Options and Personalized Plans

With so many programs available on mobile devices, it’s important to create a plan that’s perfect for your customers and allows each one of them to design how their experience will go. A mobile app that is great at personalization is the Starbucks app, which provides personalized deals, suggestions, and even reward tracking.

Use Push Notifications, but Don’t Overdo It

According to Localytics, push notifications boost app engagement by 88%. Push notifications are a great feature…if utilized correctly. Be sure not to flood your user’s phone with an unhealthy amount (three or more) of notifications each day. Ensure your push notifications are well thought out and have a purpose. 

Give the Customer Resources

One of the best parts of mobile devices is the use of Chatbots that act as a direct link between user and brand that gets them in immediate contact whenever they need some help. Likewise, informative resources like FAQs also do wonders in terms of making everything more convenient for them.

Putting It All Together

Mobile apps are quickly becoming more and more prominent in SaaS. Keeping conversion rates as high as possible is incredibly important to ensure your app is successful. To review what we covered today, some key tips to remember to increase your SaaS conversion rates with your mobile app include keeping your sign up process short, showcasing visuals, providing a search feature, and releasing well thought out notifications. Comment below a tip that you want to try!

Hannah Gabaldon is a creative content writer at Aumcore, a digital marketing agency in NYC that specializes in mobile app development. She writes on a variety of topics that range from eCommerce best practices to the latest emerging technological trends.