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Please find excellent examples or case studies of... Public Relations Strategies for SaaS startups in the B2B space.
Hello! Thanks for your question about examples of public relations strategies for SaaS startups in the B2B space. The most useful sources I found to answer the general issue of what makes a successful PR campaign were Kissmetric and Onboardly. The short version of the overall response is that companies such as JotForm, AssureSign and ShopVisible have had successful PR campaigns. However, in general, there was a surprising lack of information, about the PR strategies used by specific SaaS companies. This required me to use information supplied by PR firms in order to answer your question; however, the information that we did find did not specify whether the campaigns were B2B or B2C. campaigns. Below you will find a deep dive of my findings.
OVERVIEW
In approaching this issue, we conducted numerous searches designed to isolate startups with successful PR marketing strategies. We also reviewed the sources provided in our original response. Frankly, we were unable to locate articles or studies that effectively rank SaaS startups according to factors such as percent sales growth, profitability, market penetration, etc. and link that growth to the types of PR campaigns that they ran. However, there are PR firms that advertise their abilities to design PR strategies for SaaS companies, and some of those firms do list companies that used their methods and achieved positive results.
Without more academic assessments that demonstrate comparative results I had to use the case studies provided by the PR companies to provide you with current examples of PR strategies. I have provided examples below and, to the extent possible, used companies that are similar to DialSource, InsideSales and Velocify. Unfortunately, the PR firms do not provide significant details on their work (I assume for proprietary reasons). In addition, they do not differentiate between B2B and B2C campaigns. Nevertheless, the firms that we have identified are listed below.
I have also provided links to sites that provide ideas on how to formulate successful PR campaign strategies for SaaS companies; however, inasmuch as the request indicated that you were not necessarily interested in generic approaches, I will not discuss them herein.
JOTFORM
Jotform is a SaaS company that builds platforms that integrate with companies such as SalesForce and PayPal. The company was competing with Adobe in the marketplace. Their approach to gaining market share was to first correct deficiencies that they had identified in their system. After this they embarked upon a PR campaign that was built around those improvements (particularly the import tool on their platform). After coalescing those improvements, they used a SimpleTiger, a PR firm, to promote the improvements to the business community. Within 2 months they were the number 1 ranked alternative to Adobe in the "formscentral alternative" category. Their traffic increased 597.96% as well.
ASSURESIGN
AssureSign is a SaaS company that provides electronic signature technology. Its clients are generally from the insurance and financial service sectors. It hired ARPR to assist with its PR strategies. It's first approach was to redesign its website so that its core message was more effectively communicated. A new site map was also developed. Keyword searches on Google were also used to ensure that the website was more responsive. Other changes to the website included the addition of blogs and a live Twitter feed. Then, with the relaunch of the website, an aggressive social media advertising campaign was initiated. As a result of the new PR approach the company's web sessions increased 94% and its bounce rate decreased by 93%. Site views increased 251%. Ultimately the site averaged 3 conversions per day.
SHOPVISIBLE
ShopVisible is an eCommerce company that was in need of increasing its leads. It accomplished this with the issuance of its 2014 Annual Report. After the report was issued it retained ARPR to conduct a PR blitz. The company did this by concentrating on individual stories that were in the Annual Report and combining them into a single announcement. This announcement was then rolled into a press release that was targeted to specific reporters. In addition, a social media campaign was begun that utilized Twitter and LinkedIn. This approach resulted in a significant increase in media exposure, that ultimately produced over 100 new prospects.
ZEPOL CORPORATION
Zepol is based in Minnesota. It is a SaaS firm that provides trade data, e.g. import and export data, to various organizations worldwide. This, in turn, assists those companies with new sales leads. Zepol retained Snow Communications to handle its PR campaign. This campaign initially focused upon creating an improved media presence. But it also endeavored to create a longer-term media approach. This included the integration of new product launches. Accordingly, Zepol spokespeople were sent out to give media interviews. Articles were written and sent to media outlets. This, it was hoped, would improve the company's overall portfolio. The result was that there was much more media exposure and increased new business for the company.
SUCCESSFACTORS
SuccessFactors is a leading talent management SaaS/SAP. According to LaunchSquad, the PR firm retained by SuccessFactors, the company was an industry leader in 2006, but was still largely unknown. LaunchSquad showcased customer case studies. It did this by highlighting their technology and showing how that technology had impacted the customers. This gave them a more visible presence. The result of the campaign was that SAP acquired SuccessFactors for $3.6 billion in 2011.
SALESFORCE
Salesforce is a SaaS company that produces the world's #1 CRM app. According to its founder and CEO, Marc Benioff, the company achieved its success through aggressive PR. Benioff maintains that PR is more than just media exposure. Rather, it is about forming the right overall message for the company. This includes building a brand-identity and taking positions that result in the company standing out in the industry. In essence, his approach consistently returns to the idea of building relationships, whether those relationships are with the customers, industry insiders, journalists or employees.
INFOTYCOON
InfoTycoon is an Atlanta-based startup asset management platform in the real estate industry. The company retained Write2Market to handle their public relations strategy. Write2Market was involved with the official launch of the platform at the main conference for multi-housing technology. As a result, InfoTycoon was voted as the best new technology of the year. At this point, 5 of the 10 largest property management firms use their software.
CONCLUSION
To wrap it up, while there are examples of successful PR campaign strategies by companies such as JotForm, AssureSign and ShopVisible, the industry as a whole does not widely publish information on the types of PR strategies used by specific SaaS companies. The information on the companies listed herein has been gleaned from reviews of various PR firms and is not terribly specific, due, I suspect to proprietary reasons.
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