This article is for marketers and founders at SaaS startups and software firms — or anyone who works with similar companies.
Sound good?
Let’s jump in!
Quick note before I start…
I have never worked with ActiveCampaign or founder and CEO Jason VandeBoom. Everything I describe in this article is based on my own experience as an ActiveCampaign subscriber and customer (I’ve been using their service for 3 years). I expect ActiveCampaign will constantly change its tactics (just like any company). What I describe below is what ActiveCampaign is doing today, which may change in the future.
ActiveCampaign Has Great Positioning
Positioning is how a company creates a perception of uniqueness.
I really like how ActiveCampaign positions itself by saying:
- “Cloud” and “integrations” = bad
- “stacks” and “deep data” = good
Everyone just assumes that “the cloud” is a good thing. By showing me how the cloud isn’t automatically good, ActiveCampaign creates a unique position in my mind.
Events and Meetups
Conferences and meetups are a blend of marketing strategies.
They support lead generation by giving a company a way to talk to prospects.
As I’ll describe in a bit, they also support the core funnel and backend funnel.
The challenge with in-person events for lead generation is that they’re expensive and time-consuming.
Despite the cost, however, they can be a very effective way to reach clients — especially enterprise clients.
ActiveCampaign has a variety of event-marketing activities to achieve this.
They have booths at conferences all over the world to engage with people from their target markets.
An Awesome Business Model and Pricing Strategy
The first thing I want to point out is that ActiveCampaign has an extremely smart pricing strategy.
I’ve read tons of resources on pricing and seen countless debates about “what should I charge” in various forums online.
The debate comes down to an argument between:
- Setting a low price to attract lots of new users
- Setting a high price so you only attract people who will be committed
ActiveCampaign does both.
The $9/month starting price is low enough for solopreneurs and anyone just looking to get a feel for the system.
In other words, ActiveCampaign has a pricing strategy that allows both things to happen.
The low-price intro offer is cheap enough to attract anyone with interest.
The higher tiers are for people who are committed to the service and understand the value it delivers for their business.
Educational Content
If blogging is about awareness, educational content is about engaging people once you have their attention.
That’s why educational content is awesome for SaaS businesses.
It’s meant to help business owners and marketers understand:
- The problems they face
- Solutions to those problems
These are resources for customer success, not directly for lead generation. It’s a next step people can take if they’re interested in learning more — even before they sign up for a trial.
After they sign up and start using the product, that’s where educational content really fills a need, helping people answer specific questions they have about using the product.
ActiveCampaign gets this, providing a huge library of guides, videos, and webinars.
If you hear about ActiveCampaign and want to hear or see more, there’s a resource for anything you want to know.