Many companies use email marketing, and while the general traits of an email marketing strategy are the same across different industries, there are still differences. For instance, SaaS email marketing differs from other email campaign types.
What has become particularly relevant in the past few years is how to manage SaaS email marketing during times of crisis. Something like a global pandemic could be extremely disruptive to your own business and to the lives of your customers. That is why adjusting your strategy during this time is particularly important. Hence, here’s how to set up your SaaS email marketing in a crisis period.
#1 Don’t Pause Your Promotional Campaign Completely
First, you must understand that a crisis is not a reason to pause all your promotional activities completely. On the one hand, some of your customers might not be able to continue purchasing a subscription to your software. On the other hand, there will still be many customers who will be able to pay for your software even during a crisis. Moreover, these customers might even depend on your software to do their jobs and earn money to survive the crisis.
This is precisely why you shouldn’t halt your email marketing campaign. That being said, you should still be realistic about continuing your promotional activities. If your emails would be inappropriate during this period, you might have to change your strategy or limit your email-sending frequency. Every case is different, so you should analyze your email strategy and come up with a conclusion about what will work for you.
#2 Review All Your Current Emails Before Sending Them
Speaking of changing your current email strategy to some extent, you should review all your current emails before sending them. You probably have a lot of content prepared ahead of time, so the crisis that has appeared so unexpectedly might put you in a difficult situation. You can’t just send all your pre-prepared content as if nothing happened and the world is going on like before.
Critically assess every email you have prepared and every new email you create. Make sure that you aren’t sending any insensitive or inappropriate content. Perhaps you will even need to change the main message of your email marketing campaigns to be more in line with current events. For instance, you might have to focus on providing opportunities for your customers to continue using your software (e.g., with the help of discounts).
#3 Try to Stand Out from the Sea of Information Clutter
One of the problems SaaS companies face during a crisis is their inability to reach their audience. Many other businesses and brands are likely sending out emails to their subscribers telling them what the respective companies plan to do during the crisis. For instance, when the COVID-19 restrictions were imposed, many businesses had to close temporarily, while some companies even shut down permanently.
Because everyone is sending such emails, your email might not be seen in your subscribers’ inboxes. Try to deliver real value in your email to stand out from the sea of information clutter. Show your compassion during these difficult times. Don’t send an email right when the crisis hits – take your time and think through your actions before making your final decision and sending the email.
#4 Consider Different Options and Don’t Make Hasty Decisions
As mentioned above, keep a level head, consider various options, and don’t make hasty decisions. First, you might miss out on a really good solution or course of action if you choose the first good thing you come up with. Second, you could easily make a detrimental mistake that will ruin your image and make your email marketing campaign fail. Third, you might lose loyal customers who won’t accept your decision.
So take your time and consider how to continue using your SaaS email marketing effectively during this crisis. Craft the perfect email to notify subscribers about your further course of action. Use some proofreading and editing services to help you find and correct possible mistakes in the email. Once it is polished and ready, you can send it.
#5 Take into Account How Deliverability Could Be Affected
Even as you continue your email marketing campaign, you must keep an eye on all the metrics you have been tracking before. The only problem is that you will likely see them affected for various reasons. For instance, some customers who cut their expenses might stop using your software and unsubscribe, affecting your unsubscribe rate.
If you decide to halt your email marketing completely (which is not recommended), you could see a significant change in deliverability once you start marketing again. Even if you don’t pause your SaaS email marketing, you might still see a surprising change in your metrics, so don’t be too scared.
#6 Focus on Empathy and Compassion in Your Marketing
Empathy and compassion should be of the utmost importance to you while using SaaS email marketing during a crisis. Businesses should demonstrate that customers come in the first place for them, so they are willing to create opportunities for their clients to stay with the brand even if they might have less money to spend during the crisis.
This focus on empathy and compassion should also be reflected in all the content you put out. Everything you present to your audience, from emails to social media posts, must reflect your choice to show empathy. Likewise, you should create customer opportunities, such as discounts, sales, special offers, personalized offers, etc.
#7 Explain the Role of Empathy and Compassion to Executives
To continue on the topic of empathy and compassion, you should also explain their role to the executives at your company. Even if your marketing team understands how it should move forward with your email campaigns, your executives and higher management may not be as eager to show this empathy to your audience.
Clearly explain the perspective of your customers who cannot continue paying for their subscriptions the way they did before precisely because of current events. Then, propose possible solutions in terms of the offers and the marketing. If you can have everyone on board with the new action plan, your customers and your company will be happy.
#8 Don’t Be Tone-Deaf and Don’t Engage in Virtue Signaling
Many brands nowadays really like to virtue signal in different ways. This kind of marketing often continues during a crisis period. You mustn’t engage in virtue signaling and avoid being tone-deaf. Always look for ways to understand your audience’s perspective and put your customers before anything else.
For instance, it is normal to see a decrease in demand during a crisis. If you want feedback on how your business has been handling its marketing during the crisis, you can find the last reviews about your software and look for feedback on social media. You will already get a general idea of what customers think about how you handle everything.
#9 Continue Using Segmentation and Personalization
To truly appeal to all or most of your customers, you must continue using segmentation and personalization in your SaaS email marketing, even during a crisis. As mentioned above, you must try to understand your audience’s perspective. However, your audience is not a monolith, so you must understand multiple perspectives.
Some segments of your audience might have a higher income and less financial stress, so these customers can still continue paying for a subscription to your software. Other groups within your audience will go as far as unsubscribing from you. Be ready to do anything and try to approach each customer individually with special offers and discounts.
#10 Provide Relevant and Helpful Offers to Customers
Lastly, always provide relevant and helpful offers to your customers. This is precisely why segmentation and personalization are so important – they allow you to find the best options for different customers.
For instance, some of your email subscribers will be particularly interested in sales and discounts during a crisis. While others will want to continue receiving industry insights and expert interviews as they did before. Ask your subscribers what they expect from you and adjust your email marketing accordingly.
Conclusion
To summarize, correctly setting up your SaaS email marketing strategy during a crisis will help keep your customers and perhaps even strengthen your relationship with your audience. Use the tips in this article to help you create an actionable and empathetic SaaS email marketing strategy for a crisis period.