Who Do You Need In Your SaaS Marketing Team?

Marketing a SaaS product involves a unique set of challenges, guiding your target personas from consideration and evaluation through to free trials or demos, through to onboarding them as customers and retaining their loyalty. While conventional marketing may involve hiring a marketing manager to generate leads for the sales team, when it comes to SaaS marketing, it requires a whole range of skills deployed at an expert level. From the strategic to the technical to the creative.

Though many SaaS companies try to stick to a tight budget by doing as much of the marketing as they can themselves, it is unrealistic to expect a single person to possess all of the abilities required to deliver sophisticated marketing programs within the tight timeframes that SaaS businesses require.

Read on to explore the various job roles and skills required to build an effective marketing team for a SaaS business. By assembling a team of professionals with diverse skill sets, you can ensure that your marketing campaigns are comprehensive, effective, and able to drive growth for your business.

Strategist/Marketing Manager or CMO

A strategist is responsible for developing and implementing the marketing strategy for your SaaS product. This role is typically filled by a marketing manager, who can pitch big ideas and use testing and analysis to improve strategy and tactics over time. Your strategist should be a digital native who is up-to-date with the latest trends in digital marketing and in touch with the requirements of your audience. With these skills, they can create effective strategies to meet the unique needs of your SaaS business and help you stand out from the competition.

Content Marketer/Copywriter

A content marketer’s role is to conceptualise and create compelling content that resonates with your target audience. They are a creative force that works as part of your team to develop and deliver content ideas, from onsite copy and blogs to outreach articles, eBooks and social posts. This team member should have strong writing skills and the ability to visualise the appeal of your product and the problems it solves for your audience. As your content is a direct line of contact with your audience, your content marketer needs a close understanding of who they are and how to engage them.

Graphic Designer

A graphic designer is responsible for creating designs that are both aesthetically pleasing and practically functional. They are responsible for your audience’s first impressions of your brand, from your logo and site design elements to branded graphics and infographics. They should have a close understanding of what makes a good user experience, and be able to work with the latest tools to deliver designs that meet the latest technical standards and follow best practices for web design and conversion rate optimisation.

Web Developer

Your web developer is responsible for building and maintaining your website. This role is particularly important if you have regular updates to your product. They should have experience with a variety of web development tools and coding languages, and be able to build responsive websites that work across all devices. They need to be familiar with the latest trends and best practices in web development, and able to respond quickly to reports of bugs or glitches to maintain an excellent user experience.

SEO Manager

An SEO Manager is responsible for ensuring that your website is optimised for search engines. They should be search engine experts, always one step ahead of the algorithm, with an in-depth understanding what it takes to be found online, whether through paid clicks or SERP positions. They need to stay up-to-date with the latest changes in Google and Bing’s features and algorithms and willing to experiment with different strategies to continually improve conversion rates.

PPC Manager

Your PPC Manager is responsible for managing your pay-per-click advertising campaigns. They will work alongside your SEO Manager to understand what drives traffic and to create cost effective ads that start people down the sales funnel. They should have a strong understanding of targeting and bidding, with a penchant for short, punchy ad copywriting. They also need to be able to use testing to improve campaign performance.

Marketing Assistant

A marketing assistant is responsible for supporting the marketing team across a variety of tasks. Their job is to coordinate the whole team, so that your brand vision is aligned across your marketing department and beyond. They should be knowledgeable and conversant with a range of marketing activities, as they may be responsible for tasks such as database maintenance, loading and maintaining website content, loading email campaigns, and pushing out social media campaigns.

Product Marketer

Your product marketer is responsible for creating and executing marketing strategies that drive product adoption and growth. They will work closely with the product development team to understand the features and benefits of the product, and communicate these to the target audience. They also work closely with the sales team to create effective sales materials, enabling them to effectively communicate the value of the product to potential customers. The product marketer follows the product throughout its lifetime, ensuring that it is successfully launched and continues to grow and thrive in the market.

Data Analyst

Hiring a data analyst will give you a solid data-driven foundation for all your marketing decisions. Their skills involve gathering and analysing data from site behaviour and social engagements to email metrics to gain insights into your customers’ needs and understand how your marketing campaigns are meeting them. They should be able to use statistical analysis and data visualisation tools to identify trends and opportunities for improvement. They also need to communicate their findings to your team in a way that is clear and actionable.

AI Lead

Businesses looking to be on the cutting edge of marketing technology should invest in hiring an AI lead. They are responsible for using artificial intelligence to improve your marketing campaigns, using machine learning algorithms and predictive analytics to identify patterns and trends in customer behaviour. They can also investigate how technologies such as AI chatbots and email tools can help create personalised experiences for your customers. They should have a deep understanding of the latest developments in AI and the skills to incorporate them into your marketing strategy.

Is SaaS Experience Essential?

While it’s not essential for every member of your team to have experience with SaaS products, it is highly desirable. Marketing a SaaS product requires a deep understanding of the unique challenges and opportunities of this section of the market. Previous experience in marketing SaaS products can be highly beneficial in leveraging experience and getting off to a quick start.

However, forming a team with a diverse range of experience may help you bring fresh insight to your marketing strategies, so don’t be afraid to hire outside the box.

How to build your SaaS marketing team

You may be daunted by the number of roles required to create a truly winning marketing team, but don’t worry: there are a number of ways to bring together all the skills you need to succeed.

You can recruit individual team members to form your own in-house marketing team. This is the most costly option, from recruitment fees to salaries, office space, and hardware and software, but it has the benefit of creating a close-knit and familiar group of people who work together on each strategy.

Alternatively, you can outsource marketing to an external agency that possesses the necessary skills and experience. Outsourcing is likely to produce the fastest results at the lowest cost. Choosing the right external partner means you get an experienced team that is used to working together and is able to go to bat from the moment the green light is given. With no overheads associated with recruitment or employment, it makes financial sense.

The third option is to recruit key in-house staff and support them with external expertise where there are skills gaps. Key personnel such as the strategist can work full time alongside the CEO and sales manager, while specialist skills such as content writing, web design and SEO can be affordably outsourced from an agency. That way, you know you’re getting a high level of expertise without having to pay full-time wages.

Ready to Build Your Dream Team?

Xander Marketing is the marketing partner of choice for SaaS businesses that wish to outsource their marketing to a results-focused agency. They have worked with over 200 SaaS businesses globally, helping them grow from strength to strength through more customers, leads, website traffic, and brand awareness.

Whether you want to outsource your full marketing department, fill in skill gaps, or need more advice, request a free 30-minute marketing consultation and talk to the experts.