When our long-standing service-based client approached us with the task of launching their innovative new SaaS product—on a limited budget in a competitive, global marketplace—we got straight to work.
Ignition are data management and data warehousing experts specialising in Data Vault, and the only authorised Data Vault training provider in the Asia-Pacific region. From working with hundreds of industry professionals, Ignition identified a massive opportunity to reduce the time required to set up, manage and optimise a Data Vault through automation: enter IRiS.
IRiS is “a Data Vault automation solution that enables you to integrate data from practically any data source or combination of datasets—simply, securely, and fast.” IRiS had been developed by the Data Vault specialists at Ignition and was now ready to be launched—which is where we came in. This integrated project posed unique challenges requiring strategic finesse and sharp, data-driven decision-making. Here’s the project breakdown, our approach and key results.
Create an agile, cost-effective product launch strategy that includes developing key messages and value propositions, a website design and an omnichannel digital marketing campaign. While Ignition has historically focused on the Australian and New Zealand markets, the audience for IRiS is global, which the go-to-market strategy needs to reflect. The campaign objectives include building awareness in multiple regions and generating qualified leads while gathering insights and learning about the market.
Soft launch, test, analyse, refine, and test some more.
An agile approach is paramount when launching a new product into a (partly) new market with very limited resources. We knew we needed to experiment, learn, and respond quickly to determine what works and how to best utilise minimal resources.
With the IRiS custom HubSpot website build complete, we started by tailoring messaging to encourage free trial registrations. Knowing that users expect this from SaaS providers, we launched multiple driver campaigns to reach new and existing audiences with this messaging. Engagement on this initial campaign was strong, but we knew we could do better on the conversion rate. Based on the initial performance data, we identified a need to move up the funnel slightly and opted to offer a free webinar call to action instead.
Our primary CTA pivoted from “Free Trial Sign Up” to “Webinar Sign Up,” and we immediately saw a huge jump in conversions. Webinar attendees were highly engaged, which allowed the Ignition team to build trust and progress opportunities.
But we weren’t entirely satisfied yet. Though we saw high engagement and improved conversions, we knew we could increase the overall number of webinar attendees by tweaking messaging based on our key audience’s pain points. Collaborating with the Ignition team to identify what type of USP messaging resonated with people was crucial to our success. The IRiS points of difference boiled down to two primary messaging groups: new Data Vault users looking to simplify the setup process and existing Data Vault users who require easy integrations with existing environments.
With our CTAs locked in and our key messaging refined, we proceeded with—you guessed it—more testing and targeting refinements to further increase performance and lead quality.
Conversion rate increase: Through CTA refinements, we achieved over 30 times as many webinar sign-ups as compared to trial requests.
High-quality funnel: The IRiS team has reported a 17% conversion rate from webinar attendee to qualified opportunity.
Be agile: In today’s digital space, we must prepare to make decisions as we go. This isn’t to say that flying by the seat of your pants will get the best results, but starting with a well-considered strategy that allows for growth is far more beneficial than adhering to a rigid structure simply because it was initially agreed upon.
Be organised: Optimising is great—just not all at once. To identify what’s working, make one change at a time, monitor, and then assess. Had we gone ahead with all of our campaign updates at once, we wouldn’t have been able to identify which component was responsible for the positive results. This methodology applies to key messaging, ad creative, targeting and all the other bits involved.
Be data-driven: Properly setting up analytic and reporting tools before a campaign launch streamlines the performance assessment process and facilitates data-driven decision-making. Determine what success looks like in terms of KPIs and get everyone on the same page.
From SaaS product launch support to niche B2B marketing strategies and everything in between—give us a shout. Our in-house experts have seen it all before and can’t wait to apply this hands-on experience to your next big project.
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