For early-stage SaaS startups, a well-calculated growth strategy is critical. One tried-and-true plan to turn existing customers into larger, more meaningful accounts is “land and expand”. 

The land and expand approach helps break the barriers to entry that prevent small SaaS companies from competing. The success of this magic strategy, however, rests solely on establishing and deepening your relationship with the key accounts. This is where our automated chat application comes into play. 

In this article, we’ll discuss how SnapEngage can help you gain a foothold and expand footprints to additional departments after landing a customer(s) with a small deal. 

But first, let’s define the ‘land and expand’ approach.

What is a land and expand strategy? 

Land and expand business strategy starts when a SaaS vendor lands a small deal within a company. From there, they cultivate a healthy relationship (with the existing account) founded on trust and exemplary services, in order to conquer opportunities within departments. Ultimately, the goal is to earn bigger deals with the company, as a whole.

In a nutshell, to land and expand SaaS you should follow three broad steps:

1. Land a small deal with a customer in a target organization.
2. Provide better services to build trust and deepen relationships.
3. Expand by exploring more business opportunities with the organization.  

Let’s say you own a To-Do list SaaS startup and are looking to make it in this competitive niche. On the first sales attempt, a content manager in a reputable content marketing agency agrees to give the free plan a try. This is an anchor for more business with the agency, and our chat application can help maximize the opportunity. 

Let’s find out how.

How does SnapEngage aid implementation of this strategy? 

Streamline customer services

Now your first key account is under the free plan, which is a great starting point. Next you should endeavor to build trust — an indispensable building block for the success of the strategy. 

Users love software solutions that are easy-to-use yet powerful and reliable. So, when the users first sign up, it’s on you to make their customer journey as smooth and seamless as possible. Using SnapEngage’s Answer Bot you can become a resource to the users.

Answer Bot allows you to respond to all questions related to the installation or usage of your To-Do list software. The chatbot can pull relevant articles from a knowledge base and put them in front of the user or refer them to a human agent if the problem is complex. It holds the user’s hand from sign-up, and through onboarding and usage. 

Delivering exceptional service right off the bat helps build trust. If the first content manager trusts you as a quality SaaS provider, they will feel comfortable referring you to other managers in the agency. With an introduction from the current user, you can begin to make high-level connections to expand the product use within the organization.

Gather relevant client data

It’s highly likely that before trying your SaaS product, the manager tried other To-Do list apps. Maybe the other solutions were unreliable, overpriced, or even overkill for their tasks. All the manager is really looking for is a solution that will offer vital features at the right price. 

So, does your product fit the bill? To assist in finding out, SnapEngage enables you to gather vital data to understand the customer better and consequently deliver services that sway them to your side. 

It provides tools to understand the user’s intentions by analyzing their browsing actions. Let’s say, for instance, the content manager is constantly visiting the help page on your website. You can see which features they are frequently seeking help with or which aspect of your solution is troubling them most (based on which articles are frequently opened). 

Using these insights, you can improve your product offering or present content that helps solve their most pressing needs. When you help the first contact with their needs, you’ll also become acquainted with other departments of the Agency. You’ll learn various key things such as other potential users you can target, broader use cases of your SaaS solution, and the business impact of the software in the Agency.

At this point, you can comfortably list all potential buyers within the organization and their areas of interest. From there, put together a visual map outlining all departments you deem as most profitable to pursue.

Extend the lifetime of marketing messages

Let’s say you’ve convinced all the managers in the content agency to try your new To-Do list software. Your user base within the agency has grown significantly, but most of them are still on the free plan. Now’s the time to start building your monthly recurring revenue (MRR) and SnapEngage proactive chat can be of great help.

You can configure a proactive chat message to fire when a customer spends more than 15 seconds on the help page. The idea is to offer instant support and also communicate value with a marketing message to offer the benefits of a paid plan.

One of the best features of the proactive chat is that you can configure it to target users who have previously visited the help page. Once the user responds, it’s a good opportunity to engage them and understand the problem they are facing. As part of the solution to the issue, suggest a feature in the premium plan.

For example, if a user has a problem keeping up with recurring deadlines, use this opportunity to suggest Reminders (one of the features in a paid plan) as the solution.

Enhance your business growth strategy with SnapEngage

There’s no doubt that SnapEngage can help streamline your land and expand strategy. Digital conversation tools can help you persistently seek deep connections with the decision-makers in target organizations. SnapEngage helps transform your SaaS solution from a product that a few employees like, to software that the entire organization adores and stands behind. 

Our free trial gives you the opportunity to try the chatbots and other features first hand. Don’t wait any longer. Join other early-stage SaaS businesses that are using our digital conversation technology to grow their companies.

To learn how your enterprise can rethink growth and improve the customer experience, download the eBook.