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User acquisition strategies for independent software vendors (ISVs)

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Why customer acquisition matters

To achieve sustainable business growth and success, ISVs must continuously reach and retain new customers within highly competitive markets. Effective user acquisition strategies help your business stand out, improve retention, and increase revenue.

Key takeaways

  • Build partnerships and co-sell to tap into new markets and extend reach through ecosystems and marketplaces.
  • Engage customers in online channels like search, email, and social selling to drive discovery and acquisition for SaaS offerings.
  • Run targeted campaigns to find and convert high-value leads, focusing on segments most likely to benefit from your product.
  • Track key metrics such as CAC, LTV, and lead conversion rate to optimize spend and funnel performance.
  • Use automation (marketing and CRM tools) to scale lead nurturing and acquisition while reducing manual effort.

Create partnerships and co-sell

Both emerging and established ISVs can tap into new markets by taking a collaborative approach to user acquisition. Strategic partnerships—especially with larger companies—provide resources, expertise, and credibility that help you publish apps and reach new customer segments. While resellers offer in-depth knowledge of local markets and access to established user bases, system integrators and other vendors can bring more value to your existing products, increasing customer satisfaction and retention.
Account mapping—or aligning customer data and sales efforts with that of your business partners—is an effective way for ISVs to maximize potential co-selling opportunities. By coordinating sales strategies with other businesses, you gain access to additional customer insights and tools that empower you to prioritize leads, drive engagement, and close more deals faster.

Engage customers in online channels

Digital marketing techniques, such as content marketing and SEO optimization, help ISVs strengthen their brands and attract users. By creating and distributing valuable content that meets customer needs, vendors position themselves as trusted authorities. Plus, incorporating relevant keywords throughout your content helps your business rank higher across search engines and generate organic traffic to your websites.
Social selling supplies vendors with countless opportunities to engage customers and nurture relationships that drive sales. Actively sharing posts, responding to comments, and participating in discussions on various social media platforms can foster a loyal community around your brand. Plus, many platforms provide data insights and analytics that enable you to identify the specific types of content that resonate most with your target audiences.

Find and convert high-value leads

Effective lead generation techniques are essential for ISVs to efficiently grow networks of prospective customers. Consider launching targeted lead generation campaigns to focus your marketing efforts on the subsets of your potential customers that are most likely to benefit from your products. By exclusively targeting interested audiences and demographics, your business can improve cost efficiency, boost conversion rates, and reduce customer churn.
Offering valuable content, such as whitepapers and e-books, in exchange for contact information is another impactful way to acquire users. Also known as gated content, this approach continuously captures new leads to nurture through your sales funnel. Additionally, providing free trials or shifting to a freemium business model helps you turn more leads into actual sales. These techniques lower the barrier to entry for users by allowing potential customers to experience the value and benefits of your software firsthand, increasing your conversion rates.

Strategize using data and feedback

Data-driven approaches to user acquisition empower ISVs to optimize sales and marketing efforts. By gathering feedback, ISVs gain a better understanding of customer needs, pain points, and preferences—and ensure their software is meeting expectations. Additionally, ISVs can track key performance indicators (KPIs) to uncover the effectiveness and efficiency of their acquisition strategies.
Consider tracking the following metrics to make more informed business decisions and identify areas for improvement.

Customer acquisition costs

This KPI measures the total cost of acquiring each new user. Monitor user acquisition costs to assess the overall efficiency of your existing acquisition strategies and find new ways to lower expenses.

Customer lifetime value (LTV)

This KPI measures the total revenue a customer is expected to generate over time. Track LTV to prioritize leads, justify acquisition costs, and generate more upselling opportunities.

Lead conversion rate

This KPI measures the percentage of prospects who take a desired action, such as signing up for a free trial or making a purchase. Monitor conversion rates across your sales funnel to locate bottlenecks and boost effectiveness.

Drive sales at scale with automation

Scaling and automating user acquisition is key for ISVs to achieve sustainable growth. Using automation tools within marketing and customer relationship management (CRM) platforms, vendors can reduce manual effort and streamline acquisition processes, such as email campaigns and lead generation flows. Consider automating various business processes to ensure your business can build apps and deliver exceptional experiences even as your customer base grows.
Without a scalable infrastructure, ISVs may struggle to manage increased user loads and maintain service quality. As vendors grow, their systems must be equipped to handle larger volumes of users without compromising performance. Automation empowers your business to allocate resources more efficiently and address issues promptly.

Offer a unique value proposition

Strong value propositions and unique selling points (USP) enable ISVs to attract and retain users within highly competitive markets. By focusing on what makes your software different, potential customers can more easily understand why they should choose your products over alternatives. Pricing strategies also play a major role in user acquisition—consider implementing flexible pricing models, such as usage-based pricing or subscription-based pricing, to cater to different customer segments and their varying needs.

Engage niche markets and audiences

Niche markets and customer segments, such as early adopters, help ISVs build, sell, and grow more effectively. By engaging the specific audiences that are most likely to use and advocate for your software, your business can more easily build a community of enthusiastic customers and drive growth. For example, early adopters typically try new offerings and provide critical feedback that improves them—plus, they can generate new leads for your business by recommending your products to potential customers. Using platforms like social media and online forums, your business can further foster the brand loyalty and engagement needed to ensure long-term success.

Continuously innovate and adapt

In today’s fast-paced digital landscape, customer expectations and competing software as a service (SaaS) companies are always evolving. To stay ahead and achieve consistent growth, ISVs must regularly enhance their offerings with new features and capabilities. Consistent innovation helps vendors attract and retain users by addressing ever-changing customer needs. It also empowers your business to react to customer feedback and market research faster—this increased agility helps you prioritize software updates and adjust business strategies based on what your target audience needs most.
Resources

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FAQ

Frequently asked questions

  • A customer acquisition funnel is a strategic framework or model that outlines the entire journey potential customers take from initial awareness to final purchase. They typically include stages like interest, consideration, and intent to visually showcase how your business turns new leads into prospects and prospects into customers. 

     

    Optimizing your customer acquisition funnel involves understanding customer behavior at each stage of the journey and tailoring your marketing efforts accordingly.

  • Social selling is a crucial component of effective user acquisition for ISVs. By using social media platforms to connect with potential users and nurture relationships that drive sales, vendors can attract and convert leads more effectively. Plus, social selling empowers ISVs to address customer queries or concerns in real-time—and deliver more engaging and responsive customer experiences.
  • For SaaS companies, effective lead generation demands a mix of strategic content creation, SEO optimization, and targeted outreach. Creating valuable content that addresses customer pain points can attract and nurture leads—plus, incorporating relevant keywords helps ensure your brand and its content are easily discoverable across search engines. Combine these techniques with social selling or paid advertising campaigns to build a robust pipeline of qualified leads and drive sustainable growth.

  • ISVs should consider tracking the following metrics to gauge the effectiveness of their user acquisition strategies:

     

    • Customer acquisition costs, or the total cost of gaining a new user.

    • Customer lifetime value (LTV), or the total revenue a user is expected to generate over time.

    • Lead conversion rate, or the percentage of potential users who take a desired action, such as signing up for a free trial or making a purchase.

  • Automated marketing tools help ISVs streamline user acquisition by enhancing efficiency, enabling vendors to deliver consistently exceptional customer experiences even as their businesses grow. By automating acquisition processes, such as email campaigns, your business can allocate more resources toward strategic initiatives that drive growth. 

  • ISVs can improve customer retention by improving the value of their products and delivering what customers need. Specific strategies include: 

     

    • Continuously innovating to meet evolving customer needs.
    • Using data and analytics to personalize interactions.
    • Creating and sharing valuable content.
    • Offering a unique value proposition to stand out from other ISVs.
    • Collaborating or partnering with other businesses to offer more value.

     

  • The most effective user acquisition channels for software as a service (SaaS) companies include:

     

    • Search engines. SEO strategies can help drive organic traffic to your websites.

    • Email. Personalized interactions can help SaaS companies convert leads and acquire users.

    • Social media. Content marketing strategies can help businesses tap into new markets and reach more customers.