How Can Payroll Software Companies Stand Out From The Crowd?
If you're wondering how to get more payroll leads through online advertising while trying to differentiate yourself from the competition, you're come to the right place. Nowadays, having a B2B marketing strategy is essential, when you need to reach out to more clients. So, how can you utilize marketing techniques to increase payroll sales and stay ahead of the curve? There are various types of marketing strategies, but the first step is to build a solid reputation in the industry. Most customers rely on positive reviews and case studies that showcase your business's worth and reliability. So, you can utilize your satisfied customers and their testimonials and use them on your landing page and social media. Additionally, strategic payroll solutions have a user-friendly interface and make it easy for payroll professionals to add new employees and process payments. Remember that clients must use your software for an extended period until they realize how useful and usable it is. Increasing retention accelerates growth and creates long-lasting professional relationships.
To be the best payroll provider in the market, you should include various features that are guaranteed to satisfy even the most demanding clients. For instance, you must provide a plethora of payment methods, including deposits, checks, debit and credit cards, and even digital wallets. You may also want to add additional features, like easily digestible payroll reports, PTO management, compensation management, and wage rates. Strategic marketing leadership also needs to consider value for money and USPs when creating their plan of action.
The Importance Of Digital Marketing Techniques For Increasing Payroll Sales
Payroll marketing is essential when you're trying to generate leads and increase sales as professionals learn more about your business. It's not only about how to get people to buy your product but also about fostering meaningful relationships. All you have to do is pick your budget and let your marketing leader put their techniques and methods to the test. The difference between digital and traditional marketing is that the latter does not offer clear metrics to determine whether your advertising strategy works. However, online promotion allows you to track every click, share, and impression on social media posts and their exact conversion rates. You can also set your target audience based on your buyer personas and cater to their unique needs. You don't have to waste money showing your ads to people who have no interest in buying your payroll solution. Lastly, one of the best content marketing ideas you can implement is providing educational material to customers. Not everyone is ready to make a purchase right away, and they may need to gather information before making a decision.
Now, let's get a little deeper and see how you can make the most out of your marketing efforts!
12 Marketing Techniques To Catapult Your Payroll Software's Sales
1. Define Your Value Proposition, Target Audience, And Goals
Any strategic marketing plan should consist of your value proposition, meaning the benefits your payroll software possesses for clients and how it excels compared to your competitors. Clients don't want to hear only about the features but also about how their jobs will be simplified using your software. Compare your product with competitive services and highlight your winning points. This entails in-depth research about other similar products and their features. Another marketing technique is identifying your target audience. Even if you didn't design your product based on a specific demographic, you still need to analyze the data and decide who to target. Maybe you can use existing customers' characteristics to carve out buyer personas. Last but not least, you need to set your goals. Your main objective can be increasing payroll sales, but you should also set smaller targets along the way. For instance, you may strive to increase leads or include your business in various niche directories. When you get listed in an HR software directory, you get more opportunities to collect targeted leads than adding your tool in a directory like Yelp.
2. Strengthen Your SEO
Your content marketing campaign should heavily focus on improving SEO to foster organic growth and attain a competitive position in Google results. Many companies turn to Google to find payroll solutions, meaning that your business should rank as high as possible. To strengthen your SEO efforts, you should use relevant key phrases and header tags. Also, you must improve your website's speed and its usability and proceed with landing page optimization. Create a blog section on your website and publish articles based on hot topics frequently to keep your audiences updated. Remember that the content you create should be informative, comprehensible, and useful. Positioning yourself as an industry expert creates trust and loyalty among your clientele. Moreover, a great marketing technique is to include links leading to your landing page so clients can learn about your events and services in detail.
3. Take Advantage Of Social Media And Ads
Every B2B payroll business should wonder how to become an influencer, as social media plays a crucial role in creating brand awareness and informing their client base about their services. For instance, LinkedIn should be on any list of marketing strategies, as it is one of the best ways to meet professionals in your field and highlight your expertise. The platform allows you to share your website content with backlinks, communicate with leads, and create a powerful brand image. Moreover, even the best content marketing agencies don't just rely on publishing content. They typically run PPC ad campaigns on Google, social media, etc.. You can do the same for the content you publish on payroll topics. This way, you only pay when someone clicks on your ad, and you save money on ads with no real visibility or value. You may go one step further and create retargeting ads that only people who engage with your website or social media content can see. Don't forget to utilize related keywords and phrases that clients looking to purchase payroll software use to do their research.
4. Utilize Various Lead Magnets
Another pivotal marketing technique is crafting various lead magnets that attract new clients and reinforce your efforts. And if you're on a budget, there are plenty of small business content marketing tips you can leverage. As a first magnet, you may create a whitepaper or eBook that fully explains your software's features and benefits. Or even an article showcc+asing your expertise on a specific topic. You can create a landing page dedicated to attracting leads and gathering email addresses in exchange for the written material. Another marketing method for B2B marketing strategies is to provide a complimentary consultation. You have the opportunity to explain your product's benefits and position yourself as an industry expert. Therefore, clients meet the team behind the product and form a sense of trust for you and your payroll company. Finally, another magnet you should create is a free trial of your payroll software. HR professionals must experience your product before deciding whether it works for them. So, allow them to use your services for a trial before requiring a full subscription.
5. Invest In Email Marketing
No marketing plan is complete without an email marketing campaign. It is estimated that by 2027, almost 5 billion people will own an email address. Therefore, you must evolve and foster engaging email communications with your client base. For starters, send a thank-you email to everyone who signs up to your website or purchases your payroll product and include a detailed guide regarding your product's features so buyers are fully informed. You should also set up a weekly newsletter and ask for feedback. But do not ask for comments right after a signup or a purchase. Allow for some time until clients have formed a complete opinion. Make sure your email frequency is not annoying—something that will lead people to unsubscribe. Lastly, you can segment your email list based on business size and position on your payroll sales funnel. And if you don't have a big audience, no worries. You can always team up with other websites and send out an email blast to an already thriving community!
6. Improve User Experience
One marketing technique B2B lead generation strategies can't miss is crafting an unforgettable User Experience (UX) for payroll leads. As already mentioned, you need to create an easy-to-use dashboard where every action and task is easy to process. You should also offer a step-by-step guide in case someone has trouble navigating your software. Additionally, your payroll software should be seamlessly integrated with existing time tracking, accounting, and HR software. And let's not forget about customization. What if clients want to create custom pay rates, deductions, benefits, and taxes? They should be able to do that without requiring too much technical expertise. Also, your software must produce detailed reports regarding all payroll aspects. Lastly, don't forget about mobile accessibility. As more companies turn to remote work, professionals often have to complete tasks while on the go and are incapable of using a computer.
7. Participate In Business Events
Public speaking is still considered one of the most powerful ways to gain visibility, build brand awareness, and foster relationships with clients and other professionals in your industry. As a marketing technique, it helps you position yourself as an industry expert and promote your payroll services through live demos. You have the chance to speak in front of a highly targeted audience and answer their questions in a personalized way. Before and after the event, you can give out company swag, like pens and notepads, so people can carry your brand everywhere with them. Maybe you can organize a competition and offer a free trial of your payroll software in exchange for participants' email addresses. Content marketing experts will agree that industry events help you converse with potential customers and get familiar with your competition and their unique offerings.
8. Create High-Quality Content
Content aims to engage and inform your audience regarding important subjects in your industry and promote your services. SaaS B2B marketing guides advise on utilizing high-quality content, whether it's blog posts, videos, webinars, or podcasts. Starting with blog posts, you must do research to identify the pressing subjects in your niche and approach them from your perspective. You may add backlinks to other articles on your website, directories your business is featured in, webinars and podcasts you've recorded, and videos you've published on platforms like YouTube. Videos and podcasts are very successful in capturing people's attention while informing them about payroll-related matters. Promote your software gently on every piece of content you create to increase purchase possibilities. If you record podcasts and webinars frequently, invite industry thought leaders to increase your credibility and participation.
9. Follow Up With Leads And Retarget
When you measure content marketing performance, you may notice that many leads show initial interest but are not ready to make a purchase. That's why they often exit your website or click on your landing page without registering. Instead of focusing on attracting new audiences, focus on recapturing the interest of those who left early to increase payroll sales. You may implement banner ads or Facebook marketing to track them around the internet and remind them of their visit to your website. If they are truly interested in your software, they'll probably revisit your site and make a purchase. What should you do, though, when someone has registered but has not shown any additional interest? In this case, your marketing technique should focus on sending them emails, too. You know they like your product, so sweeten the pot by adding a free offer or discount.
10. Conduct A/B Testing With CTAs
Payroll sales don't just happen overnight, no matter how groundbreaking your software is. Strategic marketing techniques utilize iterative testing to identify successful tactics that drive sales and increase lead generation. A/B testing is especially useful for CTAs, as the latter are meant to capture clients' attention and push them further down the payroll sales funnel. Small details like font size, colors, and text variants can make a massive difference. For instance, you may test red, blue, and purple CTA buttons to see which one attracts more registrants. You can experiment with various messages, including "Sign up now," "Book now," or "Save me a spot." If you want to test multiple variants, you can use multivariate testing. Compared to A/B tests, this format tests different page elements. For example, you can test both different colors and font sizes. With A/B tests, you have to focus on one element at a time.
11. Build A Community
The best marketing teams in the industry firmly believe that building a digital community is crucial to creating loyal relationships and maintaining a powerful brand image. To stand out in the payroll services industry, you need to curate a reliable and open identity, making your audience feel like they can ask you anything. From engaging with potential buyers on social media and answering questions on Quora to hosting a Reddit thread, it's pivotal to be close to your clients. Maybe you can arrange a Q&A session on Twitter or a free webinar. As your audience increases, you can create your very own community where members can communicate publicly. Surely, you need to manage and oversee these conversations so no unauthorized people join.
12. Persuade And Don't Negotiate
Persuasion is not negotiation. It is a time-consuming and demanding task where marketers should show self-awareness. You don't want to drag the conversation toward yourself and your agenda. Instead, you want to meet the customer at their arena and learn about their needs and preferences. What pushback could you receive, and how can you address it? What is the difference between your goals and your clients' goals? Be prepared for questions you may receive and let potential buyers direct the conversation. Inform them of successful case studies and buyer testimonials and leave it to them to make a decision. By building a personal connection, professionals feel free to make a pressure-free decision. Day by day you'll learn how to build strong relationships, even on a remote basis.
Wrapping Up
Another technique that could serve any type of business, is cold calling. It may be old-fashioned, but it allows you to get exposure and inform potential customers of your business's name and niche. You don't have to be overly friendly or smiley to make a sale; simply stick to the benefits of your product. And it works as a proven small business marketing strategy too!
If this payroll marketing tactic isn't for you, you can always stick with warm leads you've met through live events or who have signed up for your newsletter.
Whatever marketing technique you end up using, it's essential to remember the importance of promoting your payroll software. Staying ahead of the competition with the marketing techniques we shared in this article will help you attract prospects, increase sales, and expand the reach of your business.
Don't know where to start with your marketing plan? Here's a step by step marketing plan template to get you started!
