Switching from traditional software distribution to SaaS is not only challenging from a technical point of view, put also from a sales and marketing perspective. Yes, your software is simply available out there but that doesn’t make all the prospective customers out there use it.
In a great presentation Joshua Porter shows that one main reason is that people don’t like change. They rather stick to the software they are currently using instead of trying something new – even if it’s for free! Only a discouraging average of 8 percent of the users register for a free account (Which in turn softens the often-heard “Competition is just one click away” to a “… but people won’t leave you that quickly, because they don’t like new things”).
So, what to do to improve sign up rates?
Step one: convince your visitors that your product is great. And be aware, that you have three totally different types of visitors:
- Some users already know that they love your product and only want to sign up – give them a big, colorful button saying “sign up now”
- Some users think your offer might be what they want, but need further information – give them a brief overview over the features you offer accompanied by screenshots or a nice video
- Skeptical users that are not sure what your product does and whether they like it – give them the possibility to try out your product for free, detailed specs and a number to call when they have more questions
Step two: make sign up as easy and painless as possible. You might want to look at this other nice presentation
Nice background on creating motivation (the first presentation) and forms (the second one). Thanks.