I’m excited to show you what we’ve been working on! Encharge is a marketing automation software built for SaaS startups. We’re looking for a small number of SaaS companies to work with and evolve the product around their feedback.
Now you can lock in a founding status and pre-order a lifetime access to Encharge. Click here to find out more about the product and the details of the pre-order
UPDATE: Encharge.io is live now! You can register for a free account using the button below:
But before that…
Let me tell you why we decided to work on a marketing automation tool for SaaS and what is our vision for the product.
The 4 Stages of Marketing Automation in SaaS
There is a clear evolution that SaaS companies follow in terms of evolving their marketing from not having any customer messaging, through sending one-off emails blasts to having a complete lifecycle marketing system:
Stage 0:
We don’t know how to do marketing so we don’t send any emails
Stage 1:
We use MailChimp to send untargeted one-off blasts to our whole customer base
Stage 2:
We send basic transactional emails and we’ve created an onboarding sequence in Drip, Intercom or ActiveCampaign.
Stage 3: Complete Lifecycle Marketing
Lifecycle marketing is about:
- The right messages
- At the right time
- To the right people
- On the right channels – email, in-app messages, push and social media
At this stage, marketing automation is no longer considered marketing, it’s an extension of your core product.
I’m pretty sure if you’re on this email list you can chart your company against Stage 1 or 2.
I’m also certain you already know that your SaaS needs to be at Stage 3.
Like you I have a SaaS business and I’ve always been looking to convert more users, engage more customers and reduce churn.
But we all know that the process of graduating to Stage 3 can be a pain in the butt.
The Problems
1. Too Many Marketing Tools
Technology innovation leads to greater customer understanding. More tools mean better-empowered marketers.
Or does it?
Here’s the thing…
There’s a big inconsistency in what promotional materials say and what the reality is.
In the last 3 months, we spoke to over 60 SaaS companies.
We were baffled to hear that a lot of these companies don’t do anything beyond sending untargeted one-off emails to their whole customer base. And the rest are struggling to connect their marketing stack.
Having more tools doesn’t mean you’re better empowered at marketing.
It means it’s getting more difficult to do “all the things” well.
Especially, if you’re small and customers are comparing you to the big guys in your field.
2. Significant Investment and Development Resources Required
Let’s face it.
Stealing time from your developer’s busy schedule so he can connect your database with ActiveCampaign is not the highlight of your day.
But…
Without it, you’re stuck.
You can’t send essential customer communication at the right time to the right people.
Truth is you don’t care about APIs, documentation, and webhooks. And neither should you.
You get paid to convert more users and bring in more revenue.
3. Most Apps Don’t Work Well Together
Native integrations with the tools you use are not the standard. They’re an exception.
Yes, Zapier is a workaround but it requires additional setup and it comes at a price.
4. Bringing In Data from Different Tools is Impossible Without Your Developer
Setting up segments with data from your whole marketing stack is a tedious task that can be solved by your developer only.
5. High Prices
Do you have to regularly delete inactive users in order to stay in your current billing plan?
Marketing automation tools get expensive very quickly as you grow. Especially if you need premium integrations like Salesforce and Segment.
6. No Solutions Focused On SaaS Companies
Every marketing automation tool tries to serve the whole world – eCommerce, brick and mortar businesses, info product marketers…
We know that SaaS companies have specific requirements and toolset.
For all these reasons, most SaaS companies stay at stage 1 or 2 until they reach millions in ARR. Only then they could justify investing in better marketing systems and lifecycle marketing.
When I sold my last company, I decided it’s time to finally change that reality for smaller SaaS companies.
What If All You Had to Do Was Orchestrate Your Marketing Campaigns and Supply Great Content?
Encharge is a marketing automation software built for you, the SaaS marketer.
The future we envision is that marketers like you don’t need to wait until the next development sprint is over, to start executing what you should’ve been doing yesterday:
Complete lifecycle marketing campaigns.
Encharge will take care of the dirty work of connecting your marketing stack with native, one-click integrations.
We want you to focus on driving better results for your business by creating personalized, targeted lifecycle campaigns that drive more conversions, retention, and revenue.
Is this relevant to you?
Learn more about our solution by watching our presentation video. Click here to watch the video.
