SaaS businesses are great. If you have a decent product that you update regularly, customer retention is high, and revenue is predictable and robust. It's hard, however, to get enough customers to gain initial traction.

Many businesses (including us for a long time), used what I call the Flytrap model of customer acquisition. Present something sweet and tempting, get the customer to land, and POW! sales cycle.

Other businesses use what I call the Lion model: go out, find suitable customer targets, run them down and get them in your belly (not literally).

Both of these models are appealing at first, but let's look a bit closer.

A flytrap can entice, but only when there are so many flies buzzing around that one of them are bound to land. If there aren't enough flies around, they go hungry.

In the same way, attracting customers through inbound marketing techniques is most effective when you have created an environment where there's a lot of buzz. If you aren't getting the traffic, there's nothing to catch or convert, and you'll go hungry. Inbound marketing requires investment of time and energy, knowing exactly what your customers like so that they'll come to you to get more. 

A lion is powerful and fearsome, and is known for being an effective hunter. It follows its prey stealthily, observing and learning the best places to strike. However, once the food is eaten, it's only a matter of time before the lion has to get back out and find some more.

In the same way, a concerted and consistent outbound sales process is an essential part of business, and something many SaaS businesses don't do enough of. Am I saying to stalk your customers? Er, no. But I am saying that you should understand your customers before attempting to close the sale. What do they care about? What do they value? How are you going to make them look like a star in their job? 

Flytraps are good at attracting candidates, but can't go find them on their own. Lions are good at getting candidates, but have to keep going back out to survive. So what's the real answer?

Mercifully, my non-existent Photoshop skills won't allow me to construct a flytrap-lion abomination. However, you do need skills of both the flytrap and the lion. Inbound marketing gets your message, brand, and story out to more people, and reminds customers why they are with you. Outbound sales puts you in front of decision makers who can expand your business quickly.

That's still a lot ot take on. What creature has such a wide skill range?

Oh yeah, those guys.

You don't have to be a flytrap, a lion, or Cloverfield to win at customer acquisition.

Think like a human. Connect. Set lures. Use your strengths. Most importantly, adapt.

Flytrap Image Credit: David Hill
Lions Image Credit: Paul Stevenson
Caveman Credit: Evan O'Neil
All Images Licensed under CC BY 2.0