Product as Marketing: Win More Customers with Free Tools

Getting new users and converting them into paying customers takes a lot of work, especially for SaaS products. Traditional marketing can be costly and often doesn't work as expected.

You've tried ads, social media campaigns, and content marketing, but the results are not good. Your customer acquisition cost keeps rising while your conversion rates do not progress.

Your competitors are ahead, and your product isn't getting noticed. It's frustrating.

What if your product could market itself?

You can use a marketing strategy called "Product as Marketing".

How does it work? Let's get started.

What is Product as Marketing?

It is a strategy in which you create free products to attract new users for your main product.

Big names like Ahrefs, Canva, and Grammarly have successfully used this approach.

Imagine turning your free offerings into powerful lead magnets that drive traffic, generate leads, and boost your email subscriber list.

Why does it work?

Users often hesitate to invest in a new SaaS product without seeing its value firsthand. Free trials are good, but they don't always provide enough incentive for users to dive.

Potential customers might not fully understand how your product can solve their problems. They need a risk-free way to experience its benefits and build trust in your brand.

Creating a valuable free product gives users a taste of what you offer. It demonstrates your expertise and the effectiveness of your main product, provoking them closer to purchasing.

Key Tips:

• Showcase Value: Design your free product to highlight the core benefits of your main offering.
• Gather Feedback: Use insights from users of your free product to improve both the free and paid versions.
• Build Trust: Offer top-notch support and resources for your free product to build credibility and trust with potential customers.

Examples of Success

Many companies struggle to gain traction with their core products because they can't get enough people to try them out.

Without enough users, it's difficult to gather the data and feedback needed to refine and improve your product. This can lead to low adoption and slow growth.

Look at how Ahrefs offers a free website traffic checker or how Canva provides a free design tool. Their free products attract a wide audience, many of whom eventually upgrade to their paid plans after experiencing the value firsthand.

Key Tips:

• Create Something Useful: Ensure that your free product is genuinely helpful and solves a real problem.
• Optimize for Conversion: Include clear calls-to-action within your free product that guide users toward upgrading.
• Track Performance: Monitor how users interact with your free product and use this data to optimize your marketing strategies.

Identify the Right Free Product

It's challenging to pinpoint exactly what free product will match with your audience. Choosing the wrong product can result in wasted resources and minimal user engagement.

You might develop a tool that doesn't truly address your target audience's needs or isn't compelling enough to drive interest. This can lead to frustration and lost opportunities.

Conduct thorough market research to identify a common pain point or need within your target market. Your free product should offer a clear and immediate solution to this problem.

Key Tips:

• Survey Your Audience: Use surveys or polls to gather feedback directly from your target market.
• Analyze Competitors: Look at what competitors are offering for free and identify gaps or opportunities.
• Leverage Existing Data: Use data from customer support interactions, sales calls, or website analytics to uncover common challenges faced by your users.

Design Your Free Product

Creating a free, valuable, and easy-to-use product can be a complex task.

It needs to provide enough value to engage users without giving away too much of your core offering.

An overly complicated or low-quality free product can discourage potential customers and harm your brand's reputation. Striking the right balance is crucial.

Focus on simplicity and usability. Your free product should deliver quick wins for users, showcasing the value of your main offering without overwhelming them.

Key Tips:

• Focus on Core Features: Highlight key features that solve a specific problem without overloading users with options.
• Ensure Ease of Use: Design a smooth user interface that allows users to get started quickly.
• Provide Support: Offer tutorials, FAQs, and customer support to help users make the most of your free product.

Promote Your Product

Even the best free product won't generate leads if no one knows about it. Effective promotion is essential to get your product in front of the right audience.

Without a solid promotion strategy, your free product might go unnoticed, resulting in low traffic and engagement.

Promote your free product using multiple marketing channels, including social media, email marketing, partnerships, and more.

Convert Free Users to Paid Customers

Attracting users with a free product is just the first step. The ultimate goal is to convert these users into paying customers for your main product.

Without a clear conversion strategy, you might end up with a large user base that doesn't generate revenue, negating the purpose of your free offering.

Implement strategies to smoothly transition users from the free product to your paid offering. This includes clear calls-to-action, tiered pricing models, and ongoing engagement.

Key Tips:

• Clear CTAs: Include prominent calls-to-action within your free product that guide users towards upgrading.
• Ongoing Engagement: Use email drip campaigns, in-app messages, and personalized offers to keep users engaged and encourage them to upgrade.
• Show Success Stories: Highlight testimonials and case studies from users who have successfully transitioned from the free product to the paid version.

Quick Implementation Steps

If you prefer not to offer a free version of your product but still want to enjoy the benefits of having small tools on your website.

You can create mini-tools using Lead Magnet Creator to onboard a lead.

Writing a long e-book, a huge infographic, or anything else is not necessary.

Just drag and drop, a few clicks, and your app is ready to embed in your website.

Final Thoughts

Getting new customers for your SaaS business can be hard. Offering free products to attract users is a smart idea. It shows how good your product is, builds trust, and saves money on marketing. Follow the steps we discussed to make your SaaS business stand out with this strategy.

FAQs

How much should I invest in creating a free product?

The investment will vary depending on the complexity of the product. Start with a minimum viable product (MVP) that provides clear value and can be developed within your budget. You can always iterate and improve based on user feedback.

Can "Product as Marketing" work for all types of SaaS businesses?

While it is particularly effective for SaaS businesses, the success of this strategy depends on understanding your audience and creating a genuinely valuable free product.

What metrics should I track to measure success?

Monitor key metrics such as user acquisition, engagement rates, conversion rates from free to paid plans, and customer lifetime value (CLV).

How do I ensure my free product doesn't cannibalize my main offering?

Design your free product to provide a taste of the full experience without giving away too much. Focus on solving a specific problem while highlighting the additional benefits of the paid version.