With an increased focus on retention and expansion in SaaS, what types of tactics do you think are easily transferred from demand generation teams that traditional focus on new business?

Absolutely, there are several tactics from demand generation strategies that can be repurposed effectively to focus on retention and expansion with minimal effort. In fact, many SaaS marketing teams are now finding themselves handling both acquisition and expansion efforts, tasked with repurposing various demand generation strategies to not only draw in new customers but also retain and grow their existing customer base.

Here are a few strategies that easily transfer between acquisition and expansion along with a few thoughts on how to make them work for your team:

1. Content Marketing: Creating educational webinars, tutorials, and workshops can help in educating existing customers about advanced features, updates, or new product lines, encouraging them to explore and use your SaaS product more extensively.

2. Marketing Automation: Utilize automated marketing campaigns - behavioral and drip-based campaigns are not just for nurturing leads but also for onboarding new customers, providing them with valuable resources and tips, and keeping them engaged with regular updates and news.

3. Personalized and Highly Segmented Campaigns: Segment your customer base based on usage patterns, preferences, or industries and create personalized marketing campaigns targeting each segment, offering them relevant solutions and opportunities for upgrades or cross-sells.

4. User Conferences and Workshop Events: Organize user conferences, webinars, and workshops to foster a community of users where they can learn, network, and share their experiences, thereby fostering loyalty and encouraging expansions.

5. Customer Success Consultation - Similar to consultive selling, account executives and customer success teams can proactively engage with customers, understanding their needs and goals, and offering them solutions and strategies to achieve goals. Improve this process by offering

6. Feedback Loops: Create feedback loops to regularly collect customer insights and suggestions, and involve them in the product development process, making them feel valued and encouraging them to stay with your brand.

7. Case Studies, Testimonials and Customer Stories: Share success stories and testimonials from existing customers to not only attract new customers but also to showcase the value your product brings, encouraging existing customers to explore further.

8. Community Building & Online Communities: Foster online communities where customers can interact with each other, share knowledge and best practices, thus encouraging peer-to-peer learning and fostering a loyal customer base.

9. Paid Acquisition For Cross-Selling and Up-Selling: Utilize retargeting ads to cross-sell or up-sell to existing customers, showcasing related products or features that they might be interested in.

When transitioning your focus to retention and expansion, many tactics can be repurposed for this strategy shift. For instance, ABM, content marketing, and SEO are still very applicable in this context. However, you'll want to approach retention and expansion differently as the goals are different. Ultimately, it's about meeting your customers where they are.

Moreover, you may also want to consider branding tactics that can help you stay top-of-mind for your customers, especially in the context of expansion opportunities. By building a strong brand that resonates with your customers, you can create a sense of trust and loyalty that can help you retain and expand your customer base over time.