5 Steps to Identify Your SaaS Target Audience
Discover how to identify your ideal SaaS target audience in five actionable steps for better engagement and increased sales.
Justin Britten
Want to find your ideal SaaS customers? Here's how in 5 steps:
- Look at current customers
- Do market research
- Make buyer profiles
- Define your unique value
- Test and improve your focus
Why it matters:
- Build products people actually want
- Create marketing that resonates
- Focus efforts on the right channels
Key benefits:
- Better customer engagement
- More effective marketing
- Increased sales
| Step | What to Do | Why It's Important |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Analyze existing customers | Reveals who's already buying |
| 2 | Research the market | Uncovers new opportunities |
| 3 | Create buyer personas | Helps tailor your approach |
| 4 | Identify your USP | Shows how you stand out |
| 5 | Run small tests | Refines your targeting |
Remember: Keep learning about your audience. The SaaS market changes fast.
Look at Your Current Customers
Want to find your SaaS target audience? Start with your existing customers. They're a goldmine of insights.
Basic Customer Info
Gather these key details:
- Age
- Gender
- Income
- Industry
- Job role
This data paints a picture of who's using your product. For example, if 70% of your top-paying customers are marketing managers in tech, that's a big clue about your target audience.
Tools to Dig Deeper
Use these tools to understand your customers better:
This free tool shows you:
- User demographics
- Popular features
- Where users spend time in your app
You might find that finance users spend 30% more time on reporting features than other industries.
2. CRM Data
Look at your highest-paying and longest-standing customers. Check their:
- Usage frequency
- Support ticket history
- Net Promoter Score (NPS)
3. Customer Feedback Tools
Tools like Userback let users give feedback right in your product. You'll learn about:
- Feature requests
- Pain points
- Overall satisfaction
4. Session Recording
FullSession ($39/month) shows you how users interact with your app. You'll see:
- Where users struggle
- Underused features
- How different user groups use your product
2. Do market research
Market research is key to understanding your SaaS audience. Here's how:
Use surveys and questions
Surveys give you direct customer feedback. Keep them short (5-10 questions) and mix multiple choice with open-ended questions. Ask about:
- Goals for using your product
- Ease of use (1-5 scale)
- Why they chose you over competitors
These help you grasp customer needs and pain points.
Study your competitors
Competitor analysis can reveal new audience groups:
- List your top 5-10 competitors
- Check their websites, social media, and reviews
- Note their target audience, features, and marketing
Spot a competitor targeting small businesses while you focus on enterprises? That's a potential new audience.
Keep up with industry changes
Stay informed to meet market needs:
- Follow industry news and blogs
- Attend SaaS events
- Join online communities
Noticed an AI trend in your industry? Consider how to incorporate it into your product.
3. Make buyer profiles
Creating buyer profiles helps you understand your customers better. Here's how to build them and why you need more than one.
Build customer profiles
To create a useful buyer profile, gather personal and behavioral info:
- Demographics: Age, gender, location, job title
- Psychographics: Personality, interests, values
- Behavioral data: Purchase history, online behavior
- Technographics: Device usage, current software
Here's what a SaaS buyer profile might look like:
| Attribute | Details |
|---|---|
| Name | Samantha, the Sales Manager |
| Age | 32-45 |
| Gender | Female |
| Location | Urban/suburban US |
| Job Title | Sales Manager |
| Industry | B2B |
| Goals | Boost team productivity by 20% in a year |
| Pain Points | Managing sales leads and data |
| Behavior | Attends events, reads blogs |
How to get this info? Interview clients, analyze job descriptions, use short surveys, and check out competitor websites and social media.
Create different profiles
You need multiple buyer profiles because your SaaS likely serves different customer types. Why?
- Different roles have different needs (CEO vs. marketing manager)
- Industries have unique pain points (retail vs. tech startup)
- Company sizes affect budgets (small business vs. enterprise)
For a project management tool, you might have profiles like:
- Sarah, the Startup Founder
- Mark, the Marketing Director
- Lisa, the Large Enterprise IT Manager
These profiles help you tailor your marketing, guide product development, and improve customer support.
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4. Define what makes you special
Now that you've got your buyer profiles, it's time to show how your SaaS solves their problems and beats the competition. This step is all about crafting a message that hits home with your target audience.
Find customer problems
Want to know what keeps your customers up at night? Here's how to dig up those pain points:
- Dig into support tickets
- Chat with customers
- Lurk in industry forums
- Send out surveys
Once you know their headaches, you can position your SaaS as the aspirin. Say you find out data management is a big issue. Boom! Time to spotlight your killer data organization features.
Stand out from competitors
Ready to show why your SaaS is the cream of the crop? Let's do this:
1. Analyze competitors
Whip up a feature comparison table:
| Feature | Your SaaS | Competitor A | Competitor B |
|---|---|---|---|
| Data visualization | Advanced | Basic | None |
| Customer support | 24/7 live chat | Email only | Phone support |
| Integration options | 50+ | 20 | 10 |
2. Nail your unique selling proposition (USP)
Your USP should scream value. Think:
- Slack: "Where work happens. All your team communication in one place."
- Zoom: "Video conferencing with real-time messaging and content sharing."
3. Get niche
Specialize and you'll stand out. Look at Toast - they're all about restaurant point-of-sale. Or HubSpot, focusing on inbound marketing for small businesses.
4. Customer service is king
Zendesk knows this. They offer 24/7 support and personalized training to keep customers happy.
5. Make it easy
A slick user experience can set you apart. Dropbox nails this with quick, responsive support.
6. Let them make it their own
Customization is key. Salesforce lets users tweak dashboards and reports, drawing in folks who want a tailored solution.
5. Test and improve your audience focus
You've done the research. You've built profiles. You've defined your unique selling points. Now what? It's time to put your audience focus to the test.
Try small test campaigns
Start small. See if your audience ideas hit the mark:
- A/B testing: Create two landing pages with different messaging. Loom could test "video messaging for remote teams" vs. "async communication for global businesses."
- Social media ads: Run targeted ads on LinkedIn or Facebook. Which audience segments bite? Track click-throughs and conversions.
- Email campaigns: Play with subject lines and content for different list segments. Watch those open rates and engagement.
Ask for customer input
Go straight to the source:
- 1-on-1 message checks: Show target audience members your core messages. Rate the appeal. PandaDoc learned their "on-brand docs" term confused marketers this way.
- User interviews: Call your early adopters. What do they need? What bugs them? Use their words in your marketing.
- Quick surveys: Ask current customers about their experience. What could be better?
Keep your research fresh
Your audience changes. Your research should too:
- Regular reviews: Update your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) twice a year. Keep that targeting sharp.
- Industry radar: What's changing that might shift your audience's needs? Set up Google Alerts for key terms.
- Customer data deep-dive: Who are your most valuable customers? Why? Use this to fine-tune your ICP.
| Action | Frequency | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Update ICP | Every 6 months | Keep targeting current |
| Review customer feedback | Monthly | Spot changing needs |
| Analyze sales data | Quarterly | Refine high-value customer traits |
Conclusion
Let's recap how to identify your SaaS target audience:
- Check out your current customers
- Do some market research
- Create buyer profiles
- Figure out what makes you unique
- Test and refine your audience focus
Keep Learning About Your Audience
Finding your target audience isn't a one-and-done deal. You need to keep at it.
Why? The SaaS market is BOOMING. It's set to hit $1298.92 billion by 2030, up from $257.47 billion in 2023. That means more competition and changing customer needs.
Plus, what customers want today might not be what they want tomorrow. So, you've got to stay on your toes.
Here's how to keep learning:
- Update regularly: Refresh your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) every 6 months.
- Use your data: Look at your sales info every quarter. Who's buying? Why? Use this to sharpen your ICP.
- Ask your customers: Run quick surveys or chats. PandaDoc found out their "on-brand docs" term was confusing marketers this way.
- Test small changes: Try A/B testing on your landing pages or emails. See what works best.
- Watch your industry: Set up Google Alerts for key terms. It'll help you spot trends that might affect your audience.
| What to Do | How Often | Why It Matters |
|---|---|---|
| Update ICP | Every 6 months | Keep your targeting fresh |
| Check sales data | Every 3 months | Find your best customer traits |
| Survey customers | Monthly | Catch changing needs |
| A/B test | All the time | Make your message better |
| Watch industry news | Weekly | Stay ahead of the game |
Keep at it, and you'll stay in tune with your audience.
FAQs
How do I create an ideal customer profile for SaaS?
Creating an ideal customer profile (ICP) for your SaaS business isn't rocket science. Here's how to do it:
1. Look at your current customers
Group them based on things like industry, company size, or what they need from you.
2. Crunch the numbers
Break down your metrics for each group. How much does it cost to get them? How much are they worth long-term?
3. Pick the winner
Choose the group that looks best on paper. Maybe they're cheap to acquire or stick around forever.
4. Dig deeper
For your chosen group, get the nitty-gritty details:
| What to Know | Examples |
|---|---|
| Company Stuff | Industry, size, location |
| Tech Setup | What they use now, what they need |
| People | Who makes decisions, team structure |
| Problems | What keeps them up at night |
| Goals | What they want to achieve |
5. Write it down
Put all this info into a clear description of your dream customer.
6. Keep it fresh
Don't let your ICP gather dust. Update it twice a year.
Your ICP isn't set in stone. As Pratik Dholakiya from Growfusely says, "Identify the right customer segmentation pattern (this varies by company)." In other words, make it work for YOU.