In this article, we break down the most effective B2B SaaS marketing channels to use in 2024, based on their cost, expected ROI, and how quickly they result in new leads. The table below provides a high-level comparison of each channel, and we then discuss each in greater detail below.

The Most Effective B2B SaaS Marketing Channels, Compared

Channel	Cost	Expected ROI*	Time Until Results	Notes
SEO	$12,000 – $15,000	748%	4 – 6 Months	High ROI when executed using thought leadership content, but requires a skilled team and results are slower than paid channels.
PPC / SEM	$3,000 – $30,000	36%	1 Month	Especially fast results, but costs scale quickly with number of leads. Excellent for testing new markets.
LinkedIn Advertising	$5,000 – $20,000	192%	3 – 4 Months	The best social channel for B2B SaaS companies, but as a paid channel, has middling expected ROI.
Account-Based Marketing (ABM)	$25,000 – $35,000	240%	4 – 8 Months	High risk, high reward as ABM focuses on a small number of particularly valuable prospects. Effectiveness is heavily industry-dependent.
Email Marketing	$1,000 – $3,000	312%	3 – 6 Months	Relatively low cost but most useful for lead nurturing rather than lead generation, as good mailing lists are difficult to build.
Trade Shows	$10,000 – $50,000 per show	85%	7 – 9 Months	Builds personal connection with leads, but forces you to compete for attention with a larger pool of companies—including companies who aren’t normally your competitors
Public Speaking	$25,000 – $40,000	856%	2 – 4 Months	Provides excellent returns by generating warm leads, but requires costly travel and lodging expenses, as well as a practiced orator.
Webinars	$15,000 – $35,000	430%	2 – 4 Months	Requires a charismatic expert from your company to host. Best when paired with other channels to help promote the webinar, but leads are relatively warm.

SEO

Pros	Cons
High ROI Continues to generate leads after the end of a campaign Both generates and nurtures leads	Requires a team with a diverse skillset/li> Longer startup time than paid channels

SEO is one of the most effective B2B SaaS marketing channels, as it not only generates leads, but also helps to nurture leads throughout your marketing funnel. Its relatively high ROI is due to its flat cost: a well executed SEO campaign requires the same investment whether it results in 20 leads or 2,000. Leads originating from SEO also tend to be warmer than average, as prospects feel that their decision to reach out is more 

SEO’s biggest disadvantage is its complexity. For a campaign to be successful, your marketing team must have a strong understanding of search intent, and be able to consistently publish high-quality content. SEO also takes longer to begin generating leads than paid channels—but this downside can be mitigated by pairing SEO campaigns with targeted PPC advertising.

Related reading: B2B SaaS SEO Best Practices for 2024

PPC / SEM

Pros	Cons
Rapid results Excellent for short-term campaigns Simple performance tracking	Expensive, lowering overall ROI Leads stop coming in once you stop paying for ads

PPC, sometimes called SEM, is the paid counterpart to SEO. Rather than regularly publish content to establish Google trust and increase domain authority, companies can instead opt to pay Google directly to appear at the top of search results. While PPC has the advantage of speed and ease of use, it typically do not function well for longer campaigns due to its higher costs.

PPC is particularly well suited for B2B SaaS companies who are interesting in testing potential new markets or audiences. The short-term nature of an exploratory campaign mitigates its downsides, and once a potential market has been established, higher ROI channels such as SEO can be used long-term.

LinkedIn Advertising

Pros	Cons
Highly selective targeting Business-oriented audience	Takes time to gain traction Middling expected ROI

LinkedIn advertising is the most effective social media channel for B2B SaaS companies. By its nature, LinkedIn attracts a business-oriented audience and advertising allows marketers to hone in on specific audience demographics. As a paid channel, however, LinkedIn suffers from lower ROI than organic alternatives.

Account-Based Marketing (ABM)

Pros	Cons
A single signed contract can justify the campaign Allows your team to focus on a small number of leads	Difficult to convert prospective clients High risk

ABM is a combined marketing and sales approach that focuses on a very small number of high-value prospects. Its effectiveness depends heavily on industry. As such, these campaigns are more suited for either (a) SaaS companies who cater to larger clients by necessity (for example, a fintech company that caters to VC firms), or (b) larger B2B SaaS companies that can afford to take a calculated risk.

Email Marketing

Pros	Cons
Very low cost compared to other channels Great for repurposing existing content	Low open rates for cold emails Takes time to build a reliable email list

Email marketing includes two practices: sending lead nurturing emails to an organically developed lead list, and attempting to generate leads by cold emailing a purchased list. Of these two approaches, the effectiveness of the latter is limited, as purchased lists tend to result in low open rates.

For lead nurturing, however, email marketing can be highly effective. B2B SaaS companies can use email marketing to announce new products being rolled out, push free trials or additional features, and maintain relationships with prospective clients who have expressed an initial interest in the product but aren’t yet ready to commit to a purchase. Content created for other marketing channels can also be repurposed for email, lowering the cost of email marketing campaigns.

Trade Shows

Pros	Cons
Face-to-face interaction leads to warmer leads Helps marketing teams gauge real-world interest	Expensive Requires travel High competition for attention

Trade shows provide marketing teams with the ability to have an expert from the company meet prospective clients face-to-face, allowing for a much warmer sales environment that is more conducive to an eventual sale. This makes trade shows especially useful for B2B SaaS companies seeking to expand their client base or move into new markets, however attending shows is often expensive due to both travel and time requirements. SaaS companies at trade shows will also be competing with every other attendee, not just those in their niche.

Public Speaking

Pros	Cons
Generates warm leads Highest ROI among marketing channels Builds brand recognition and adds to perceived authority	Requires a charismatic expert with an established reputation Opportunities are difficult to book when starting out Can have a greater impact on the speaker’s personal reputation than on the company’s

Like trade shows, public speaking events generate warm leads because they create a more personal connection with prospects than other channels. For B2B SaaS companies with a charismatic available, public speaking is one of the best ways to market themselves.

Public speaking is less effective, however, when a company lacks an already-well known expert. To book high-profile events without one, companies will first need to build up their reputation through other channels. Public speaking also tends to bolster the expert’s reputation more than the company’s, and can lead to overreliance on a single person—and single point of failure—to bring in leads.

Webinars

Pros	Cons
Creates personal connection Lower cost than in-person events Builds trust through educational content	Requires a high-quality presentation to be effective Requires a charismatic expert to host the webinar

Webinars provide B2B SaaS companies with a digital option to put a face on their company by hosting an online presentation. Compared to in-person events like trade shows or public speaking, webinars are lower cost because your host can present several events in a short period of time without needing to travel. Creating a high-quality presentation is time-consuming in and of itself, however, and like public speaking, webinars require a charismatic expert to be effective.

Getting Help With B2B SaaS Marketing

Most B2B SaaS companies will find that their marketing needs are best served by marketing on multiple channels, rather than relying on just one. Doing so can be overwhelming for in-house teams—especially for midsize software companies with greater lead generation needs than startups, but still lack the resources available to enterprises.

A common solution is to partner with an experience marketing agency who can manage one or more channels. Our agency specializes in combining B2B SaaS SEO and thought leadership for high-ROI lead generation. If you’d like to learn more about partnering with us, reach out here.