Can You Run a Second Lifetime Deal Campaign for Your SaaS Growth?

As a SaaS Founder, can you run a second SaaS Lifetime Deal campaign for your SaaS? 

What are the potential additional benefits or pitfalls of running a second SaaS LTD campaign?  

Or, if you must run a second SaaS LTD campaign, how should you do it?

Here’s everything you, a SaaS Founder, need to know about running a second SaaS Lifetime Deal campaign.  

The Rising Need for a Second SaaS LTD Campaign

SaaS Founders who have already run a Lifetime Deal campaign are more likely to do it again than a first-timer. 

Lifetime deals are very effective in the short term if done right. SaaS Founders who have run a SaaS LTD campaign know it is a great way to find early adopters for your SaaS.

It helps them to validate their SaaS product and get user feedback to drive their SaaS growth in the right direction.

However, running a SaaS Lifetime Deal campaign is not a one-step solution to scale your SaaS start-up.

There are SaaS Start-up companies that used the boost from running a SaaS Lifetime Deal campaign to increase their ARR and eventually scale up. And they managed to grow and generate a stable ARR year after year by getting the best out of their SaaS LTD campaign. 

Though a Lifetime Deal campaign gives a boost, SaaS growth still requires a lot of figuring out and trial and error. This phase of trial and error between running a SaaS Lifetime Deal campaign and sustainable growth is very critical. 

SaaS Founders are often prepared for the immediate influx of users and feedback. The high activity period during and after the LTD campaign, including a spike in user sign-ups, cash flow, and feedback, is followed by a period of uncertainty. It is more apparent if you are a bootstrapped SaaS Start-up company as your cash runway shortens, or if you seem to have hit a dead-end in your product development. 

During these periods a few SaaS Founders consider running a Lifetime Deal campaign again.

It is because you cannot sustain the highs of running a SaaS Lifetime Deal campaign. And because of the enticing benefits of a Lifetime Deal campaign, it is very compelling to give it a go the second time.

Should You Run a Second SaaS LTD Campaign?

Every SaaS Founder must accept the fact that running a SaaS LTD campaign is different from a growth marketing strategy.

In the short term, a Lifetime Deal campaign gives your SaaS a kickstart that you can use to build momentum and grow. But it does not guarantee long-term success.

So, should you run a second SaaS Lifetime Deal campaign? 

The short answer is No. Running a second SaaS LTD campaign can harm your SaaS, in the long run, more than benefit it. 

If you are a SaaS Start-up and have just run a Lifetime Deal campaign experts advise that you must refrain from running a second campaign.

Why must you not run a second Lifetime Deal campaign? 

To begin with, the fund from a Lifetime Deal campaign is only secondary compared to its other vital benefits. The benefits of a SaaS Lifetime Deal campaign include product validation, user feedback, target audience identification, discovering new use cases, etc.  

Except for the revenue, these are not tangible but vital information to make crucial decisions and further develop your SaaS product. 

As a SaaS Founder, you are unlikely to get any such viable new information from your second campaign. It is considering your first Lifetime Deal campaign was marketed right and it was fairly successful.

On the other hand, it may sound reasonably justified to run a Lifetime Deal campaign solely for fundraising. However, this would be a mistake.

Minimal Campaign Benefits

Selling Lifetime Deal licenses means that they get to use your services forever. It includes server cost per user, customer support, etc. Seeing that Lifetime Deals are offered at a bargain price, it may take years for you to break even with the Customer Life Value (CLV). 

It is a justified compromise, even a great deal for the SaaS Founders to get people to use your product and give you valuable information for product development. But with that out of the equation in the second Lifetime Deal campaign, it only harms your business in the longer run.

Stunts Your MRR Growth Rate

The goal of every SaaS Founder is to generate Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR) and increase their Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) year over year. 

When you run multiple SaaS Lifetime Deal campaigns you could saturate your target audience market, though shortly, with lifetime licenses. And it may attract and encourage lifetime license resellers to sell their lifetime deal license in the black market. 

In such cases, you lose users who otherwise would’ve become paying subscribers. 

Also, running multiple SaaS LTD campaigns could set up an expectation of a “new LTD campaign” among your target audience. It directly affects your conversion rate and stunts your MRR growth rate. 

Moreover, you may also end up affecting the loyalty of your paying subscribers. It can be very harmful to your SaaS branding in the long run. 

These drawbacks of a second or multiple Lifetime Deal campaigns are real and their harmful effects are real. But, even though there are several drawbacks to running a second Lifetime Deal campaign you may benefit from a second Lifetime Deal campaign.

That is in some special scenarios with careful campaign positioning and marketing.

When Can You Consider Running a Second LTD Campaign? 

SaaS Founders may consider running a second Lifetime Deal campaign in some scenarios specific to their company.  

But you must remember that you should not take the same approach or have the same objectives as your first campaign. 

When you consider running a second Lifetime Deal campaign, you need to have a single clear objective, careful campaign positioning, a proper marketing strategy, and a post-campaign growth strategy in place.  

For example, a SaaS Start-up may have gained traction in its first LTD campaign and revamped its infrastructure to handle more load on its servers. They may consider running a second LTD campaign to stress test their servers by bringing in a load of new users in a short span. 

In such a scenario, they should aim to sell a predetermined number of licenses and bring more users in a short period with rigorous marketing. 

Or you may consider running a second Lifetime Deal campaign targeting a particular geographical location. For example, you may be aiming to get a fair share of the US audience and establish your SaaS brand in the country. In such a case, you may consider running a second SaaS Lifetime Deal campaign positioning it as such, and marketing it only for the US audience.  

These are only a couple of specific scenarios where you may consider running a second Lifetime Deal campaign.

As a SaaS Founder, if you have similar specific requirements for your SaaS, you may consider running a second Lifetime Deal campaign. 

Other Vital Considerations of A Second LTD Campaign  

A deciding factor in the success of your SaaS Lifetime Deal campaign will be with whom you run your Lifetime Deal campaign. With whom you run your Lifetime Deal campaign is much more important than where you run your campaign. 

It is because the people behind the marketplace will be a key factor in emphasizing your Lifetime Deal campaign positioning. 

For example, a well-established marketplace with a huge user base may help you generate revenue unlike any other. However, this huge user-base advantage may hinder your campaign positioning and make you miss your objective for the campaign.  

Conclusion

A SaaS Lifetime Deal campaign is not a growth marketing strategy, but a one-time solution to kickstart growth and gain momentum. You must do it once, and do it right.

Running a second-lifetime deal campaign is usually not a viable option for many SaaS founders. It comes with certain risks and pitfalls that can leave lasting damage to your SaaS brand. 

If you must run a second Lifetime Deal campaign, carefully plan your campaign before you start. If you do not have a clear idea about what you want to achieve with your second campaign, then you may not be able to reach your goals.