Cutting SaaS CAC by 44% While Tripling Trials
A regional HR SaaS startup was acquiring trials that never converted. We re-engineered the funnel around qualified pipeline, not vanity sign-ups.
−44%
CAC
3.1x
Free trials / mo
9% → 21%
Trial → paid
+280%
Pipeline value
The challenge
The product was generating a steady stream of free-trial sign-ups, but trial-to-paid conversion sat below 10% and sales complained the leads from marketing were rarely a fit for the ideal customer profile.
Spend was concentrated in broad-match Google Search and un-targeted LinkedIn campaigns, with no offline conversion data flowing back from the CRM — meaning platforms were optimizing toward sign-ups, not toward the accounts actually worth closing.
Strategies deployed
- Intent-based Google Search structure targeting bottom-funnel HR software keywords.
- LinkedIn ABM campaigns aimed at HR directors at 200+ target accounts.
- Offline conversion imports feeding CRM-qualified leads back into Google & LinkedIn.
- Lifecycle retargeting sequences to move trials to activation milestones.
- Landing page CRO: 14 A/B tests lifting demo-request conversion 63%.
SEO integration
Built a bottom-of-funnel content hub (comparison + alternative pages) ranking for 40 commercial keywords, contributing 31% of new trials at near-zero marginal cost.
“Marketing stopped optimizing for sign-up volume and started optimizing for the accounts our sales team actually wanted. That shift alone changed the entire trajectory of the business.”
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