I never thought I’d be telling tech executives to care about sound. Yet here I am, ten years into helping SaaS companies build audio strategies, watching CEOs who once dismissed podcasts as “just talk” now eagerly sending me voice memos about their latest episode ideas at midnight.
The transformation has been fascinating. In a world drowning in visual noise, sound cuts through. It reaches people when their eyes are busy but their ears are free – commuting, exercising, doing household chores. These stolen moments add up to hours of potential connection that visual marketing simply can’t touch.
And lord knows SaaS companies need that connection. We’re selling complex solutions in a crowded marketplace where everyone sounds the same on paper. The human voice – with all its warmth, expertise and subtle inflections – builds trust in ways that even the most carefully crafted website copy cannot.
Why Sound Matters More Than Ever for SaaS Marketing
Let me share something that happened last month. I was working with a client who sells data analysis software – not exactly the sexiest product category. Their blog posts got decent traffic but minimal engagement. People would click, skim, and bounce.
Then we launched their podcast.
Within eight weeks, their average engagement time jumped from 45 seconds to 34 minutes. Their sales team started hearing prospects say, “I feel like I already know you guys from the podcast.” One listener even emailed to say he’d finally understood what the company actually did after a year of receiving their newsletter.
This isn’t unique. Edison Research tells us 41% of Americans now listen to podcasts monthly. Business podcast listeners are particularly devoted, typically consuming 80% of each episode they download. Think about that – when was the last time anyone read 80% of your whitepaper?
The intimacy of audio creates a different kind of attention. As one CMO told me, “In writing, I struggle to show our humanity. On our podcast, it’s effortless.”
Creating a B2B Podcast Strategy That Actually Works
Here’s the hard truth, though: most company podcasts are terrible. They’re boring interview shows where the host asks the same ten questions to a rotating cast of guests who give predictably safe answers. Nobody needs more of those.
A successful B2B podcast strategy requires being brutally honest about whether you’re actually adding something valuable to your listeners’ lives. Developing this b2b podcast strategy means thinking beyond just content topics to consider format, consistency, and audience needs.
I watched a cybersecurity firm struggle with this recently. Their first podcast concept was “Cybersecurity Experts Talk Shop” – essentially just their sales engineers interviewing industry peers. Snooze.
We scrapped it and instead created “Breach Stories” – first-person accounts from IT directors who’d lived through security disasters, complete with dramatic recreations of the moments systems went down. Listeners couldn’t get enough.
Consider these format alternatives:
- “The Client Diaries” – Have customers tell their own implementation stories, challenges and all
- “Problem Solvers” – Each episode tackles one specific industry pain point from multiple angles
- “Inside the Build” – Your developers explain real technical decisions, including the mistakes
Atlassian’s “Teamistry” podcast works because it tells real stories about teamwork rather than just promoting their collaboration tools. The product is barely mentioned, yet the brand values shine through every episode.
Beyond Recording: Building a Content Ecosystem
Smart SaaS marketers recognize that a podcast isn’t just an audio file – it’s the raw material for a dozen content pieces:
One client – a marketing automation platform – extracts seven unique assets from each episode:
- The full podcast (obviously)
- Two short audiograms for social media
- A detailed blog post expanding on key concepts
- A simplified checklist based on the episode advice
- Email newsletter insights
- A slide deck for their sales team
- Topic suggestions for their community forum discussions
Their content production workload dropped while engagement across channels increased. This approach demonstrates how a smart b2b podcast strategy transforms the podcast from just another content format into an efficient content engine for the entire marketing program.
Measuring What Actually Matters
Downloads are vanity metrics. What really matters is whether your podcast influences business outcomes.
Consider tracking:
- Content attribution – How many leads mention podcast episodes?
- Sales cycle velocity – Do podcast listeners move through your funnel faster?
- Customer retention – Are subscribers less likely to churn?
- Qualitative feedback – What specific insights are resonating?
When Gong launched their “Reveal” podcast, they created unique tracking links for each episode and discovered that podcast-influenced deals closed 35% faster than their average sales cycle. That’s the kind of metric that keeps executive sponsors happy and demonstrates the business impact of a well-executed b2b podcast strategy.
Audio Beyond Just Podcasting
While podcasts typically form the backbone of a SaaS audio strategy, they’re just the beginning.
Audio Versions of Written Content
We recently helped a project management software company create narrated versions of their most popular blog posts. They were shocked to find that readers spent an average of 2.3 minutes with the written content, while listeners averaged 17.8 minutes with the audio versions – almost a 9x increase in engagement.
Dovetail started offering audio versions of their UX research reports last year, allowing their busy audience to consume insights during commutes. The result? A 43% increase in report completions.
Voice Search Optimization
“Hey Siri, what’s the best CRM for small businesses?”
Forget about your carefully crafted Google keywords – voice search uses conversational language. Nearly half of adults use voice search daily, yet most SaaS websites are still optimized exclusively for text queries.
We’re seeing tech companies revamp their content strategy to include natural language phrases and question-based headers that align with how people actually talk to their devices.
Interactive Audio
Twilio created an Alexa skill that lets users check API status updates by voice. MongoDB built voice-based database tutorials. These interactive audio experiences serve practical needs while keeping the brand literally top-of-mind.
The beauty of these approaches is that they serve genuine user needs while creating distinctive brand touchpoints.
The Secret Weapon: Sonic Branding for Tech Companies
Beyond content lies an even more fundamental aspect of audio marketing: how your brand sounds.
Most tech companies have invested heavily in visual identity – logos, colors, typography – but remain completely undefined in audio terms. This is a massive missed opportunity.
Think about it: you immediately recognize Slack’s notification sound, don’t you? That tiny audio cue triggers an emotional and physical response. It’s become so engrained that people report “hearing” Slack notifications when they’re nowhere near their computer.
Effective sonic branding includes:
Audio Logos
Those short sound signatures that instantly identify a brand. The Netflix “ta-dum” has become as recognizable as their visual logo. Intel’s five-note sequence has been anchoring their brand for decades.
I watched a marketing automation platform struggle to gain recognition until we created a distinctive startup sound for their application. Within months, it became an audio meme in their industry – people would hum it during presentations when mentioning automation.
Product Sound Design
Every beep, swipe, and alert in your application shapes how users feel about your brand. Are your notification sounds stress-inducing or calming? Do they feel premium or cheap?
Asana worked with sound designers to create notification sounds that feel satisfying but don’t create anxiety – perfectly aligned with their mission of reducing workplace stress.
Voice Selection
If your product includes voice elements, the specific voice becomes a crucial brand asset. Gender, accent, pace, tone – all communicate subtle but powerful messages about who you are as a company.
Music Strategy
What music represents your brand? It’s not just about picking something that sounds nice – it’s about identifying specific musical attributes that reflect your brand personality.
Zendesk created a comprehensive audio identity spanning advertisements, hold music, and product sounds. The cohesive audio experience reinforces their human, helpful positioning in ways visuals alone never could.
Getting Started With Audio Marketing
Don’t try to build Rome in a day. Here’s how to approach this methodically:
Phase 1: Listen and Learn (1-2 months)
Before creating anything, understand your current state:
- What audio touchpoints already exist in your customer journey?
- What podcasts do your ideal customers already consume?
- How do competitors use audio?
- What sonic elements might align with your brand values?
I’ve seen too many companies jump straight to podcast production without this foundational work, creating shows nobody asked for. A thoughtful b2b podcast strategy begins with this research phase before any microphones come out.
Phase 2: Targeted Experimentation (2-4 months)
Start small and measure obsessively:
- Create a limited podcast series (6-8 episodes) focused on your most engaged customer segment
- Develop basic sonic brand elements for testing
- Establish clear metrics for success
- Gather qualitative feedback through direct outreach
Buffer followed exactly this approach. Their early b2b podcast strategy prioritized learning over perfection. Their show was initially rough around the edges but provided valuable data about what resonated with listeners before they invested in higher production value.
Phase 3: Systematic Integration (Ongoing)
As you discover what works:
- Refine content based on performance data
- Expand audio elements across more customer touchpoints
- Integrate audio strategy with broader marketing goals
- Develop more sophisticated measurement approaches
The Audio Horizon: What’s Coming Next
Several emerging technologies will reshape audio marketing in the next few years:
AI-Generated Personalized Audio
Imagine your product updates narrated in a voice matched to each user’s preferences, highlighting features relevant to their specific usage patterns. Companies like Descript and WellSaid Labs are already making this possible.
Spatial Audio Experiences
Apple’s AirPods Pro now support spatial audio, creating immersive three-dimensional soundscapes. Forward-thinking brands are creating virtual environments where listeners can literally walk through product demonstrations using just their ears.
A data visualization company I work with recently created a spatial audio demo that allows prospects to “walk through” different data scenarios, hearing insights change as they move through the virtual space. It’s mind-blowing stuff.
Audio SEO Evolution
As voice assistants continue growing in popularity, optimizing for audio discovery will become its own specialized practice. We’re already seeing companies restructure their content specifically to be discovered and delivered through audio search.
Finding Your Company’s Voice
In my years helping tech companies develop audio strategies, I’ve noticed the most successful share common traits:
- They view audio as strategic, not just tactical – connecting sound directly to business objectives
- They prioritize distinctiveness over perfection – better to be memorably different than forgettably polished
- They commit for the long haul – audio branding is cumulative, building recognition over time
- They measure rigorously – tracking how audio initiatives influence behavior, not just consumption
Audio offers a rare opportunity in today’s fragmented media landscape – extended, intimate access to your audience’s attention. While your competitors battle for milliseconds of scroll time, a solid b2b podcast strategy could give you 30+ minutes of genuine connection through your audience’s earbuds.
The tech companies that develop thoughtful audio strategies now will create competitive advantages that are difficult to replicate. Those that don’t risk becoming the marketing equivalent of silent films in a talking pictures world – quaint, outdated, and ultimately forgotten.
Your customers’ ears are open. What will they hear from you?
About the Author: Uddeshya is a B2B SaaS marketing leader with over 10 years of experience driving growth for technology companies. Uddeshya advises startups with numerous B2B podcast strategies.