Unlike B2B SaaS, SaaS itself is aimed at both everyday users and businesses so the product market is larger. Microsoft and Adobe are good examples of SaaS products that are aimed at individuals and organizations alike. Some well-known examples of SaaS products include:
What is B2B SaaS?
Whether you’re an SaaS start-up or enterprise, or simply looking to invest in SaaS solutions for your business, it’s key you know the difference between regular SaaS and B2B SaaS. Unlike regular SaaS, B2B SaaS is aimed at other businesses and usually assists them with their day-to-day operations.
- Assist with digital marketing and email marketing campaigns, eventually leading to an increase in lead generation. Nearly every company is reliant on some form of SaaS (such as Gmail and Microsoft Office) to help them craft emails and content.
- Improve the level of customer support and improve efficiency within the sales team—SaaS that encompasses cloud communications and different communication channels enables customers to have more options when it comes to contacting a business.
- Increase customer acquisition within the business—if the company is equipped with SaaS that streamlines workflows and improves efficiency and productivity, this will naturally have a knock-on effect on the customer experience, creating happier customers which could potentially lead to referrals and positive word-of-mouth about the organization.
3 principles for effective B2B SaaS growth marketing
You might already be doing SaaS marketing of your software to try to beat the competition but it’s key you remember that growth within the SaaS market has risen, and this makes standing out even more difficult. Below, we’ve outlined three top principles for effective B2B SaaS growth marketing to help you scale your company :
1. The importance of tech stack
A tech stack is simply a collection of technologies or a data system that works together for a specific purpose, LAMP (an acronym of Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP/Perl/Python) being the most common. As a B2B SaaS company, it’s essential you understand the importance of having a tech stack and how it can help accelerate growth within your company. The functionality of an effective tech stack lies in how it can help you gain valuable insights from data about your consumer base—if you bring together data from many systems, applications, and channels you’ll get much better insight into customer personas and behaviours.
This doesn’t just happen because of the data collection though—it’s integral that all those systems and applications you collate data from are able to ‘communicate’ to one another effectively. To paint an insightful picture of your customers via data, all the systems need to be joined together so you’re able to get an overview of your efforts and progress and make better informed decisions.
2. Acquisition and retention
As a B2B SaaS company, you’re probably selling your software on a subscription basis—this makes customer retention incredibly important to maintaining your growth. You might think that customer acquisition is essential (and it is) but make sure you also devote time to activities and strategies that strive to achieve customer retention. This means nurturing your current customers and keeping them happy; the happier your current customers are, the less churn you’ll have and the more revenue you’ll rake in.
Since you’re selling your SaaS product on a subscription basis, it makes sense to devote time to nurture customer relationships and make them feel valued and special—this way, you can rest assured you’re doing all you can to keep customers onboard and get value out of your services.
Reduce your SaaS customer churn with simple strategies such as placing emphasis on effective customer account management, listening to their feedback and being proactive on your social media platforms by responding to your consumer base. Stand out from your other B2B SaaS competitors by not only providing a highly desired product, but also a customer experience that nurtures and builds relationships with your consumers.
3. Every SaaS is different
When crafting strategies and inbound marketing to maximize your growth, it’s essential you remember that all SaaS companies are different. No two companies are the same and so it’s only natural that their processes and systems will differ depending on what they offer and who they’re targeting. A key example of this is the AVC (annual contract value) of each SaaS product—think about what you’re selling to consumers. Is it high AVC (enterprise applications with high price points) or low AVC (typically self-serve applications with lower price points)?
Understanding which AVC category you fall into is important as it will determine what kind of add-ons and extra features you provide to consumers with their SaaS purchase. If you have a relatively high AVC and enterprise-level software (think RingCentral as an example) then you’ll want to arm your product offerings with demo, customer service support and installation guides as it’s likely your product will need a little more information on the set-up process. If you possess a relatively low AVC with a self-serve basis, however, it’s unlikely you’ll need to splash out extra costs on these features since your application is easy enough for users to install and implement themselves.
Following these principles is only one part of the process—you’ll also need to analyze how your target audience responds to changes in your marketing strategies and whether they prefer certain methods over others. If you’d like to accelerate your growth even more, take a look at our best practice resources available for free—at Accelerate, we combine our SEO expertise with in-depth knowledge of growth marketing tactics to help power up your business.
4 Benefits of SaaS products
If you’re looking to invest in SaaS products for your business, there’s never been a better time. The popularity of remote and hybrid work has changed the way the workplace is seen and it’s made many realize the benefits of working away from the office. Aside from the obvious benefit of paying less office rent, you’ll also be able to recruit a global team with a wide range of different talents. With these upsides, however, comes a greater need to streamline communications and ensure everyone on the team is interacting and collaborating productively. Investing in SaaS can really help your business streamline workflows and provide platforms for communication and collaboration, regardless of location.
Where do B2B companies sit in the supply chain?
- Primary market: The primary market is exclusively B2B. Primary-sector companies are responsible for extracting or producing raw materials – for example, farmers or oil and gas companies.
- Secondary market: The secondary market is almost exclusively B2B. Secondary-market companies manufacture and assemble products. They add value to the raw materials they buy from the primary market by turning them into something else. Think about manufacturers that turn oil into plastics or jewelers that cut and polish diamonds. Secondary-market assembling companies include car manufacturers and construction companies. Occasionally, secondary-market companies use the B2C model – for example, farmers who sell products in a market stall.
- Tertiary market: The tertiary market is a mixture of B2B and B2C models. Some tertiary-market companies deliver the goods or services businesses or consumers want. These businesses include plumbers, internet retailers, floor installers, supermarkets, commercial finance brokers, home improvement specialists, tutors and the hospitality sector.
Key takeaway: All functioning economies rely on successful buying and selling between companies in different sectors across the supply chain.
Sources:
https://accelerateagency.ai/b2b-saas
https://www.creditdonkey.com/b2b.html
https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/5000-what-is-b2b.html