How to Navigate the Challenges of B2B SaaS Business Growth in a Competitive Market: 5 Solutions

B2B SaaS businesses are booming and how! The industry is forecasting a valuation of $195.2 billion by the end of 2023, according to Gartner. B2B, or business-to-business and SaaS, or Software as a Service, is a winning combination in the business industry of today. Companies like Flodesk, Google, Adobe, Slack, Shopify and more are the top service providers in the global market.

These companies have not had it easy to reach where they are now. The B2B SaaS market is becoming saturated, making it challenging for businesses to grow and set benchmarks for others to follow. However, not all is lost, with certain tactics and strategic decisions, SaaS companies can pave their way through the hurdles.

3 main challenges faced by B2B SaaS businesses

1. Creating a unique position in the market

It took many years for SaaS services to break through and find their acceptance in the market. B2B businesses took time to understand how these services work, especially when it comes to data security. Fortunately, SaaS solutions are finally in demand more than on-premises software.

With acceptance, more businesses have been optimistic about investing and creating their own SaaS solutions. This rapid growth means more competitors to contend with. The challenge here is finding and creating a reputable name that customers believe and assist in the development of the B2B SaaS company.

2. Building a robust customer base

A SaaS business generates sufficient revenue to sustain itself only through subscription renewal. The revenue remains fixed for a period of time until new customers join in. Newer customer acquisition and retention is the topmost priority for companies if they wish to see growth and profits in their operations.

Customer retention is a difficult step, especially when every other SaaS company is offering similar services. A few ways to keep customers satisfied with what you’re providing them with are:

Providing products and services that add value
Running well-researched marketing campaigns
Offering customisable SaaS solutions
Delivering customer-centric services.

3. Making more companies embrace change

Companies using certain technologies for a long time are hesitant to shift to SaaS solutions that are completely new. The following concerns will always arise when you approach companies to incorporate SaaS solutions into their operations:

The future of using such advanced solutions
The role of people in jobs and job security
The need to learn new working styles
Scope of existing business relationships
Investment of time and effort in learning and implementing SaaS solutions.

These are the primary challenges in the B2B SaaS landscape when trying to scale new heights. To ensure that your marketing campaigns don’t underperform and your business grows in all aspects, there are a few proven strategies that will show definite results.

5 SaaS growth strategies to scale your business

Launching and sustaining a B2B SaaS business is no easy feat! There are many issues that you will have to face, such as high customer acquisition costs, insufficient lead generation and many more. The good news is that with well-defined strategies, achieving business growth will seem like a cakewalk. The following strategies must be your priority and can be mixed and matched as per your choice.

I. Prioritise customer acquisition

For SaaS growth, you need to have a solid customer acquisition strategy in place. It must bring in high-quality leads and, eventually, convert them into paying customers. The 3-point guide to building one is:

Identify your target audience, as this is the group you intend to sell services to
Create buyer personas that categorise your target group’s pain points and needs
Based on the target audience and buyer personas, develop marketing messages that strike a chord with the groups.

Explore: What Is Marketing for Startups and How to Do It Properly?

For B2B business, a few ways to develop a successful customer acquisition strategy are:

Take maximum advantage of content marketing

Content marketing guarantees more promising results than any other process. Use content to share your knowledge and research to establish your business as a thought leader. Doing so will attract prospects who will not think too much before investing in your SaaS solutions. Use email marketing to interact with your existing customers and new contacts.
Many pros rely on the proven services and security of Mailchimp, however, if you’re on a tight budget, there are some amazing cheap Mailchimp alternatives that you can use to automate emails and other content marketing methods.

a person sitting at a desk with a laptop and a coffee cup

Invest in paid advertising

If you still feel that you’re reaching enough audiences, use paid advertising to reach out to a larger segment of people. Decide on a budget and see your best options. Advertise more so that more traffic reaches your website and your SaaS product landing pages. The idea is to build brand image and recall rate in customers’ minds.

Work on retaining customers

Your customers are your greatest asset, especially if you wish to see significant business growth. Take time to nurture your relationship with the existing clientele and interact with interested audiences. Provide personalised attention and customisable SaaS solutions to cater to their interests and likes. Any business receptive to customers’ needs and feedback will always find itself in the long run.

II. Create an all-inclusive pricing strategy

Pricing is always a tricky step in the SaaS industry. From small-scale businesses to major companies, everyone needs SaaS solutions at the best possible price that doesn’t burn a hole in their pockets. For your business’ growth, the same price plays a role in generating revenue which may or may not be optimal for operations. You need to balance the price between generating revenue and attracting customers.

The best way to justify your pricing is by offering free trials so that people see the value your SaaS tools are bringing to their company. Your customer can try out your products before signing up for the subscription plans you’re offering. You can improve your pricing strategy with the following methods:

Develop different pricing strategies based on the customer segment
Provide flexible pricing tiers that cater to specific needs
Offer subscription models to generate more profits.

III. Build your SEO infrastructure

Your SaaS solutions are highly dependent on SEO for greater reach. With the visibility of SaaS companies being the most online, the approach here must be to find your company on the top few results of the search results.This will ensure more visitors find your company organically and learn about the SaaS. By investing in SEO techniques like link building for SaaS you will expand your reach.

Similar to the B2C model, B2B companies are also making the most of their online presence as systems are being digitised. When your website is search engine optimised, mainly the homepage and landing page, you will successfully create more leads at all stages of the sales funnel, leading to a scalable future. Use social media and other appropriate channels to get the word out about your SaaS solutions.

Consider this: How Does an SEO Specialist Affect the Company's Success?

IV. Go all out on your marketing efforts

Your marketing efforts will surely pay off in due time. Have the right people in your team who are specialised in demand and lead generation and also know their ways around deals and offers. Also, constantly monitor the returns you’re receiving from each of your marketing channels and resolve issues immediately, wherever needed.

B2B SaaS companies vie for the first position amongst the competition using their marketing secrets. It’s only achievable when there is an adequate understanding of how to attract and convert more people into becoming repeat customers. The numbers will keep increasing through word of mouth, social media, reviews, etc. So, you must ensure that your marketing team is working to the best of its abilities.

V. Venture into new markets and the unknown

The possibilities of SaaS solutions are endless, so why must you be confined to just one part of the entire market? Use technology to build newer solutions so that exploring unknown markets becomes easier. Doing so will help you click with untapped market segments, which will accelerate your business growth.

Expanding your business operations will help you to:

Diversify your customer base
Reduce dependency on one market segment
Make your business resilient and adaptable.

Similarly, there are fundamental rules which will build your business in newly-discovered markets:

Build your local presence by using local SEO and location-specific keywords so that people can easily find you
Keep researching about the needs of people and what exactly they are looking for so that you can develop more need-of-the-hour SaaS solutions
Test all possible marketing efforts in new markets to identify which ones work the best.

This may interest you: Why Market Segmentation Is Crucial For Your Business

High demand+great responsibilities+more competition = Peak Business Growth

The SaaS industry is dynamic in nature. You need to constantly find and come up with solutions to stay relevant and at the top of your game. Monitor the trends in the SaaS world, incorporate feedback into operations and experiment with new things. Keep adding value to your SaaS solutions so that business growth will be unhindered, despite the cutthroat competition.