A subscription is a subscription, whether it’s software or not . . .

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So many B2B SaaS companies feel strongly that they are using a unique model to market and sell themselves, and they are so hyper focused on this uniqueness, they may miss opportunities provided if they took a wider view.

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Subscriptions are nothing new.

Publications have been subscription based since printing was invented. The fact that selling software this way, when it was once a hard-material product is just a function of the ubiquity of high speed internet access, not a change in the product’s utility. It’s now a distribution problem, not a product problem.

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The buyer journey has changed slightly, in that there’s no more hard drive installation after purchase, but the same considerations pre-purchase are still there –

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• What problem am I solving?
• Do I need everyone to have access or will a limited license do?
• What’s the cost/benefit ratio look like?
• Is it compatible with what I already have?
• Is it reliable (post-Beta)?
• What sort of support can I expect?
• Do I have adequate hardware to run it efficiently?
• What’s the learning curve for mastery look like, and how is that training performed?
• Do I trust this brand?

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What used to be a product is now a service, because you pay for it a little at a time, in perpetuity.

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Marketers still need to position the product correctly for the audience, find value and promote that value in features and benefits, show how it solves a problem, just like before.

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And software certainly isn’t the only product sold as a service. StitchFix, Netflix, and a hundred other box services would take issue with that notion quite quickly.

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SaaS companies should stop focusing on how they deliver their product, thinking that differentiates them, and start refining how it solves an actual problem. Starting to realize that not everyone has that problem, (In fact less than 5% of them are ready to buy now) and that even if they do, there’s work to be done against their own situation, and all those competitors, before a purchase decision can be made, is a great start.

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Finding and knowing your true audience of users and potential buyers is critical to sustainable growth, just like it is for other products. The better you know the customer, the more effective you’re going to be at finding those who are ready to buy now, which fills pipeline, drives revenue and growth.

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Time to get started . . .

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For additional insights and tips on brand, market positioning, customer research and how it can drive your revenue, contact me here.