Why Consensus Acquired ReachSuite

The Idea that Started It

On September 3rd, 2024, we announced our acquisition of ReachSuite. Since then, customer feedback and interest have been far better than expected.?

This acquisition started when Doug Johnson and I had our first 1:1 meeting a few days after he was named the new CEO of Consensus. In that meeting, I shared with him my desire to evaluate a “Sandbox/POC software” acquisition.

We were approached by many vendors in the space and heard from customers who had also evaluated them. Quickly, it was clear that while there was a need in the space, a particular feature set was required to meet the complex needs of our industry. Our long search led us to where we are today.

(SIDE NOTE: Personally, it feels euphoric to have participated in the Consensus journey for the last nine years! I’ve never been so confident in our future and the future of buyer enablement.)

Naturally, what followed was the burning question most people have asked: “Why ReachSuite?”

One Platform to Rule Them All

Consensus is on a relentless mission to “transform complex B2B sales into easy, interactive buying experiences.”?

(Stay with me while I lay the groundwork for the decision.)

That mission started 10 years ago by creating the demo automation category with the first Automated Demo, which delivered a 'Choose-Your-Own-Adventure' style video experience with rich, one-of-a-kind buyer insights. At the time this was a revolutionary step in taking buyer enablement technology to the masses to make buying easy by giving revenue teams a way to deliver product content on demand.?

Last year, we added a new feature called Tours. It allowed users to take an instant on-demand visual product tour guided by hotspots, videos, and text. We built Tours to incorporate product screenshots that leveraged page highlights, deep dives, and live UI elements to allow sellers to bring relevant features to life in ways that let stakeholders and users “try” a product before they buy. The result was a buying experience that combined content with context to build confidence.

Consensus has earned the business of 16 of the 30 largest software companies and deployed it across 10s of thousands of their reps. Companies like Salesforce, Oracle, Workday, and hundreds of others trust Consensus to create the most simple buying experiences for their customers.?

After consulting with the top analysts, industry leaders, and customers, we quickly realized that to enable buyers, we needed to provide experiences across the entire revenue function (Marketing, Sales, Presales, and Client Success) and the prospect and customer journey.

With that, we set off on a mission to discover what the perfect interactive demo and product experience solution required. After months of research with top analysts like David Yockelson at Gartner, industry thought leaders, our elite Customer Advisory Board, and integrated partners, we determined there were three major product experiences buyers needed:

1. On-Demand Video
2. Interactive Product Tours
3. Live Product Simulations

Furthermore, the feedback clearly told us that all three of these product experiences needed to be combined into one?solution.

NON-NEGOTIABLES

Until September 3rd, there wasn’t a single solution for these important product experiences.

We went on a journey to either build or acquire a Quick POC/Sandbox solution and a more robust interactive product tour technology. We researched, met, and studied all the available vendors in the space.?

We learned every nuance of the space, and it became clear that we didn’t need to build it. It was also apparent that there was a solution that met the requirements we were looking for. Those non-negotiable requirements were based on a lot of expert feedback on what was desperately needed in our space:

1. Rapid setup: Hours to days, not weeks or months.
2. Code-Free creation: Reps could easily create sandboxes or POCs without extensive technical knowledge.
3. Shareability and on-demand access: Reps could instantly share sandbox environments with prospects for self-guided exploration.
4. Security and compliance: Adherence to GDPR and other security standards.

After an exhaustive search, we were fortunate to have many options. However, it became clear that only one vendor provided all four to our standards.

We loved how easy it was to create both interactive product tours and live product simulations using their no-code technology to give buyers a secure, confident product exploration experience that showcases true product functionality without straining presales resources. We also loved the way they mirrored our culture and commitment to making B2B buying easy.

The "Demo Automation Software Market," valued at USD 73 Billion in 2023, is projected to surge to USD 154.84 Billion by 2031, with an impressive compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.34% from 2024 to 2031.

The acquisition of ReachSuite is a significant step forward in our mission to revolutionize B2B sales. By combining our expertise in demo automation and interactive tours with ReachSuite's innovative Quick POC/Sandbox capabilities, we provide a comprehensive solution that empowers sales teams to deliver exceptional buying experiences and drive business growth.

(G2 recognizes Consensus as the Number 1 Leader in Demo Automation)