Is Your Pricing Strategy Holding Back Growth?
Let’s address a hidden growth lever in B2B SaaS: pricing strategy.
Across the many companies we’ve worked with, the most common pricing “strategy” is to price a bit lower than the industry leader. But here’s the reality—this shortcut approach can hurt long-term profitability, brand perception, and customer loyalty. A thoughtful pricing strategy, however, can boost all three.
To highlight how little thought goes into B2B SaaS pricing, Paddle found “that companies only spend 6 hours on their pricing strategy in the entire history of their business.”
Here’s why “a little cheaper” isn’t a winning approach and why CEOs should rethink their pricing model:
It misses the mark on prospect needs.Prospects may share similar goals, but their specific needs and priorities differ. Some value integration, others prioritize ease of use, and some want customization. When pricing doesn’t reflect these distinctions, it can turn prospects away or attract the wrong customers.
It erases your differentiation.If your only advantage is being slightly cheaper, you’re not giving prospects a reason to choose you. Pricing should reflect your product’s unique strengths, not just its position relative to a competitor.
It devalues your product.You’ve invested in building a valuable product; pricing it as “the discount option” downplays that value. Discounted pricing signals to the market that your product is second-rate, undermining your efforts to establish a premium or differentiated brand.
It insures prospects will choose the market leaderIf prospects see you only as “a cheaper alternative,” they will go with the leader unless savings are substantial. Real differentiation is about adding value, not shaving off dollars.
It ignores switching costs and perceived risk.Challenger brands face significant barriers with switching costs and perceived risk. Simply mirroring the leader’s price doesn’t address these concerns. Pricing strategies that consider these barriers can help gain customer trust and convert more effectively.
To build a more effective pricing strategy, involve your marketing, finance, product, and sales teams in the conversation. As part of the process, make sure to address these three areas:
Customer Needs: Use insights from marketing to understand what each customer segment values most and build pricing tiers or options that cater to those specific needs.
Differentiation: Highlight your unique strengths and position your pricing as a reflection of that value. Your pricing should tell a story about your brand and stand out against competitors.
Brand Integrity: Maintain consistent pricing that supports your brand image. A well-respected brand builds trust, and price integrity is essential for sustaining that reputation over time.
If you haven’t revisited your pricing strategy in the past year, consider holding a cross-functional pricing audit with finance, marketing, product, and sales. This audit can help you identify where your pricing may be misaligned with customer value and where opportunities exist to communicate your differentiation and reinforce your brand.
Pricing is more than a number—it’s a strategic reflection of your brand and product value. Bring in marketing, shape your pricing around value, and avoid the trap of “a little cheaper.” Your customers, brand, and bottom line will thank you.
The Demand Gen Death SpiralWe were recently brought in to do an assessment for a B2B SaaS company, when we looked at their data we quickly realized then were in what I call the "demand gen death spiral." Sounds ominous, doesn’t it? It should—this is a place no company wants to be, yet many end up there.When we recognize this spiral during an assessment, it’s like watching a horror movie where the characters make the choice to go down into the basement. You can see the disaster coming and wonder: why head in this direction?So, what exactly is the demand gen death spiral?The demand gen death spiral happens when companies divert resources from effective strategies to double down on ineffective demand generation tactics. This reallocation causes performance to decline even faster, while marketing teams and agencies cherry-pick positive data points to justify the increased spend. This selective view hides the bigger picture of overall performance decline.Warning Signs You’re in the Demand Gen Death Spiral:- Missing revenue targets- Decline in branded search impressions year over year- Drop in direct traffic year over year- A high percentage of paid search revenue tied to branded search terms- Rising cost per click and overreliance on PMax campaigns- Spending across multiple channels that generates high volumes of low-quality leadsUnfortunately, many B2B SaaS companies are caught in this cycle.How to Escape the Demand Gen Death Spiral:Stop, reassess, and return to marketing fundamentals. Shift your focus to understanding core performance metrics and building a strategy grounded in your brand and true value creation.
The Counterintuitive Way to Build Your B2B Brand
When most marketers think about driving growth, they often believe the key steps are to:- Narrowly target prospects- Focus on promoting product features- Gate content to generate leads- Constantly introduce new creative to grab attention- Keep communicating until the prospect convertsThis approach is popular because it feels intuitive. If we believe we know the segment of people most likely to buy our product, the logical next step seems to be finding those ready-to-buy prospects, capturing their information, showcasing how great our product is, and then continuing to communicate with them until they’re convinced.Sounds reasonable.While this approach sounds intuitive, the research shows it’s actually wrong.Here’s the real way to build your brand:- Don’t target too narrowly. Despite the promises of intent data and martech, we often know very little about a prospect’s readiness—whether they’re in-market, familiar with your brand, or past buyers. This makes it largely ineffective to try to target based on readiness. Also, research shows your best audience for outreach is anyone who buys the category; it's not limited to the narrow criteria you define. Instead of hyper-targeting, focus on broad outreach to build awareness. - Build emotional connections. Don’t start with boring creative about what your product does, instead start by creating emotional resonance through storytelling, visuals, and messaging that your audience can connect with.- Offer value upfront—for free. Give potential customers a chance to experience your value with a useful tool, resource, or insight at no cost (including gating). It has to be genuinely valuable, not just interesting, and it must demonstrate your expertise. When you provide value first, you’re not just showing off your expertise—you’re building trust. - Make your brand distinct. Whether through visuals, messaging, or positioning, your brand needs to stand out and be memorable. Find those distinctive elements and stick with them - forever.- Don’t chase uninterested prospects. If your message resonates, your value is clear, and your brand is memorable, you’ve done all you can. If a prospect doesn’t engage, it’s either the wrong time or they don’t see you as the right fit. Don’t waste time chasing them. Focus on continuing to build your brand presence and let it do the work over time.
Four years ago, we conducted a marketing assessment for a B2B SaaS company. As always, we started with a competitive analysis. The results were predictable—big brands were dominating the market. But one smaller brand that was a competitor to our client stood out. Founded by industry veterans, they had built a brand and product that resonated deeply with their niche audience. They used their expertise to solve real problems, and it worked. They were growing and taking on industry leaders.Fast forward to today. We were brought back for another assessment. Once again, the big brands were growing. But that smaller brand that had been growing? They were now in decline.What changed?Since our last assessment, they had received private equity funding and they likely felt pressure to grow. Reading their press releases and looking at their marketing it is apparent they chose to dramatically expand the audience they were selling to and rebranded to appeal to that wider audience. In the process, they lost the things that made them differentiated and distinct.The results? Since their pivot and brand update, their share of search has fallen by 47% and they had to lay off almost 20% of their employees. The key takeaways?1. Brand “refreshes” can go terribly wrong - It is always tempting to pull the rebrand lever to drive growth, but is it really necessary? Building a distinctive brand takes years and you can wipe out your investment in an instant by rebranding. 2. As a B2B challenger brand, it is better to be loved by a smaller audience than just liked by many - When you are a big brand, you can offer an OK product and still grow. But as a smaller brand, you need to realize that buyers are risk averse and won't choose you unless they have a very compelling reason. Trying to appeal to many can cause a company to lose the aspects of their brand and product that provided that compelling reason to switch.3. Don’t change who you are to open new markets - Opening new markets can drive growth, but not at the expense of your identity. Growth strategies should build on your brand's strengths, not dilute them.
Here’s a story that should be a wake-up call for B2B SaaS CEOs. Even when you think you’re doing everything right, your data might be leading you toward decisions that could undermine your growth.You’re the CEO of a B2B SaaS company focused on driving growth. Your CMO proposes shifting from your traditional inbound sales motion to a product-led growth (PLG) strategy. Being cautious, you decide to run a test rather than jump straight in.Here’s what happened:Q1 Results:Inbound: 582 opportunities, 183 deals, CVR = 31.44%PLG: 140 opportunities, 45 deals, CVR = 32.14%Encouraged by the results, you expand the PLG test in Q2.Q2 Results:Inbound: 48 opportunities, 12 deals, CVR = 25%PLG: 411 opportunities, 104 deals, CVR = 25.30%After two quarters, it seems like a no-brainer: PLG is outperforming inbound. The higher conversion rates suggest PLG is the future, right?Not so fast.When you combine the results from both quarters, the data tells a different story:Combined Results:Inbound (Q1 + Q2): 630 opportunities, 195 deals, CVR = 31%PLG (Q1 + Q2): 551 opportunities, 149 deals, CVR = 27%Suddenly, your traditional inbound motion is performing 15% better than PLG. How can that be?This is Simpson’s Paradox—a statistical phenomenon where trends that appear in separate data sets reverse when you combine them. Though I used a test of PLG to highlight the challenge, Simpson’s Paradox can occur in many areas:- College admissions- Medical treatments- Income distributions- Sports- A/B testing- And many more...In fact, in this example, the data comes from a real-life instance from baseball. In 1995 and 1996, David Justice had a higher batting average than Derek Jeter. But when you combine the two years, Jeter comes out on top. The data flips when looked at holistically.I’ve been hearing lately about how easy it is to use data to guide marketing decisions, but the truth is, even simple tests can lead you astray if you’re not careful. This example might seem straightforward, but that’s the point—even the simplest decisions can be wrong for reasons most people would overlook.The Lesson: What looks like straightforward data can be deceptively misleading. Before making any decisions, ask yourself:- Are we analyzing the data in the right way?- Are we weighing results properly across different cohorts and time periods?- Are we sure that short-term trends won’t reverse when looked at over time?Making the wrong call based on faulty interpretation of data can be costly. Making the right decision might not be easy. Always dig deeper—your growth depends on it.
As a B2B SaaS CEO, just acquiring a few more customers is not the goal —you’re building something that solves a pain so well that it drives its own growth. That’s where product-market fit to scale comes into play.
So, what is product-market fit really?Product-market fit (PMF) occurs when a company's product successfully satisfies a strong market demand. Marc Andreessen, who coined the term, describes it as "being in a good market with a product that can satisfy that market."
But here’s the next level:
Product-market fit to scale means your product is so strong that growth starts to happen organically.
This is the inflection point where customer acquisition costs (CAC) drop, word of mouth accelerates, and the business grows without an over-reliance on aggressive marketing.
We always hear about scaling stories from giants like Apple, Amazon, or Tesla, but product-market fit to scale often happens much earlier.
Notion: It started out as a tool for small teams and startups. As users saw how flexible it was and how it could transform their workflows, Notion’s growth took off through word of mouth. They didn’t need to pour money into advertising early on—users did that for them by sharing how useful it was.
Loom: This video messaging platform was initially used by teams looking for quicker ways to communicate. Once they nailed down product-market fit, it spread organically within organizations. Users themselves helped Loom grow from the bottom up, driving adoption into larger enterprises without needing big ad campaigns.
Airtable: Airtable didn’t just sell a product—it gave users the power to create custom applications that solved their own business problems. Once people experienced its flexibility, they naturally shared it with others, fueling organic growth that scaled the company.
Here’s how to evaluate your readiness to scale:
Measure engagement: Are your top customers increasing their usage of key features? If people aren’t using your product they aren’t going to be talking about it. You want to have heavy users, those are the ones who are finding the real value.
Track word of mouth: Audit the acquisition paths on your deals. What percentage of new customers are arriving through referrals and word of mouth?
Look for evangelists: Look to see if you have people writing about your product on social media, speaking about it at events and including it in articles. Having evangelists is a key indicator that you have found PMF to scale.
The key to product-market to scale is maintaining customer focus. Understand their needs, why they love your product, focus on those use cases, and give them reasons to talk about it.
Start small, nail the solution for a targeted audience, and let their love for your product drive organic growth. Scaling without excessive spend on customer acquisition? That’s the goal.
Think about brands like:- ChatGPT- Google - Zapier- Trader Joe’s- Costco- Zara- ZapposThese are large brands today, but they started by doing something so remarkable that word spread organically. Whether it was exceptional customer service, incredible value, unique experiences, or standout product features, they each found their "something incredible."We’ve worked with companies who did the same:Netcraft - They focused on being the best in the world at website takedowns. Offensive Security - They built a passionate community by offering training and certifications so intense customers were excited to share they passed the certification. Highway.ai - They built a product on mortgage industry knowledge and guidance that was unmatched. PenFed - Offered rates so low that the word spread organically from the military community they served to the broader world. What enabled this wasn't unique talent or massive resources. What they had was a vision to do something incredible.Yet, very few companies tap into this powerful growth lever. Why?They focus too much on their own idea. Founders and CEOs often believe their vision is the ‘incredible thing,’ but this mindset can stop them from identifying smaller, quicker wins that can still be transformative.They get stuck on what customers say they need. Gathering customer insights is crucial, but those insights should focus on identifying the problem, not dictating how to solve it. Companies can miss the chance to deliver something exceptional by just following customer instructions rather than addressing their real needs.They’re too distracted by what the competition is doing. Feature parity is the arch-nemesis of doing something incredible. Too many companies become preoccupied with matching competitors, instead of finding what they can be the best at and standing out.So, how do you find that "something incredible"?Set out to do something amazing - Understand that your company is capable of doing something incredible and move away from the “good enough” mindset.Narrow your focus - Identify a specific area where competitors are failing to meet a need or where you can over-deliver value and focus there. Build what customers actually need—not just what they say they need.Leverage your strengths - Assess what your team or product does/can do better than anyone else and double down on it.Doing something incredible is a growth strategy almost any company can use. It just takes the will to make it happen.
Building a distinctive brand is crucial for being easily identifiable to customers and prospects. But there's some misguided advice out there about how to do it.
The common advice is that we need distinctive brand assets (DBAs). But our goal shouldn't be to build distinctive assets - it should be to build a distinctive brand.
Here's the reality: B2B brands rarely achieve individual distinctive brand assets. Research from the B2B Institute shows that in the CRM category, only Microsoft's logo qualifies as a distinctive brand asset. Not even Salesforce or HubSpot have managed this feat.
In their research, the only B2B brands that have created truly distinctive individual assets are Google, Microsoft, and Amazon - giants that are also consumer brands.
Research: https://www.adweek.com/brand-marketing/brand-assets-are-important-in-b2b-marketing/?
The Truth About Brand Distinctiveness
As Nick Liddell points out in his terrific LinkedIn article:
"...it’s much more helpful and realistic to think about how your brand elements work collectively to create fame and uniqueness, rather than obsessing about wringing as much fame or uniqueness as possible from each individual element."
Article: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/brand-strategists-toolkit-25-distinctive-assets-grid-nick-liddell/
Despite this reality, thinking about distinctive brand assets remains valuable. B2B brands often suffer from being too safe and similar. Approaching asset development with the idea that we want to create assets that could be famous and unique will push you to be bolder and more distinct.
Start today - Every day that passes is a missed opportunity
Select 3-4 elements to focus on - The combination matters, but too many muddle the impact
Include unexpected elements like:
Characters/Mascots
Patterns
Unique illustration styles
Design individual assets as if they could become famous
Use your combination consistently, everywhere, forever
A distinct color
A mascot
Standardized fonts
A consistent illustration style
One final note (and a piece of constructive feedback for Haris): always include your brand name. Distinctiveness makes your brand recognizable, but if people don’t associate it with your company, it won’t drive business. When I went to write this post, I remembered Haris's brand but not his name—it took effort to find him. Prospects won't do that.
The Challenge of Individual Distinctive Assets
Thinking About DBAs Is Still ValuableHow to Build a Distinctive B2B BrandA Real-World ExampleThe best B2B distinctiveness example isn't from a company, but an individual. Haris Spahić is known on LinkedIn for his distinctive brand which includes:One Final, Important Note
Distinctiveness.Distinctiveness is making your brand easily identifiable by customers.There is a fair amount of recent discussion about distinctiveness, but it is far from a new concept. Mac Martin wrote the passage below in his book ‘Advertising Campaigns’ from 1917. The language and list are almost identical to what some of the biggest names in marketing use today.Martin wrote,‘Advertisers use many different ways to make their advertising distinctive and immediately identifiable.Among them are the following :1. The name2. The trade -mark3. A typical character4. A slogan5. Borders6. Backgrounds7. Styles of type faces8. Styles of type composition9. Technique of illustrations10. Style of copy11. Uniform proportions12. Color13. Position in the publication .’These elements, when done correctly, become distinctive brand assets. They work together to make your brand easily identifiable. But how do you measure if your assets are truly distinctive?Jenni Romaniuk’s Brand Asset Grid provides a way to quantify distinctiveness through two key metrics:Asset Recognition – How many people recognize the assetBrand Attribution – How many people can attribute the asset to the correct brandHere is what Peter Weinberg said about the B2B Institute’s research on distinctive brand assets in B2B,“But in B2B, we found almost no distinctive assets, in any category, for any brand. Instead, B2B brands are all drowning in a sea of sameness. Every brand is blue, every brand is saying the same things in the same way. “https://lnkd.in/ejnaPXeRWhy does it matter?Distinctive brand assets alone won’t make your brand successful, but there are three important reasons to focus on building them:Brand- Without distinctive assets, our marketing won’t be associated with our brand. Customers- Lack of distinctive assets makes it harder for your customers and prospects to find your brand.Competitors- A lack of distinctiveness may cause your prospects and customers to associate your marketing with your competitors. Why don’t B2B companies have distinctive brands?CEOs, you may not care, but you need to because many forces within your company are aligned against distinctiveness. - The new CMO wants to "refresh" the brand- The board is tired of seeing the same look- Your product team doesn’t have time to incorporate your brand assets into the product- You are worried about doing something too bold like creating a character- The marketing team thinks it is too "salesy" to strongly incorporate your brand in contentThe good news is that, if you are willing, your company will be alone in being distinctive. It is much better to play where there is no competition, then to sit still among the others.
A Company That Hasn’t Struggled...After working with many different companies, we’ve seen a wide range of situations:- Those that took 20 years to find success.- Those that fought tooth and nail to grow.- Those that nearly failed.- And a rare few that seemed to grow without facing any real challenges.The hardest to work with?The ones that haven’t faced real struggles.Why? - They're slow to recognize challenges.- They think they already have all the answers.- They haven’t had to define who they truly are.But when the challenges come (and they always do), when they are tested, they don't know what to do. They double down on their existing playbook or act rashly. Neither approach will help them pull through the struggle. If I were an investor, I’d look for companies that have been tested and overcome adversity. These are the ones that will succeed. They know they don’t have all the answers. They remain humble in victories and resilient in tough times.It's tough out there for many companies, not just startups. We've seen the same challenges with mid-sized businesses as well. But out of those struggles lies the potential for growth and success.That said, being tested doesn’t guarantee success. Here's what the resilient companies we’ve worked with did to turn challenges into growth:--> They knew who they were and why they existed – staying committed to their vision and customers.--> They learned – from successes, failures, peers, and best practices.--> They focused on the fundamentals – both the hard (financials) and the soft (execution).--> They were honest – recognizing challenges early and communicating clearly with their teams.If your company makes it through adversity, you emerge stronger—not despite the challenges, but because of them.
There’s a famous quote often attributed to W. Edwards Deming: “Without data, you’re just another person with an opinion.” Pretty catchy, and it’s a mindset many of us default to. But Kevin Gray nails it better: “With data, you’re just another person with an opinion. Data by themselves have no meaning.” https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/hard-hat-stats-some-common-uncommon-sense-june-23-2024-kevin-gray-gegwc/ One of the hardest jobs for a CEO is determining what opinion on the data is correct. Two recent stories showcase this challenge: Amazon’s massive losses on smart devices and Nike’s recent struggles as part of a data-driven pivot. These stories are intriguing, but I’m more interested in how the decisions behind them were made. In an article by Dana Mattioli, Amazon’s continued investment (and losses) in smart devices were driven by a metric called "downstream impact" (DSI). This internal measure aimed to track how a product influenced spending across Amazon’s ecosystem but had significant flaws, including double-counting revenue. Why bet so much on DSI? It was developed by a team that included a Nobel laureate—in a world of opinions on data, this team would have a strong argument. https://www.linkedin.com/posts/dana-mattioli-7b09779_alexa-is-in-millions-of-householdsand-amazon-activity-7221495240203866112-b8_I/ Another example is highlighted by Massimo Giunco’s recent article on Nike which breaks down three critical decisions by CEO John Donahue that have hurt Nike: - Eliminating categories from the organization (brand, product development, and sales). - Becoming a DTC-led company, moving away from wholesale. - Centralizing and digitizing marketing, making it heavily data-driven. Nike used data science to help make these decisions. The result? Nike has lost billions in market cap, its share price has hit lows not seen since 2018 and it now has a new CEO. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/nike-epic-saga-value-destruction-massimo-giunco-llplf/ Both articles point out that data played a key role in these strategic choices. If data is the Holy Grail of decision-making, how did these decisions go so wrong? It’s clear that data alone isn’t enough. What does this mean for CEOs and marketing? Marketing teams are flooded with data yet still make poor choices—pursuing ineffective growth strategies, wasting money on unproductive marketing channels, and rolling out initiatives that damaged the customer experience. So what can CEOs do? Before making significant marketing decisions, make sure your team addresses these points: - Ensure the decision aligns with your company’s vision and principles. - Explain how it supports customer needs and enhances the experience. - Present opposing viewpoints. - Define how success will be measured using real numbers, not vanity metrics. - Set clear goals and decision criteria upfront. If these steps don’t lead to clarity, you have to trust your gut.
The playbook mentality in marketing is one of the most damaging mindsets for an organization because it can lead your company to negative outcomes all while making it seem like you are doing the right thing. It is the “road to hell is paved with good intentions”.The most popular posts on LinkedIn are some sort of playbook, tips, hacks or rule; Increase your LinkedIn presence, here is how I closed X number of deals through cold email, the ABM playbook, tips to grow organic search through AI etc… Learning about what others have done is important, but just following a playbook will not lead to meaningful results and can be harmful. The playbook mindset is thinking that executing simple steps can replace complex ideas and hard work. It is very appealing, the promise of the playbook is that you follow these steps and you will achieve these results. Who doesn’t want a simple guide to success? Except it doesn't work that way. The deception is that you think you are doing the right thing because you are following steps that resulted in success for someone else. - Companies follow the product-led growth playbook and ruin their inbound marketing efforts.- Companies follow a Lean Startup playbook and put out low-quality MVPs that kill their business.- Teams execute the demand gen playbook wasting hundreds of thousands of dollars to no results. These companies thought they were doing the right thing while headed in the wrong direction. There is value in all of these strategies, but the value is never in simple steps. Why does the playbook mentality exist? Because it is easier. - It is easier to read an article on customer satisfaction than to talk to our customers and prospects- It is easier to have AI generate an article for SEO than create great content. - It is easier to justify the strategy by using someone else’s results than doing the analysis yourself. - It is easier to buy branded paid search terms than taking the time to build our brand awareness. It is so important to get out of that mindset. There is no playbook to get out of the playbook mindset, but there are some steps that will help get out of the marketing playbook mentality- Set a vision and create a brand based on truly understanding your customers’ needs. - Require your team to do customer research that has them communicating with customers and prospects- Give your team goals to go out and build relationships within the industry and their area of expertise- Before running any playbook, have them speak with others who have run the playbook to hear about the successes and challenges- Do not rely just on the results of others, have your team do their own analysis on how the changes will impact the business and define the goals of the effortIt would be great if there were simple steps we could follow to success, but success requires hard work and thinking.
I often emphasize the need to find evangelists for your company. While the concept is gaining traction, it still doesn’t get nearly enough attention. This is a huge missed opportunity. Throughout my career, I’ve seen firsthand the incredible impact of evangelists. Simply put, there’s almost no other marketing activity that can deliver such immediate and significant results. In this post, I am going to share two examples of the power of evangelists. The first case is from when I led marketing for Pentagon Federal Credit Union. PenFed was the second largest federal credit union, but compared to the big banks it was a relatively small player and my marketing budget was a rounding error compared to the budgets of the big FIs. While we may not have had big budgets, we did have exceptional products with the lowest mortgage rates, highest savings account rates and the richest credit card rewards. Our cards were so good they attracted the attention of Curtis Arnold founder of cardratings.com. While there were credit card comparison sites whose primary focus was to generate affiliate revenue, cardratings.com was not one of them. Curtis’s mission was to find the best credit cards for his users. Because we had a great product and treated our members well, PenFed was a good match with Curtis’s mission. The power of evangelism was really demonstrated in earned media. Financial reporters trusted Curtis and he was often their source when they wanted to write an article on the best credit cards. PenFed was at the top of his list. This led to coverage in the NY Times, USA Today, Money Magazine, Forbes, Fortune, Kiplinger’s, the WSJ, The Today Show, and more—worth millions in exposure and thousands of new cardholders. No other marketing tactic could have matched Curtis’s impact. Can this work in B2B? Absolutely. My second example is more recent and comes from Mark Kosoglow. He recently wrote a post about trying to find a good CRM for his business. In the post he described his selection process and why he eventually chose NetHunt CRM. https://www.linkedin.com/posts/mkosoglow_when-i-resigned-as-cro-at-catalyst-i-got-activity-7212432051625492481-hSEk Two weeks later he posted an update, NetHunt shared that they had received over 200 signups from Mark’s post. https://www.linkedin.com/posts/mkosoglow_if-i-mention-a-product-in-a-post-a-couple-activity-7219728726773673984-QN_O Once again, there is almost no marketing activity NetHunt could have implemented that would have that big impact so quickly. Curtis and Mark probably do not think of themselves as evangelists, but they meet the three requirements of a great evangelist. The 3 Traits of a Great Evangelist - A person who believes in the product - A person who has authority and is trusted - A person who has an audience Great evangelists can have a significant impact on growth, has your company found yours?
In the early 1900s, there was a marketing “law” known as cumulative value. Publishers used this concept to convince advertisers that they needed to advertise frequently and consistently in their publications. The idea was that repeated exposure would maximize the impact of an advertisement on readers.William A. Shryer, outlined the reasoning behind cumulative value in his 1912 book ‘Advertising Analytics’:- A single ad placement isn't an effective test of its success.- To gauge effectiveness, an ad must run at least three times in a publication.- Consistent repetition will eventually yield profitable returns.- Sporadic ad placements won't work; persistence is key.- The longer you run your ads, the more profitable they become.But Shryer himself wasn’t convinced. He stated:“Their cumulative value theory attracted me mightily, first because it violated every principle of psychology, logic, and reason and nevertheless appeared to be the guiding principle of every seller of space I met, as well as the accepted belief of most advertisers.”Shryer set out to test this theory through empirical research, meticulously tracking the performance of hundreds of ads across different advertisers. The results were surprising: contrary to the cumulative value “law,” the first ad placement had the most significant impact, while the benefits of additional exposure were limited.As Shryer wrote:“The first insertion of a tried piece of copy in a new medium will pay better, in every way, than any subsequent insertion of the same copy in the same magazine.”Now, you might wonder why you should care about what someone you never heard of said over 100 years ago about a law that is never discussed.Here’s why: much of today’s marketing still relies on the idea of cumulative value. Companies invest in martech assuming that if one email works, wouldn't a workflow that will send 5 or 10 or 15 be better? Do a Google search and you will see many results that recommend prospects need to see an ad 7 or 9 or 15 times to act.But if cumulative value isn’t true, how much money are we wasting on ineffective marketing?Many modern studies also cast doubt on the cumulative value theory. For instance, Shryer's book brought to mind a post from Dale W. Harrison where he referenced a study (link in comments), which found that “ad response is ENTIRELY flat after the initial exposure to a given brand's advertising.”https://lnkd.in/eNU5fm3FI don't know if there is a definitive answer, but there is enough research to at least make us question this belief and ask why it is so entrenched in marketing.
Some time ago we were brought in to work with a mid-sized B2B SaaS company and their CEO, let’s call him Jim. Jim had a big personality, and if he was in the room, you knew it. Everything he or his company did was "the best." The company had achieved some initial growth by tapping into Jim’s network, and their product was well-received by early customers. But when it came time to scale, growth stalled.They expanded their sales team and invested some money in marketing, but growth was hard. Worse yet, a new competitor was getting noticed, and Jim was frustrated. “We have a great product. Why don’t they care?” he asked.Here’s the hard truth: No one cares about your business… unless you give them a reason to.The Reality Check Many Companies Need: Most CEOs are deeply passionate about their companies and because of this, they think other people will care as well. But the truth is, most people don’t think about your company at all. They don’t care if it thrives or dies — unless you earn their care.People don’t like or dislike your company; they’re simply indifferent.Your business is just like any other, unless you deliver undeniable value or build an emotional connection.If you can’t get people to care, you will be ignored.Many companies worry about being liked or disliked, but being ignored is far worse. Research shows that for growth and retention, the biggest threat isn’t being disliked — it’s being ignored.Is your company acting like people care already or does it know that care must be earned? When companies approach prospects as if they care, they think:- The value they offer through their product or content is enough- People will be convinced to buy with one more email, call or ad - Their product features are what they should lead with- Relationships within the industry, customers and prospects aren’t necessaryThis misperception is what caused Jim’s company to struggle to grow. - Their existing customers valued the product, but it was in the “nice to have” category, not “must-have”- The company wasn’t creating any content that provided actual value to prospects or demonstrated expertise- Their marketing materials just talked about their product features and didn’t address prospect needs (and they wouldn’t add pricing to the website)- Demand gen tactics were ineffective and they tried to force people into the funnel- They lacked focus on relationships with partners and within the industryHere’s How to Earn Their Care:- Deliver value that’s impossible to overlook.- Create emotional connections.- Build relationships.Remember, the world doesn’t care about your business — but that’s your opportunity to make them care. Go beyond the ordinary. Deliver extraordinary value. Make an impact. Don’t let them ignore you.
How did three entrepreneurs grow Shibumi to $75 million in sales with almost no advertising? They followed the challenger playbook almost to perfection.
Here’s how they did it:
- Differentiate based on customer needs and competitor weaknesses.
- Be the best in the world where you differentiate.
- Validate your product-market fit through word of mouth and emotional resonance.
- Build a distinctive brand and product.
- Capture your competitors' customers as you grow.
- Continuously improve what you do best.
- Expand by entering adjacent markets.
These steps can work for almost any challenger brand.
If you’re wondering whether your company could leverage marketing more effectively, feel free to reach out.
Article:
https://slate.com/life/2024/07/shibumi-shade-beach-cover-north-carolina.html
Ray Rike provides a terrific resource for finding benchmarks and some guidance on how to utilize benchmarks correctly. https://www.linkedin.com/posts/rayrike_b2bsaas-benchmarks-activity-7232404615386836992-HlA2/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop My take: I have seen some people railing against the use of benchmarks, but used the right way, they can be incredibly useful in identifying issues and setting priorities. There are many different aspects of marketing so it can be extremely difficult to know what to prioritize. Benchmarks shouldn't be your sole or even primary guide, but if one of your company’s metrics is significantly different than peers, it is worth looking into. Benchmarks help you quickly identify differences. Also, check out Omar Akhtar for benchmarks. Omar has some great data and a good post on how to use benchmarks. https://www.linkedin.com/posts/omarbilalakhtar_a-prospective-client-asked-me-a-great-question-activity-7232023554324672512-X1iD?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop Linas Beliūnas posts that startup failures are through the roof but also says this actually isn’t bad https://www.linkedin.com/posts/linasbeliunas_wild-the-rate-at-which-us-startups-are-going-activity-7232344786391711744-6z-4/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop My take: Startup founders are either getting incredibly bad advice or not following good advice. Linas says the increase in the rate of failure isn't actually a negative, but to me, all of these failures seem wasteful. Not because startups are bad, but without the right approach they will never succeed. Following a path that won't succeed is a waste of time, money and emotions. For mid-sized brands, this also makes it clear that competition is increasing. To protect your business, this means that it is time to invest in brand and make sure you are so good in a specific area that customers can't switch away from you because they need what you offer. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- If you want to know if your company can utilize marketing more effectively, send me a note.
“A manufacturer whose plant is estimated to be worth about two million dollars recently remarked : "If I were forced to choose between sacrificing my plant and the good-will which this company has established thru continuous advertising for the last twenty years, I should willingly say, ' Burn down the plant . I can obtain capital to rebuild it tomorrow, because our advertising has created a demand which has a bankable value and will bring new capital . '”
This is a passage from a textbook called ‘Advertising Campaigns’ written by Mac Martin in 1917.
It is hard to imagine a mid-sized B2B SaaS CEO today reaching a similar conclusion.
I have no idea if the manufacturer’s brand was worth more than the plant, but I do know the concept that a brand has actual value is rarely expressed by SaaS CEOs today. Having worked with many different B2B SaaS companies I have never had a CEO assign value to their brand. A few CEOs might say we need to improve our brand or increase brand awareness, but they wouldn’t have an answer if asked what their brand was worth.
Yet in 1917, the manufacturer was very aware of the value of his brand.
Why does it matter if a CEO knows that their brand has value?
It matters because if they don't see the value, it will affect investment decisions. While a CEO will never have to choose between burning down a factory or maintaining the brand, the same decision is made writ small with every budgeting decision. Do we add or take money from brand? Without understanding value, it is easier not to invest in brand because the impact seems illusory.
Two examples that highlight that a brand has real value:
1. Warren Buffet invested in Coca-Cola in 1988 because he saw its brand value as a moat
2. Research shows that large and growing brands continue to grow for a time after stopping advertising
Three takeaways:
- Your brand has value: It is important to realize that your brand is more than how your company is perceived, it has an actual value. Imagine there were two SaaS companies in a category that were similar in almost every way, but every prospect in the category was familiar with one of the companies, but very few were familiar with the other. Which company is worth more?
- Think about brand Investment: When making investment decisions it is important to understand the value of brand is more than the measurable impact it has on current sales or perceptions. An investment in brand is also an investment in future growth.
- Brand is bigger than advertising - Investment decisions on brand are about more than just whether you should increase or decrease your advertising spend. It is important to think about brand impact in other areas as well.
Over 100 years ago it was understood that brand had a value and that is still understood among many consumer good companies today, but it seems like the lesson has never been learned for many in B2B SaaS.
Despite what you often see on LinkedIn or hear from agencies and consultants, there is no secret magic trick, tactic, or hack that will instantly create transformational growth for your company. There isn’t some hidden “growth door” that, once opened, will lead to immediate success. Instead, let’s talk about the growth path—a journey that you complete by walking it every day, step by step. Sometimes it will feel like you’re running, other times it might seem like you’re moving backward, but every company must walk this path to achieve growth. This can be a tough pill for some CEOs to swallow, especially when they’re chasing quick results. We once worked with a company whose CEO—let’s call him Ed—was always on the hunt for this elusive growth door. When Ed first became CEO, the company experienced rapid growth and secured investment from a PE firm. But with that investment came increased pressure to continue growing. Ed, feeling the weight of this pressure, constantly searched for the next growth tactic that would drive results. He was always trying to open new “doors” to find growth. They spent millions on paid media. They A/B tested endlessly. They invested in organic search, offered discounts, and cycled through various agencies and consultants. But despite all these efforts, none of the tactics led to sustainable, transformative growth. Even worse, Ed’s approach started to affect his team. Instead of focusing on long-term success, they chased quick fixes and vanity metrics to show short-term gains. These efforts might have delivered some minor wins, but they didn’t lead to the kind of enduring, meaningful growth that Ed was looking for. Sometimes, he’d have something positive to report at a monthly board meeting, but the next few months would bring nothing of substance. Eventually, the PE firm brought us in to help. Ed was a great guy, but he was stuck in a short-term mindset. We worked with him to shift his focus and establish a sustainable growth path. We advised him to stop chasing quick wins and instead concentrate on the fundamentals: the product, the brand, partnerships, and internal alignment. His team needed to focus on doing the right things every day, not on chasing the latest quick fix. Now, there’s nothing inherently wrong with these tactics—they can be very effective when done correctly. However, they’re not a magic door that will single-handedly drive growth. Significant gains can happen, but ongoing growth only comes from consistently following the right path. 𝗦𝗼, 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗱𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗮𝗹𝗸 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗵? - Know where you’re going: Establish a growth vision. - Know where you are: Set baselines and targets. - Know what to do: Learn and follow best practices. - Know to stay on the path: Say no to things that aren’t part of the vision. - Know the path: Develop a growth action plan.
Mimi Turner and Jann Martin Schwarz share research on ‘hidden buyers’ within Enterprise buying groups. These are the process experts within an organization, such as those in purchasing, finance, and legal. The research reveals that these hidden buyers hold nearly equal decision-making power as the product expert (or target buyer) on the buying committee. However, unlike the product expert, hidden buyers don’t engage in research and have little interest in the product itself. What do they care about? Brand familiarity and risk. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/real-job-b2b-marketing-give-buyer-group-permission-agree-schwarz-idyke/?trackingId=xXY5cgvTQY%2B3sd%2BFRfjG1w%3D%3D 𝗠𝘆 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲: There are two key takeaways for CEOs from this research: - Ensure your marketing team is building brand familiarity. - When involved in the sales process, the CEO doesn't need to be the product expert but should be prepared to assuage concerns around risk. Joe Daniels ✌️ highlights a concept he calls Difference Degradation, which suggests that over time, external pressures cause all SaaS companies to lose differentiation, leading to a scenario where all companies are competing in the same space. https://www.linkedin.com/posts/uptojoegood_b2b-saas-paradox-activity-7231608424520667136-UZ-J?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop 𝗠𝘆 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲: When companies lack differentiation, the largest company with the most resources and awareness will ultimately win. We often see our challenger brand clients trying to catch up by reaching feature parity. However, a smarter strategy is to focus on being the best in a specific area. 𝗧𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗳𝗲𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆: - If you just reach feature parity, you are now competing directly with a larger competitor who has more resources and awareness. You will lose. - Because they have more resources, your larger competitor likely has better functionality, even if you offer the same features. - The exit strategy for challenger brands is often acquisition by the market leader. Superior functionality in a specific area is much more attractive than subpar functionality across all areas.
