Issue #34 - The influence behind every SaaS business strategy
In This Issue: Vile Rumour & Gossip → Retrenching for longevity - the impact upon Net New → Composable’s next chapter
Another year, another set of grifters, gangsters, and opportunists set sail to the great retail and eCommerce trade shows of the snowy north.
For those complaining about NRF’s awful calendar (starts on a Sunday and runs across Martin Luther King Day), consider this: conservatively, NRF makes about $80m in net profit - they simply don’t care if it’s cold and inconvenient for us 🙁.
Vile Rumour & Gossip
Our first correction in 34 issues (we’ve been wrong, but haven’t admitted it).
Has Sitoo gotten back in the game with Newstore and Shopify POS? That PUMA win is pretty stellar.
SMS falling away
From the customer camp, there are clear examples of “annoying at scale” via SMS starting to see its destiny fulfilled. In Europe, this channel is reported to be experiencing significant problems. (We aren’t surprised.)
Antitrust in accelerators
In a workshop I ran last week for enterprise tech leaders, all nodded sagely when one said, “I’m unpicking an accelerator right now. I don’t trust them.” Since the Hybris days, SIs have used these ‘accelerators’ to promise a lower project cost and some time saved, and composable saw their re-invention and popularity rise again. Are clients too savvy now? Are there just too many that aren’t fit for enough projects? Rethink needed…
Retrenching for longevity - the impact upon Net New
Plenty of rumours that SaaS firms who are post B-round are retrenching to avoid any rushed exits. We’re feeling retrenchment for sure, most notably in the ways that marketing departments are behaving. Here are a few signs to watch for and our perspective on the impact
1. Trade shows are popular
While the VCs were generous, many SaaS vendors focused on smaller, more ICP-specific events. Now, they’re being handed back the big hammer. The old challenges of lead flow will undoubtedly resurface, so this is a short-term change.
2. Digital spend has come unstuck
The (rather lazy) way that paid has been used by SaaS to deliver MQLs is being tackled, and with a pretty big stick. When we were told by a group of marketing SaaS leaders that a closed/won deal was costing $50,000 in marketing spend…everyone agreed something was wrong!
3. BDRs are becoming AI-enabled.
Now, there are a bunch of very big questions here, from “Where are the AI bots?” to “How do we research and personalise at scale?” What people are still forgetting, though, is pure sales training. From empathy and question technique to business training in reading a set of company accounts, it all (still) matters.
4. ABM continues to be a luxury
Especially the idea of nurturing an account that has recently chosen a competitor. We continue to help plenty of clients operate these programmes. But behind our doors in the last 18 months, there has been an almost 100% switch from vendors to agencies.
Community is the new ‘demand generation’
Speaking of agencies, a few clever souls have mentioned “community” to us in the last few months. One SI said very clearly - “Our ICP is ambitious, mid-career technical leaders who want to accelerate - and know they need like-minded peers to do so.”
Let’s be clear, this is not the norm. We’re used to SI’s ambulance chasing vendors’ AEs, and then trying to close quickly.
The ICP described above would work brilliantly as a community. Imagine 100 ambitious leaders who value one another, receive intelligent and curated content and get to see one another quarterly. Perhaps every 6 weeks online?
This is the future of ‘demand gen’ in tech, but it requires the seller in question to have extreme patience. We had the opportunity to deliver this type of program for AWS a few years ago, but even they bottled it when it came to the community. And as such the sellers sold, and it fell apart.
Food for thought.
Composable’s next chapter
Composable is struggling to break through the risk barrier. In the very large enterprises that we’re in touch with, the idea of a wholesale replatform to a digital composable front end has pretty much been deleted. Everything has slowed right down, sadly.
Piece by piece is the approach now. For many, that means a 10-year journey…and that’s without touching the jewels in the monolith’s crown: the ERP and Supply chain platforms.
The composable apps that are still being adopted and implemented quickly and with great outcomes are promotions, loyalty, and content. But we’re also hearing rumours of 6-month composable builds from some ecosystems such as BigCommerce, VTEX and the more “peripheral” vendors. This has us wondering, in advance of events season 2025, whether these vendors might not make something of a surprise impact.
Happy 2025, you filthy animals - let’s get out in the cold!
Don't forget to check out the latest article from one of our Stigs, it's a juicy one -
VCs: What They Say vs What They Mean
Buyingtime Dictionary
Frequently used (but never about you) phrases from Buyingtime Ltd.
Teflon
/ˈtef.lɒn/
adjective
1. No matter how often something is explained, it never sticks
"Why do you keep calling me Teflon, boss?"
Boss blinks. "I explained this la–actually, you know what? Never fuc*ing mind."
