Selling SaaS to SMBs

<p>In this episode of <em>SaaS Connect</em> by <a href="https://www.cloudsoftwareassociation.com/"><u>Cloud Software Association</u></a>, Stu Richards, CEO of Bredin, shares some of the research they've conducted in the small to mid-size business space, specifically around how companies feel about SaaS-based applications.</p> <p>Bredin focuses on providing businesses with original research to understand, engage, acquire, and retain SMB customers, and it conducts a monthly survey.</p> <p>The feedback is helpful for SaaS businesses to know how to effectively sell to SMBs.</p> <p>Side note: For the sake of clarity in this presentation, very small businesses are those with under 20 employees, small businesses are classified as those with 20–99 employees, and mid-sized businesses have 100–500 employees.</p> <p>This particular survey asked for feedback from SMBs about what keeps them up at night and what challenges they face.</p> <p>Discover:</p> <ul> <li>The greatest challenges of small businesses vs. mid-sized businesses.</li> <li>Familiarity with cloud terminology. For instance, the survey found that the term “cloud” rather than “SaaS-hosted applications” is more familiar or the least “threatening.” Using words that are more familiar to prospects will reap more effective results.</li> <li>Cloud adoption outlook, and what motivates companies to move to the cloud (feedback was that small businesses are motivated by cost savings while larger businesses are motivated by business functionality).</li> <li>What’s important to companies with regard to cloud applications (for smaller companies, the key concern is integrations).</li> <li>Who they would like to buy from (they would rather buy direct than through a partner); this means that most businesses don't understand the value partners can bring in terms of consulting, application integration, and so on.</li> </ul> <p>The information in this episode was presented at a SaaS Conference in 2019.</p> <p>Resources Mentioned:</p> <ul> <li><a href="https://www.hubspot.