An enterprise buyer team does not purchase the same way as a startup would,
and it’s not because they’re behind the times or slow. Gaining and maintaining
a valued enterprise customer relationship is essential because enterprises
have some of the lowest churn rate, but how do you get them to buy into SAAS
products in the first place, and how do you get them to stay?
When it comes down to it, startups and larger enterprises search for different
approaches to sail to success. A startup and an established business require
different qualities in a SAAS product, and therefore purchase them
differently. As the SAAS industry has rocketed in the last ten years, the
challenge to onboard larger companies, is at an all time high, with new
competition constantly arising. So, what are the essential qualities the
larger clients look for when they buy, and what’s their process like?
How Startups and Enterprise teams buy
Startups
When a startup purchases, they’ll watch the video or webinar, maybe even ask
for a one to one demo though often they’ll simply sign up, trial the product,
and ask a few questions.
This also follows the process by which they market to other companies. Their
main focus is circled around creating quality content, sending emails and
running adverts. As a result, people come to the website and some sign up and
buy. After these organic sales, they send the rest a sequence of automated
emails and convert some customers over time.
Enterprise
When a large enterprise buyer team investigates options, they look for
specific features that target more established companies. We have to consider
that:
-
They may not sign up at all
-
They may ask a series of questions without giving details away
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They’ll look for comparison tables and in depth features videos, white
papers and more. -
They’d of course look at your team and how long you’ve been around because
no-one wants to take a chance.
They might then ask for a demo, and if it possesses the key qualities they
look for, they usually sign up for a trial. If the product fits these
requirements, and fulfils the company needs, they’ll purchase. However,
closing some enterprise deals can take up to a year or more, with a recent
study from Sirius Decisions, working with
over 1000 B2B companies, confirming that large enterprises have a three step
buying process.
Sometimes you get the feeling that startup folks think people in large
companies are a little slow and pedantic, maybe even dumb, however, they
work in a different way and by not understanding it, startups end up losing
out on companies for whom purchasing our top end packages are normal.
Features enterprise buyer teams are looking for
It’s different when selling to a manager who is part of a large organisation
who has security and compliance procedures that cannot be ignored, along with
a dedicated buyer team to investigate products. For your SaaS app to reach the
standards, the buyer team are mainly looking for features including:
Audit logs: To track back all actions in case something goes wrong.
Role based access control: Different users have different permissions
based on their role. Someone who takes care of billing does not need
permission to make deployments.
Team management: Adding and removing team members is essential.
SLA: A service level agreement, in which the service provider is available
a minimal number of hours, along with a guaranteed level of quality. This
contract reassures them of support and defines the level of service expected
from the service provider, if they were to have a problem with the service.
Product Security: Reporting and analytics are essential to an app, proving
that it’s providing value. If you’re in a monthly meeting and explaining the
value of your app, it’s pretty important to share the stats. If you’re
providing value and have facts and figures to prove it, it’s worth gold.
**Trust: **It’s always a wake up call when people ask questions indicating
they’re looking for reassurance that you’re a real active live company that is
not going to disappear in a few months. It’s worth asking whether the about us
page indicates the size of team and longevity of the company. Does the home
page indicate activity and availability? e.g. time stamped updates or live
chat.
How to reach those who aren’t signing up
Enterprise buyers will sometimes directly communicate via email or live chat,
when making an enquiry, despite the links on the home page and the feature
lists. They won’t necessarily sign up but you still have their email in your
leads list. If you’re an intercom user you’d know
exactly where those leads sit within the intercom system and lets face it,
you might just be tempted to give them less attention than the full sign
ups. There is exceptional value in sending them the material they need in
order to create trust and have the appropriate information and documentation
to move to the next step.
This can include sending whitepapers, comparison tables and a list of the
features, along with information about the company. Demo videos and videos
covering the full set of features in detail are particularly useful,
explaining exactly what your product has to offer efficiently.
By adopting industry-focused features, enterprise customers will be more
inclined to investigate your product. This combined with a targeted and
well-thought-out SAAS sales
model, will
indefinitely generate and nurture leads within larger companies.
Maintaining the relationship with an enterprise customer
A study from Groove showed that
there’s a 5–20% chance of a new prospect purchasing a product, differing from
the 60–70% chance of a successful sale to an existing customer. This study
proved that building and maintaining long-term client relationships is one of
the most important strategies to use. Without a high level of trust, customer
service and a valuable product, enterprise customers won’t stay, so, not
surprisingly, it is key to keep up the quality!
For startups striving for success, it is major to recognize the differences in
perspective between smaller and larger companies, and in particular, what they
need. No one wants to buy something that’s not helping them to the fullest
extent. By reviewing your solution, you can monitor your product’s relevance
and build new ideas that are essential to the clients. If another product on
the market does exactly what yours does, there has to be a uniqueness to
separate it from the competition, and make it an essential for a large
enterprise.
Where we messed up
Upscope lets you instantly see a
confused user’s screen to guide them to a purchase. We had the same dream of
most startups: Send emails and produce content and let them sign up. Then send
them automated emails to convert the unsure.
The problem was that we kept seeing people ask questions and disappear, never
to return. It’s only when we started talking in depth with larger clients that
we realised they were not just being dumb when asking about e.g. Single Sign
On or HIPAA compliance. That old lesson of getting out of the building and
listening, the one we thought we knew, came back to us.
Now, while we have not set ourselves fully for enterprise, you’ll see some of
the changes we have made on our pricing
page and (soon near time
of writing) on our home page.
We’re a little better at listening to their requests for SSO or compliance to
a regulation that does not come out for another year or an SLA adjustment.
Some of it might be boring as hell but we understand why they ask ?
