Working at Rivalry (sales coaching software) in the Atlanta Tech Village creates some unique experiences. One of them is being exposed to many types of SasS businesses. A few days ago, I was talking with an entrepreneur about the difference between really fast growing startups and ones that take more time to build.
The conclusion of the conversation was a new term: SaaS Gratification.
SaaS Gratification is the time period it takes to receive gratification from the SaaS product. For example, if your company purchases Salesforce, the gratification doesn’t happen over night. Implementation, training, and process refinement are required. This changes people’s behavior and habits (read: a lot of work). The SaaS Gratification is low but when you look at the large scheme of things, converting your CRM to Salesforce provides customization, flexibility, “excellent functionality,” and much more. The promised benefits include organizational visibility, streamlined sales processes, reports on demand, and an overall tighter ship. That level of SaaS Gratification needs Benioff-esque styles of going to the market — large and in charge.
SaaS Gratification doesn’t equate to ROI. The ROI on Salesforce is real. It takes time and work. SaaS Gratification is the value or gratification (as a user) that you get from the product.
Companies that have a higher SaaS Gratification scale quickly. The user sees it. The user buys it. The user uses it. The higher level of SaaS Gratification, the lower necessity to calculate the ROI on investment — it’s just there. Of course, the majority of companies that have a higher SaaS Gratification are priced lower. They also likely have greater churn (easy come, easy go). Can you imagine changing your CRM right now? High SaaS gratification will get people talking quickly. Content marketing is a great strategy to go to market. Slack is a great example of a high SaaS Gratification with a cloudy ROI. What is the ROI of Slack for an organization? Doesn’t matter, because the SaaS Gratification of getting on the app, using it, and streamlining conversation is more than worth the cost. Marketing automation has a high SaaS Gratification. The moment a marketer gets their hands on the solution, they can upload a list, send out targeted emails, create drip campaigns, etc. The users feel immediately empowered!
A company with low SaaS Gratification requires more experienced sales reps who understand the complexity of an organization, their needs, problems, and solutions. A company with high SaaS Gratification needs order takers, if any at all.
Of course the beautiful, fun, and stressful aspect about SaaS Gratification is that it will vary with markets, needs, and timing.
When strategizing ways to enter a market, first understand where your product fits on a very hypothetical SaaS Gratification scale.