The global SaaS market size is predicted to grow from $261.15 billion in 2022 to $819.23 billion in 2030.
It shows that the growth of the SaaS industry isn't slowing down.
But is this a guarantee of a high growth trajectory for your B2B SaaS business too? Hardly.
To achieve constant growth, you have to adapt your business to the changing demands in the industry.
For instance, a research study shows that generational shifts are currently disrupting buying behaviors in the B2B space.
The study shows that Millennials and Gen Z constitute 64% of business buyers. And these buyers are more demanding and willing to show their dissatisfaction in the buying process.
You can future-proof your B2B SaaS business against such changes by taking these steps.
1. Embrace FlexibilityThe SaaS industry is highly volatile. You could develop a SaaS solution today, and in a month's time, a competitor could develop a more advanced solution that makes your software appear inadequate.
For this reason, you should keep up with innovations in the industry to remain competitive.
To achieve this, make your B2B SaaS solution flexible.
Invest in flexible technology architecture.
Flexible infrastructure makes it easy to adapt your SaaS solution to changing demands without the need for writing new code. You're able to continually evolve your B2B SaaS without incurring excessive costs.
Make every aspect of your B2B SaaS business flexible, including the pricing structure.
A research study shows that rigid payment options are responsible for 24.7% of churn.
You can avoid such negative consequences of inflexibility by choosing the right subscription billing software such as Younium to create customisation in your billing process.
You can create custom subscription billing models as per your client requirements.
Besides, flexible pricing allows you to add features to your B2B SaaS solution without having to renegotiate contracts with your clients.
Clients who find the extra features useful can simply access them as add-ons.
2. Be Data-DrivenData can help you understand the evolving needs of existing and future clients. It helps you create data-driven strategies that are future-proof.
You're able to use qualitative and quantitative data for your product roadmap and growth efforts, instead of relying on assumptions.
Data also helps you take a proactive approach to making strategic product decisions instead of reacting to issues as they arise.
Use data alongside machine learning and artificial intelligence to identify:
- The future needs of clients
- Opportunities for product improvement
- Potential inefficiencies in your software products
- The impact of software updates and new technologies that you implement
- Industry trends that'll influence market demand and needs
To make this approach work, you need a data strategy. It should define:
- The data your SaaS needs. Determine the information your business units need to realize the company's goals for expansion
- Your key data sources. You can combine methods like gathering feedback from your clients and collecting data from your CRM tools and customer support logs
- How you'll extract insights from your data. Define the methodologies and analytics tools you'll use
Making use of data can help you make the right enhancements to your product's capabilities and user experience.
3. Invest in the Best Automation SolutionsNow, if you're going to implement changes to your B2B SaaS product to match industry changes and the evolving needs of your clients, manual processes may be counterproductive. They're prone to errors and are time-consuming.
You need a powerful tech stack.
Without it, you run the risk of overwhelming your staff with repetitive non-core tasks instead of the strategic activities of growing your B2B SaaS business.
To start with, here's a checklist of the automation tools your B2B should have:
- A subscription management software as mentioned in this Attrock curated list to help you with subscription lifecycle management.
- Lead generation and nurturing tools to fill your funnel with a constant flow of new clients and nurture them into subscribers.
- Customer relationship management software included in a curated list by SmallBusinessHQ to keep track of all communication with clients and store important client data for better management of client accounts.
- Customer support tools to automate ticket routing and responses.
Ensure that the automation tools you choose support scalability.
They should be capable of meeting your future requirements, such as increased user volumes, data loads, and expansion into new markets.
Future-Proof Your B2B SaaS BusinessIt's necessary to be far-sighted with your B2B SaaS business. Embrace flexibility and ensure your business can accommodate changes in your clients' needs and industry trends.
The best way to achieve this is by being data-driven in your growth strategies. When combined with AI, data helps you predict market trends to create relevant growth strategies.
Invest in automation tools that will free up your staff to focus on implementing these growth strategies.
Author Bio - Reena Aggarwal
Reena is Director of Operations and Sales at Attrock, a result-driven digital marketing company. With 10+ years of sales and operations experience in the field of e-commerce and digital marketing, she is quite an industry expert. She is a people person and considers the human resources as the most valuable asset of a company. In her free time, you would find her spending quality time with her brilliant, almost teenage daughter and watching her grow in this digital, fast-paced era.