Background
The business landscape has been reshaped by Software as a Service (SaaS) solutions, spanning from email marketing and CRM to project management and accounting. These solutions cater to companies of all sizes. Yet, the challenge of effectively targeting customers persists. The belief that user behavior, product usage, and customer feedback data can fully decode the target market often leads to missteps. This article unpacks these common errors and offers strategies to sidestep them, ensuring a successful connection with your target audience.
Common Pitfalls
Mistake #1: Relying too heavily on internal data
Why It's Important: The SaaS model is a data goldmine, providing insights on user behavior, product usage, and customer feedback. However, the pitfall lies in over-reliance on this data for understanding the target market. While informative, this data might only offer a partial view of the market.
Case in Point: Quibi, a short-form content service, leaned heavily on internal data when deciding its content format. The initial assumption was that people would prefer short-form content on their phones over traditional television shows. However, Quibi overlooked the possibility that its audience might not favor this format. The decision to repurpose existing content into a "series" to quickly build a content library resulted in subpar content that didn't align with Quibi's format, contributing to its downfall.
The Takeaway: Market research is a crucial complement to internal data, offering a more comprehensive view of the market. It's essential not to let the data blind you to the benefits of conducting market research. This approach enables a deeper understanding of customers.
Mistake #2: Relying too heavily on existing customers
Why It's Important: The SaaS business model thrives on nurturing close customer relationships. However, this can lead to a conflation of existing customers' needs with those of the entire market. Ignoring potential customers and focusing solely on existing ones can cause companies to overlook new, profitable markets and hinder growth due to a lack of customer base diversity.
Case in Point: Our client, a significant player in the creative software space, discovered the importance of studying potential customers when reaching out to markets in Europe and LATAM. A considerable percentage of customers in Italy, Spain, Brazil, and Mexico declined to subscribe to the client's software, citing the superior features of competitive software. The client's software was deemed too difficult to use, with most customers in these countries opting for new software due to its user-friendliness.
The Takeaway: These insights align with market trends. Another creative software brand, launched in 2012, has seen dramatic growth due to its user-friendly, online-only platform. Therefore, it's crucial to prioritize studying potential customers to stay abreast of the changing market landscape and ensure long-term relevance.
Mistake #3: Undefined Target Customer
Why It's Important: Defining a target audience is vital for SaaS providers to allocate resources effectively and differentiate themselves in a crowded market. Without a clear target audience, they may end up trying to appeal to everyone, diluting their message and impact. Analyzing the characteristics of their existing customer base and understanding their pain points can help these companies create resonant messaging and position their solution as indispensable.
Case in Point: Twitter, in its early days, struggled with defining its target audience. It marketed itself as a social network for everyone, which made it difficult to differentiate from other social networks and attract and retain users. It was only when Twitter began targeting specific user groups, like celebrities, journalists, and politicians, that it gained traction and established itself as a popular platform for breaking news and real-time communication.
The Takeaway: It's also crucial for providers to consider the size of the market they're targeting and the level of competition. Targeting a niche market with a specialized solution can be more effective than targeting a broad market with a general one. Understanding the competitive landscape and identifying market gaps can help these companies differentiate themselves and stand out from the competition.
Mistake #4: Ignoring Psychographic Segmentation
Why It's Important: While many software service providers focus on demographic and firmographic data like age, job title, and industry, they often neglect the importance of psychographic characteristics in understanding their target audience.
Case in Point: Consider a company that provides project management software. By only focusing on job title and age group, they might miss out on key psychographic traits of their target audience, such as a preference for collaborative work, transparency in project management, and a work-life balance. This knowledge can be critical in tailoring product features and messaging. For instance, Evernote faced backlash in 2014 when it added a feature called Context, which displayed related internet content alongside a user's notes. Users felt this feature intruded on their private workspace and used their information without consent, highlighting the importance of understanding psychographic characteristics.
The Takeaway: Understanding psychographic characteristics, including attitudes towards privacy and workspace ownership, can help software service providers better tailor their products and messaging to meet their target audience's needs.
The Bottom Line
The journey to effectively target customers is fraught with potential missteps. The key lies in balancing internal data with market research, understanding the needs of potential customers, clearly defining the target audience, and considering psychographic characteristics. As the market continues to evolve, these insights serve as a reminder that understanding the customer is an ongoing process, not a one-time task. It's a continuous learning curve that requires adaptability, deep market knowledge, and a customer-centric approach.
