How to significantly increase software sales with the Acquisition Canvas?
SaaS players, in this article we show you how to easily develop your MRO with a new approach based on the Acquisition Canvas methodology.
If you're a software publisher, you're consciously or unconsciously relying on two very popular methodologies: the Sirius Decision Demand Waterfall model and, of course, Inbound Marketing.
Both are excellent methods, and have enabled many software companies to grow. But they have limitations and are far from perfect. And these imperfections slow down your expansion.
Find out why 👇
The limits of current models
The limits of the Sirius Decision Demand Waterfall
The Sirius Decision Demand Waterfall model is widely used by software publishers, who have either adopted it consciously (when they are Sirius Decision customers) or unconsciously when they use acronyms such as SQL, MQL, etc., from which the model originated.
This model is indeed very effective for building an internal lead processing organization and implementing CRM and marketing automation. On the other hand, it has 3 major limitations that need to be overcome in order to build an effective acquisition strategy:
- It is essentially an approach focused on internal processes.
- It only partially integrates the customer's vision, and doesn't take into account the customer's maturity and intentions. Where they are in their buying journey. An SQL may be at the very beginning of his buying journey, while leads in the process of being nurtured may be much further along, and therefore poorly handled.
- It reinforces the silos between marketing and sales by focusing all alignment efforts on the transition between MQL and SQL, neglecting all the combined actions that marketing and sales need to perform in concert throughout the customer acquisition process (e.g. organizing trade shows, webinars, etc.).
The limits of Inbound Marketing
In contrast, Inbound Marketing starts with the customer, and really looks at the needs of the persona in order to build the right content and offer it at the right time. Nevertheless, this methodology also has its own limitations. It was popularized by a software company, Hubspot, which used it as a Trojan horse to sell its solution. This methodology is therefore limited to the functionalities offered by the solution:
- In fact, inbound marketing relies solely on the following 3 levers: SEO, social networks and marketing automation. PR and events, although "Inbound", are not systematically included in this cross-functional approach.
- Built in opposition to Outbound, Paid is naturally not included in this approach either, including from the point of view of retargeting, which enables prospects to progress through the decision-making process.
- Above all, the vision of the customer journey is highly simplified, boiling down to the top, middle and bottom of the funnel. It doesn't include a more detailed analysis of the customer journey, which differs from one acquisition process to the next, by focusing on the lead rather than all the stakeholders in the solution.
Why build a new approach?
In view of the limitations of these 2 models, we decided to build a new systemic approach, based on the customer and his decision-making process, and enabling us to build a complete 360° marketing action plan.
This is the Acquisition Canvas we designed at 1min30 with Christophe Kuhner. It defines the key stages in the customer acquisition process. Once modeled, this process can then be used to define your marketing strategy, align your marketing-sales organization, structure your information system, etc.
The 3 benefits of the Acquisition Canvas :
- The Acquisition Canvas enables you to build a complete acquisition process specific to your business. This process will take into account all the stages in the customer's decision-making process, with their temporality, the different players involved in the decision, etc.
- The Acquisition Canvas addresses all marketing-sales levers: Inbound and Outbound, Online and Offline, and enables better marketing-sales alignment.
- The Acquisition Canvas enables you to assess your marketing maturity and quickly detect any flaws in your acquisition process. It enables you to prioritize the actions you need to take.
How the Customer Acquisition Canvas works
The Customer Acquisition Canvas focuses on the customer's decision-making process. Initially, the customer has little awareness of the problem, then makes a decision to invest, and finally acquires a solution.
This Canva helps you ask the right questions to break down all the stages in this decision-making process and build the most efficient acquisition process.
Very easy to use in co-creative workshops with your marketing and sales teams, with or without the help of an agency consultant, this Canva allows you to bring up all the customer's issues, to fully understand the decision-making process and, in particular if it's a solitary or collective one, not to overlook any of the stages in the buying process, to build from there a complete marketing action plan that fits on a "big" page:
How can the Acquisition Canvas be applied to the software publishing market?
In software publishing, we can distinguish 2 types of customer decision-making processes: simple processes without collective decision-making, and complex processes with collective decision-making.
These 2 types of process are extremely structuring for the software publishers who have to deal with them, and for the customers themselves, who don't always make the best choice given the nature of their decision-making process.
The simple decision-making process: the software user is "the only" decision-maker when it comes to purchasing the solution.
When the future software user is the "only" decision-maker, or only has to convince one person, the decision-making process is fairly straightforward. He first becomes aware of the problem because he is experiencing difficulties himself and starts looking for a solution, or because he has been told about one. He does his own research, reads articles, white papers and testimonials from satisfied customers, and becomes convinced that the solution will save him time and money.
He then decides to invest, and compares the different solutions using appvizer naturally, following demos or taking trial versions, to finally choose the best value for money corresponding to his needs.
Faced with such a simple decision-making process, the publisher will have to put in place an acquisition process that is also relatively simple, consisting of :
- Inbound Marketing, to attract users and respond to their needs through a range of educational content,
- Paid to target potential users (appvizer, AdWords, affiliation, other),
- retargeting and marketing automation to move users forward in their decision-making process,
- then Inside Sales to run demos or answer testers' questions.
The product's quality, ergonomics, ease of use and reasonable price will also be key to winning the decision in the end, because the decision-maker will be the end-user.
On the other hand, in a complex decision-making process, other criteria come into play.
The complex decision-making process: the decision to buy the solution is a collective one
In the case of a complex decision-making process, generally in large companies, as soon as different departments are involved (IT Department, Business Department, CEO, etc.), individual awareness of the problem is not enough. We need to succeed in creating a collective awareness of the problem and obtain a decision to invest formally, often in the Codir or elsewhere.
On the one hand, this entails heavier marketing actions:
But also the presence of field sales staff who will have to meet customers, organize several meetings, prepare proofs of concept, respond to invitations to tender, etc. This means a much more expensive acquisition process to set up, which will naturally add to the cost of the solution. In addition, price and ergonomics are no longer the only decision-making criteria.
How can we work together? Commitment to results. Pleasure guaranteed.
If you're interested in our Acquisition Canvas methodological approach, we'd be delighted to co-construct your complete acquisition strategy with you in co-creative workshops, and then deploy this strategy as part of our growth programs.
As France's leading inbound marketing agency, we have evolved our practices to support our customers, particularly software publishers, throughout their acquisition process, and to be able to commit to results, with an agile support system and consultants who are former marketing directors of renowned publishers. Please do not hesitate to contact me directly to discuss your requirements.
Enjoy Marketing!
Article translated from French