Table of Contents

1. Introduction

2. The Challenges of Selling Enterprise SaaS

3. Unpacking the B2B SaaS Market Saturation

4. Content, Distribution, and Resources: The Key Ingredients

5. Component 1: Deep, Analytical Content

6. Component 2: Effective Distribution of Your Content

7. Allocating Resources: Sales, Marketing, and Content

8. Real-Life Example: Unlocking Growth with Unique Data Assets

9. Discovering New Product Features through Content Strategy

10. Conclusion

Introduction

In this post, we're diving deep into the world of demand creation and content strategy, with a special look at the enterprise SaaS market. With markets getting more and more crowded, mastering demand creation and nailing a solid content strategy has become a must - for every business actually, no matter their price point, who they're targeting, or where they are in their growth journey. However, going to market in enterprise SaaS is particularly challening. That’s why we're going to tackle how buyer behaviors are changing, dig into why thought leadership is so important, and share some insights on how to handle content creation, distribution, and where to put your resources, plus some unexpected perks that might pop up from these strategies. Stay tuned!

The Challenges of Selling Enterprise SaaS

Jumping into the enterprise SaaS sales arena is no walk in the park. The field is controlled by big players, and their well-established solutions often outshine the products of new entrants. Getting your foot in the door of enterprises that are already set up with these solutions can be particularly tricky. It’s hard even if you've got a top-notch product, which most startups don’t, so making the right connections and finding the key players is vital for success. On top of that, enterprises are often resistant to change, with constant reorganization of staff and company structure and “organizational immune systems” dragging sales cycles on and on. Plus, the old ways of cold sales and run-of-the-mill content aren't cutting it anymore due to shifts in how buyers behave: a heavy reliance on WoM and dark social, a term established by Chris Walker over at Refine Labs.

Unpacking the B2B SaaS Market Saturation

We have two main theories for helping us understand why the market has gotten so competitive. First off, making a product has become a whole lot easier. With no-code tools and a surplus of tech-savvy folks ready to work, it's now relatively easy to build a product that’s good enough to book you a seat at the table. This shift has caused a wave of new B2B SaaS solutions to flood the market. Secondly, there's been a heap of venture capital money pouring into the B2B SaaS world, leading to an excess of similar products. Sure, capital investment is key for growth and innovation, but too many look-alike solutions have packed the marketplace. Both of these elements, when combined, have cranked up the competition, making it hard to get noticed.

Content, Distribution, and Resources: The Key Ingredients

If you're looking to win at demand creation and content strategy, there are three main ingredients to focus on: the content you're making, how you're getting it out there (distribution), and the resources you're putting into it. One common mistake is companies spending way too much time on creating content and not enough on sharing it. The trick is to aim to put about 20% of your effort into content creation and a whopping 80% into distribution. Sure, creating top-notch, data-rich content is a must to catch the eye of enterprise SaaS buyers. Things like white papers full of unique data or long-form content like podcasts, webinars, or interviews can work wonders. But it's equally crucial to get that content out there on the right channels, be it social media, trade shows, paid ads, or weaving it into your sales team's processes.

Component 1: Deep, Analytical Content

When it comes to the enterprise SaaS market, it is crucial to prioritize the creation of deep, analytical content that truly stands out. Superficial and generic content designed solely for search engine optimization purposes will not suffice, as it fails to showcase your domain expertise. One highly effective and recommended approach is to develop white papers that are filled with data-driven insights, offering unique value that cannot be found elsewhere. To maximize the impact of your white papers, make sure to leverage your data scientists to mine proprietary data sets, if available, as this will provide valuable material to include in your papers.

However, don't worry if you don't have the analytical capabilities to publish new white papers at a high rate. There are other long-form content formats that you can explore, such as podcasts, webinars, and events. These formats are excellent for demonstrating your subject matter expertise and generate a wealth of content that can be repurposed and distributed across various channels and tactics. For instance, you can repurpose podcasts by creating short video clips that can be shared on social media platforms like LinkedIn and YouTube, thereby reaching a wider audience.

In summary, the key to a successful content strategy is to begin with long-form content that is deeply rooted in thought leadership, and then repurpose and distribute that content across various channels and opportunities. Now, let's move on to discuss the importance of distribution.

Component 2: Effective Distribution of Your Content

When it comes to distributing your content, it's important to think creatively and explore unconventional approaches. Trade shows, in particular, are an exceptionally powerful go-to-market tactic for enterprise SaaS businesses. In fact, they have proven to be a significant driver of leads and revenue for Lokavant, as we will delve into later in this blog post. Attending trade shows presents a unique opportunity to directly engage with your target audience, including stakeholders at the Director, Head of, and VP levels. By leveraging your long-form content, such as white papers, to create compelling materials for speaking slots that you have booked or sponsored, you can effectively demonstrate your unique insights to prospective champions, influencers, and decision-makers who play a crucial role in advancing deals within their organizations. To maximize the impact of trade shows, it is important to carefully choose events that specifically cater to your niche, as they will attract the most relevant audience and facilitate meaningful connections. Typically, the most impactful trade shows will have higher ticket prices and a moderate attendee range of around 500 to 3,000 participants.

In addition to trade shows, there are other essential distribution tactics to maximize the reach of your content. A strong social media presence is crucial, and you should maintain a regular posting schedule. Starting with a frequency of two to three times a week and gradually increasing to daily posts will help you engage and inform your audience consistently. Consider running paid ads to promote your white papers and other relevant long-form content, whether they are gated (requiring email capture) or freely accessible. Gating content can be advantageous, as it allows you to set up nurture funnels, a highly effective go-to-market tactic. However, it's important to address potential concerns about sharing email addresses by highlighting the value and unique insights provided in your content.

Don't overlook the power of email newsletters, press releases, blog posts, and other distribution tactics to further amplify the impact of your long-form content. Lastly, make sure to leverage your content as an asset for your sales team. Encourage your SDRs to incorporate relevant content into their outreach processes. Personalized emails that reference specific content pieces will make a much stronger impression than generic sales pitches, leading to more booked meetings and - hopefully - closed won deals.

Allocating Resources: Sales, Marketing, and Content

Achieving success in demand generation and content strategy hinges on effective resource allocation. It's essential to not just invest financially, but to strategically utilize human talent. Resources can be broadly categorized into three types: sales and marketing, content, and expertise.

Sales and marketing resources play a pivotal role in content distribution, which is estimated to consume about 80% of overall efforts. This segment comprises individuals who spearhead outreach initiatives, engage potential customers, and run marketing campaigns.

Content resources, on the other hand, involve a team tasked with creating high-quality content. This typically includes skilled copywriters and designers. While AI tools like Chat GPT can assist in content generation, it's equally crucial to have designers who can uphold the professional aesthetics of assets such as white papers and videos for platforms like YouTube.

Arguably the most significant resource category is expert resources. These are found both within and outside the organization and can include customer-facing roles like the Head or VP of Customer Success. These individuals have direct interactions with customers and possess in-depth understanding of the roles and needs you're targeting. Consider setting up a customer advisory board of current or potential customers for valuable insights. Collaborating with independent key opinion leaders on content can provide an additional reputation boost for young companies and their content.

Another subset of expert resources that is often missed are data scientists. These professionals are critical for preparing and analyzing the data used for white papers and other outputs, and they contribute not just to product development but also to content strategy.

Real-Life Example: Unlocking Growth with Unique Data Assets

Let's take a real-life example from my experience at Roivant Sciences, where I served as a Principal for five years. During my time there, I worked with a portfolio company called Lokavant in the enterprise SaaS space within healthcare technology. Over two years, we grew the company's annual recurring revenue (ARR) from 1 million to roughly 6 million, just before a 21 million Series A funding round.

In addition to my sales responsibilities, I led demand generation, content strategy, and channel partnerships. We implemented the exact strategy we discussed earlier, although it did take some time until we locked in all the components in the right balance.

One critical aspect of our strategy was leveraging a unique data asset related to clinical results, including safety events and trial enrollment. This data was highly valuable as only a few players in the industry had access to data like ours (and none of the other players were competitors). Through our connection with Roivant, we were fortunate to incubate Lokavant with this cornered resource, and it's important to think creatively about what unique resources your organization might possess.

To extract meaningful insights from the data, we employed data scientists who explored various angles and perspectives. For example, we released a white paper focusing on predicting patient enrollment in clinical trials. This provided valuable insights for enterprise customers, as patient enrollment is a significant factor in the success of clinical trials.

Our data scientists, content strategist, and growth team then collaborated with our customer success team and external advisors to contextualize the information for our customers, making deep analytical insights accessible and relevant for non-technical users. Our content strategists then transformed these insights into a visually appealing white paper. And our growth team incorporated this content into their go-to-market strategies, utilizing it in newsletters, press releases, cold outreach, and paid advertisements. We also shared it on social media platforms and - unsurprisingly - presented it at niche trade shows.

The combination of having valuable content and attending trade shows proved highly effective for Lokavant. The strategy described here generated roughly 80% of our leads and 90% of our revenue, which let us build a company with a valuation north of $60 million.

Discovering New Product Features through Content Strategy

One unexpected benefit that emerged from our content strategy was the discovery of new product features and even entirely new products. The white papers we produced served as a foundation for our product managers to identify valuable insights and transform them into innovative solutions for our customers. This became a significant differentiating factor for our business.

For example, we were able to develop a product focused on trial enrollment predictions, which addressed a major issue faced by our customers. This outcome was made possible because we approached the market with an open mind, actively listening to the challenges customers were encountering. With the resources and bandwidth to engage in exploratory R&D, rather than short-term revenue goals, we fostered cross-disciplinary collaboration, bringing together talented individuals to develop valuable content that ended up serving as inspiration for our product roadmap.

Conclusion

In conclusion, cracking the enterprise SaaS market demands a strategic and comprehensive approach. By embracing thought leadership, investing in strategic content creation, maximizing distribution channels, and harnessing expert knowledge, you can fuel your growth in this competitive landscape.