The SaaSiest Podcast

149. Bas Willems, VP Corporate & Product Marketing, DataSnipper - The Role of Product Marketing in Early-Stage Growth!

In this episode, we speak with Bas Willems, VP of Corporate and Product Marketing, DataSnipper, the Intelligent Automation Platform within Excel that accelerates the speed and quality of your audit and finance procedures.

We talked with Bas about product marketing, and the importance of product marketers to understand the customer and translate their needs into marketing material. 

Here are some of the things we talked about:

- Should you use memes when marketing your product?

- What are the key metrics to measure product marketing effectiveness?

- How can you connect with the audience on an emotional level and thus build a stronger brand? 

- What makes an excellent product marketer? 

These are some of the many questions we address with Bas. Please tune in to learn more about how DataSnipper leveraged product marketing on their journey to $1 billion, and how you can strengthen your brand by applying effective product marketing.

148. Joliene van Grieken, Founding Partner, The Growth Syndicate - How to Create Demand!

In this episode, we speak with Joliene van Grieken, Founding Partner, The Growth Syndicate, a collective of experienced growth leaders focused on helping B2B software companies develop their in-house capabilities to ensure unprecedented, sustainable growth.

We talked with Joliene about Demand Generation, how it differs from lead capturing, and most importantly, how you can create demand for your offerings.

Here are some of the things we talked about:

- Why does a successful Demand Generation Strategy start with understanding the information consumption patterns of your ICP, rather than their purchasing behavior?

- What is the role of sequencing touchpoints in this strategy?

- Short-term vs long-term play, how do you find the balance?

- How do you include your existing customers in your demand generation strategy?

- How to report and motivate investment internally in the organization?

These are some of the many questions we address with Joliene. Please tune in to learn more about how a demand generation strategy done right can accelerate your revenue expansion.

147. Erwin van der Vlist, Founder, Speakap - Founder-Led Expansion: The Game-Changer for Successful U.S. Market Entry!

In this episode, we speak with Erwin van der Vlist, Founder of Speakap, the employee experience platform that improves communication, facilitates better onboarding and learning experiences, and helps you take meaningful action on employee feedback to improve productivity, coordination, and engagement.

We talked with Erwin about the expansion and success of Speakap in the US, particularly looking into how they had to pivot their initial market entry, absorb the lessons learned, and eventually find the key growth levers to win in the US.

Here are some of the questions we addressed: 

- What is the role of a founder in the US expansion?

- What are the reasons why your initial attempt at US expansion might not work out as planned?

- What signs and KPIs indicate it's time to invest in a full-scale local revenue team?

- Which converting channels are best to leverage to build top-of-funnel pipe as a newcomer to the States?

- How do you build external customer trust during the early phase?

These are some of the many questions we address with Erwin. Please tune in to learn more about his journey to the US, and all the steps taken to establish a fast and profitable operation over there! 

146. Lise Tangen Hansen, Managing Director, Annalect Norway - How to get SaaS customers to accept price increases - 6-step formula!

In this episode, we speak with Lise Tangen Hansen, Managing Director, Annalect Norway, the marketing prediction and consumer insight company helping clients boost campaign ROAS using cutting-edge AI predictive Analytics.

We talked with Lise about how to do a price increase that sticks! She walks us through her 6-point checklist that covers all internal and external key decisions and communication points to deliver a pricing increase project that is well received by the market.

Here are some of the things we talked about: 

- What does it mean to have a Pricing Narrative?

- How do you harmonize the price increase with the narrative?

- Which customer variables are key to identifying to help you define a priority list for the price rollout to existing customers?

- How, in practice, do you execute an overarching pricing increase?

- How do you bring this message to your customer?

- How can you leverage A/B testing in the rollout process? 

These are some of the many questions we address with Lise. Please tune in to learn more about her 6-step formula to deliver a successful price increase project, where customers not only accept the price increase but also understand the value you provide to them.

145. Krzysztof Szyszkiewicz, Partner, Valueships - The importance of pricing and how it affects your profitability

In this episode, we speak with Krzysztof Szyszkiewicz, Partner at Valueships, the pricing consultancy firm that helps companies become more profitable by optimizing their strategy, pricing, value understanding, and overall revenue-related processes.

We talked with Krzysztof about the importance of pricing and how it can impact a company's profitability. We discuss insights from our recent report on SaaS pricing trends in the Nordics, highlighting the lack of differentiation in pricing plans and the missed opportunity for add-ons.

Here are some of the things we talked about: 

- What role should pricing have in your company? 

- How do you prevent value deterioration when adding new features?

- Why do you need to be careful when discounting your product offerings?

- How do you leverage add-ons to drive increased profitability?

These are some of the many questions we address with Krzysztof. Please tune in to learn more about the challenges of pricing, the importance of differentiation, and the impact add-ons can have on your business.

144. Vladan Soldat, Founding Partner, Nobel Recruitment - How to attract your first VP of Sales in an early stage SaaS!

In this episode, we speak with Vladan Soldat, Founding Partner, Nobel Recruitment, the SaaS Sales Recruitment Agency that helps connect commercial talent with fast-growing SaaS companies in Europe.

We talked with Vladan about hiring your first external VP of Sales. We particularly discuss the approach to attract and retain a VP of Sales when you are an early-stage SaaS and still building up brand awareness.

Here are some of the things we talked about: 

- When is the ideal time to hire a VP of Sales for a business?

- Which strategies are effective in attracting candidates for a new, fast-growing company?

- What steps are involved in the screening process for hiring a VP of Sales?

- What are common mistakes to avoid when hiring a VP of Sales?

- Which red flags should be looked for in the hiring process of a VP of Sales?

These are some of the many questions we address with Vladan. Please tune in to learn how you can attract, retain, and compensate your first external VP of Sales when you are an early-stage SaaS.

143. Sofia Alexus, CEO, Kundo - what can we learn from B2C when positioning and branding our B2B SaaS?

In this episode, we speak with Sofia Alexus, CEO, Kundo, the customer service platform that helps you simplify customer service with consolidated ticket management, AI tools, and self-service solutions for recurring questions.

We talked with Sofia about the rebranding and positioning exercise they are just doing. We particularly discuss the process leading up the final brand and position statement, and how that has been inspired by the B2C fashion industry.

Here are some of the things we talked about: 

- Why focusing on building moats might not be right if you have access to the fastest river down to the ocean?

- What we can learn from the B2C industry when it comes to positioning and branding?

- How does the processes look like to define a new brand and positioning?

- How to engage your customers in your branding and positioning work?

These are some of the many questions we address with Sofia. Please tune in to learn more about how they are approaching this work, with inspiration from the B2C world to get closer to their customers.

142. Dirk Jonker, CEO & Founder, Crunchr - How to build for a market that is not fully defined?

In this episode, we speak with Dirk Jonker, CEO & Founder, Crunchr, the people analytics and reporting platform,  that layers on top of your existing HR systems to consolidate disparate data sources into easily accessible people insights.

We talked with Dirk about the challenges of product development and positioning in an evolving market. We particularly discuss the internal and external decisions you need to make to get early admirers to become paying customers.

Here are some of the things we talked about: 

- What requirements are put on product development when building for a yet non-defined market segment?

- How do you position and sell a product in a market segment that is still evolving?

- What requirements are put on leadership and communication when aiming to hit a moving target?

- How can you leverage competitors to define your role in this new market?

These are some of the many questions we address with Dirk. Please tune in to learn more about how Dirk and his team are positioning themselves to win in a market that is just developing.

141. Hatla F. Johnsen, CEO & Co-founder of uQualio - The benefits of running a lean, distributed, and outsourced team

In this episode, we speak with Hatla F. Johnsen, CEO of uQualio, the cloud-based Video Learning Platform designed to make it easy to start making your own video training program for employees, sales partners, end-users, or who your viewers may be.

We talked with Hatla about the benefits of having a fully lean and distributed team, in particular the methods she's put in place for the team to feel togetherness and be efficient.

Here are some of the things we talked about: 

- How do you build a lean, distributed, and outsourced team in a cost-effective way that is performing on a high level?

- What expectation does this set on communication flows and setting expectations methods compared to non-distributed team setups?

- How to enable great collaboration between different external teams?

- What is required from the leadership side to run an organization with a distributed team around the world?

These are some of the many questions we address with Hatla. Please tune in to learn more about the steps she is taking to build her distributed team for global success.

140. Haukur Hannesson, CEO, AGR - The journey from customized solutions into a traditional SaaS product

In this episode, we speak with Haukur Hannesson, CEO of AGR, the powerful and easy to use inventory optimisation platform which provides you with the necessary tools to operate with precision and efficiency.

We talked with Haukur about AGR's journey from offering customized solutions to transitioning to a more streamlined standard SaaS product. And the positive impact of the transition on the AGR team and the challenges of managing cash flow during the shift to a subscription-based model.

Here are some of the things we talked about: 

- Why being willing to say no to customers are key to building a successful SaaS product!
- What key changes was required in order to transition to a SaaS product?
- Why you have to say no to unnecessary customizations?
- Will you require additional funding during the shift to a subscription-based model?

These are some of the many questions we address with Haukur. Please tune in to learn more about the steps he took in the process of transitioning to a SaaS product.