Loading...
Answers
MenuHow do we get customers to skip the trial version of our B2B SAAS product and instead make the purchase directly?
We have a very complex B2B SAAS product. Customers expect to do a full trial and understand the product before they purchase it. We are happy to tailor the product for their specific needs.
Answers
You would want to hinge the purchase on a key feature that gives you a competitive advantage - and that is not fully incorporated in the trial version.
I have advised SAAS Product Managers and your dilemma is certainly a shared one - getting customers to pick a) paid over free/basic/trial and b) getting them to pick the most lucrative package of the paid ones.
If as you say, the software is complex, then we need some interface-based simplicity: try explainer videos for starters.
http://www.powtoon.com/
So in sum - a friendly interface, and feature-based price marketing are two good places to start.
Happy to have a conversation with you for further details.
First off I can only go based upon what you have written....so am sure that there are other variables that need to be considered. However at a high level, here are some thoughts.
First you are right that customers expect to do a full trial before purchasing. Although the intention is for them to do this during the trial period, I would anticipate that many take the trial however life gets in the way and they do not actually test it and then you are into the chasing game to try and convert them.
On the surface they are trying to mitigate their risks before committing. So, if you want them to purchase without the trial version then you need to find a way to make them feel like they are not taking on any risks. Some ways of doing this is to have them sign up with a 30-60 day full refund policy, or have them sign up and then they have 60 days to cancel without incurring any costs. These are just simple examples where the risk is shared. Right now all the risk is on you and you also have a great deal of costs to support the environment to handle these trial versions. It has to be a win-win.
As for tailoring the product for their specific needs, this needs to be a fee based service. Even if just a small amount, the customer needs to have some vested interest in finding a solution as well...so if you take on these services without charging then again you are carrying all the risk.
Hope this helps. Happy to offer some more thoughts if you are able to offer some more context regarding your specific situation.
This answer is simple: use Calls to Action (CTAs) on your site that encourage visitors to talk to you instead of trying it on their own. Pose it as a "free consultation" instead of a sales plea. If you have sufficiently sold the benefits of the features, this is not a very hard ask of visitors.
This might be something worthwhile to test with an A/B testing tool like Optimizely.
That's like asking "how do I get that fish to take my bait so I can catch him". The answer is you can't make them buy you have to figure out if your product (the bait) is appealing enough to skip the trial.
Do you have any customers who have bought without the trial? If so, ASK THEM why they did it. That will give you much better answers than the people here who are giving good, although generic answers. You need specifics about your product.
Perhaps you are asking the wrong question. The bigger question might be "how do I double my buy rate after they've done the trial."
Many good answers that I won't duplicate, however one additional thought: Have you analyzed the specific metrics around the customers who HAVE converted to paid to see how they used the product, what data they input, etc? If you can figure out what's common among companies that do convert you can then design your marketing funnel to make sure that people do those actions, for example with additional training and emails in that area.
Related Questions
-
What are the SaaS B2B expectations when paying annually - annual paid annually or annual paid monthly? Is a discount necessary (i.e. 20%)?
Most Software as a service vendors generally don't book annual deals except in highly specialized cases. Most customers prefer to be able to cancel/change anytime they choose. Also, deals done "offline" end up actually often being more trouble than they are worth to administrate especially for a $2988 ticket. Generally, companies don't view prepaying for SaaS products a year in advance as a "convenience" (to them) so if the debate is internal (not customer driven), I'd set this debate aside until it's requested by the customer. Most customers will request a discount to pre-pay annual service. Happy to talk this through with you in a call, to work through the specifics of your situation in more detail.TW
-
What's a reasonable profit margin on merchandise?
Are you the manufacturer or reseller? If you are the reseller, typically about 40-50% above cost. Use the MSRP as an indicator.ZR
-
What should my consulting rates be as a freelance developer who can also do SEO, social media optimization and other marketing services?
Pricing for different tasks that require the same amount of time from you tells the Customer (and your subconscious) that you're working at a 5 on task x, but working at a 9 on task y simply because it costs/earns more. That seems to be a disconnect. Your time is your most precious asset, and I would charge for it whatever you're doing. If you build a site, and they are happy with your dev fee, but feel like you should charge less for SEO, simply let them find another SEO guy. That's their choice, but YOU are worth $xx.xx, no matter what you're doing. Also, in general, take whatever you're charging and add 10% to it. If you're still busy, add another 10%. Let the demand level determine how much work you do, and at what cost.SL
-
What would be a good answer for describing the size of your company to a potential prospect who might consider you too small to service their account?
What an awesome question! Businesses are running into this issue more frequently that ever, good news is, it can be done. Having worked on projects with oDesk, Fox Television and Wikipedia and having a very very small staff, it's certainly possible. Here's how I say it in our pitches to larger organizations: "Tractive West provides tailored video production services to organizations of all sizes. We have developed a distributed workflow using the latest digital tools. We leverage our small creative and management team with a world wide network of creative professionals, that means we can rapidly scale to meet the demands of any project while keeping our infrastructure and overhead lightweight and sustainable." Cheers and best of luck.SM
-
How can a small offshore development company find companies/software sales people to sell their service in the US/UK?
My company does a lot of consulting with offshore firms who are looking for a way to generate new business, so I hear this question a lot. My first reaction is that you need to totally reverse your mindset when you talk about your own company. You mentioned that you have: a great software developers team, proven track record, passion, real value But, everyone says that. There a 10,000 companies that have those things, so a customer isn't going to notice it. You need to figure out what your company is best at (doesn't have to be technical) and present it as a solution to a specific problem that clients have. Maybe a speciality, or really good project management, really good communications, a special expertise or experience, a personality, experience with a certain type of client.. really anything.. But, there must be some thing that makes your company 'special' otherwise you will be lost in the mix. Don't worry about things like rates, or the fact that you have 'great' developers. Those are generic. Think about why a client would really choose you, and try to build on that! After you understand your company identity, it gets much easier to identify and engage marketing channels because you understand your target.DH
the startups.com platform
Copyright © 2025 Startups.com. All rights reserved.