Lots of smaller software-as-a-service (SaaS) businesses are tempted to try to sound “corporate” or
They act impersonal, like some alien borg.
They think that “sounding bigger” makes them more credible.
It's a bad idea that usually doesn’t work.
How can I trust you?
It’s hard to gain the trust of prospective customers if the provider is faking it. People usually see through that.
And it's hard to sell SaaS without trust.
Which means that before they subscribe, the customer needs to trust the provider. They need to believe that the SaaS provider will deliver as promised.
Instead of faking it, SaaS companies would be better off acting naturally. If a company is smaller, friendlier, and can treat customers with a more personal touch than its larger competitors, it should flaunt it, not hide it.
The buyers are also the users
The prospective customers care about the kind of people they'll be working with over the life of the
subscription.
Whether they're in HR, sales, marketing, finance, or somewhere else in the organization, the people that are evaluating the SaaS solution before its purchased are often the same people who will actually be using the solution after its purchased. There’s often no “intermediate buyer” in IT or procurement.
What that means is that the people making the purchase decision will also be considering the “personality” of the SaaS provider. Besides thinking about features and functions, they’ll be asking themselves, “Are these the kind of people I’m going to want to work with if I subscribe to this solution?”
In most cases, they'll prefer friendly, personable experts over an impersonal, corporate borg.
