Don't undersell your SaaS solution

No matter how long the list of amazing features you offer, if you’re marketing a software-as-a-service (SaaS) solution, that’s not all you’ve got to sell.  You should be talking about the “non-feature” pieces as well.  If not, you’re underselling your solution.

That’s because prospects are usually thinking about more than just features when they’re evaluating a solution.  They’ve got other questions that you need to address:

Can the solution be implemented successfully?

• Will the implementation disrupt our business?
• Will employees use it?
• Will sensitive data be protected?
• Will competent support be available to help us out when we get stuck? 

Of course, prospects need to see a certain level of functionality.  You need to show that your solution has the features they need to handle the problem they’re trying to solve.  But once you’ve cleared that bar, prospects tend to focus on other issues. 

Fear of implementation failure

Why do those other issues matter?  Because prospects know there’s a difference between the demo and real life.

In the demo, prospects will usually recognize that your solution is far better than the one they’re living with now.  Once deployed, their lives will be easier. 

But they also know that getting from where they are now to what you’ve shown in the demo isn’t easy.  Navigating that transition can be risky.    

The last thing the prospect – perhaps an HR manager, sales executive, or finance person - wants is to gobble up lots of hours importing data, training users, setting up a new system, and disrupting the normal course of business… especially if it really isn’t worth the hassle.  That’s not a risk they’re willing to take.

It’s not all about the features

If your marketing efforts are only about touting features, features, and more features, you’re not addressing these other critical concerns.

Talking incessantly about “our solution does this, and our solution does that” or begging a prospect to sit through yet another demo probably won’t help push them toward a purchase.

Before they buy, prospects need to be satisfied that you can manage the “non-feature” issues.  That means you need to discuss implementation, training, and support in your marketing material.  You need to address their concerns about security, performance, and reliability.  And you need to give prospects lots of opportunity to see that the solution is easy to use. 

You can show prospects the proven, well-structured process you follow in importing existing data.  You can introduce them to the experts responsible for training and support.  You can present them with the security protocols you follow.  You can let them see proof of success through customer testimonials. 

All of this is required to address their “non-feature” concerns and reduce their risk of failure.  The lower the risk, the more likely they are to buy.