Last week, we launched 5 Ways to Design, Launch and Scale your SaaS product. It’s a guide for those working in SaaS who have stalled or are simply looking for a way to ignite growth by looking at their customers through a different lens.
We asked you when claiming your copy what your biggest challenge was when it came to growing the business. The top reason was a misunderstanding of customers.
That’s why I’m revisiting a framework of ours to help you make untangle this challenge: the customers’ buying time line from a demand-side approach. A concept from our book, demand-side sales.
The demand-side approach to a customers’ progress
Those who are great at sales are average, everyday people. The difference being is, unlike a shady sales person or a sales rep under pressure from their boss to get leads, great sales people ask questions, they listen, they learn, and they help you to make progress.
They don’t push their product, they present it and how it fits into your life.
You may know this already, but if a misunderstanding of customers is what’s getting in the way of 10x growth – maybe it’s time to ask yourself: have you actually reframed your thinking?
Your buyer needs to be at the right time and place in their life to buy that product. Let’s say someone sees umbrellas for sale. If it’s hot and it’s sunny, chances are they aren’t going to buy. But – if it’s pouring it down with rain, the chances go up because something will trigger a need in their minds.
Bob and I have translated this process into the six stages a buyer goes through before making a purchase. These stages all occur whether someone is deciding on a coffee maker or a car, and salespeople can help them along at each stage to ease the anxieties and frustrations, improving the odds that someone will buy their product or service.
The six stages to uncovering customer demand
Let’s use the example of subscribing to an accountancy SaaS to apply this thinking.
#1: First Thought
This is when the idea to buy something first gets planted in a customer’s head, and it’s an important step. If they’re not thinking about signing up to a new platform, they’ll never buy a new one.
Something has to happen — a break in the reporting, a missed payment — for them to realize that there’s a need there. Without that first thought, there is no demand.
#2: Passive Looking
Passive looking is just what it sounds like — nothing serious. The customer is just window shopping. They notice the adverts for SaaS accounting platforms when they scroll past them now. They’re starting to fill their mind with information about the product or service. This isn’t comparison shopping or looking at features yet. It’s noticing that the product is there and letting it brew in their head.
Passive looking is about learning. Customers do a little research — noticing ads in the paper, talking to close friends about their intent. They’re not expending any effort, time, or money to make a decision.
#3: Active Looking
Active looking is what we think of when people go shopping or do research on a product. They’re actually spending time deciding whether to buy it. For our buyer, it’s when they Google “best accountancy product for SMEs” or actually watch a video on YouTube to look at what’s available. For our impulse buyers, it may be looking at the product beside it and comparing the two, or looking at the features on the packaging and comparing it to their actual needs.
With active looking, people start to invest time, effort, and thought into their decision and see what is the right solution to their particular problem. What’s right for one person may not be right for another. Different people notice different features and attributes that may move them to the next step in the process. Active looking is about comparing and eliminating products that don’t help them move forward. Consumers are still learning about the process.
#4: Deciding
Here’s the big point in time: making the decision. The shopper has thought about buying a new solution and the reasons they need a new one compared features and prices and eliminated the competition.
Sometimes the decision is difficult, and they must make tradeoffs. Product A may have better features — a new report, the ability to talk to a human — but it may cost more. People need to reject something before they can buy something else.
It’s a difficult process. The perfect product or service rarely shows itself without some kind of limitations. Deciding is where people realize they can’t have it all. That’s where the tradeoffs occur. Whatever is most important in the consumer’s mind — price, features, customer service — is what is going to sway their decision-making.
#5: Onboarding
Onboarding is the big moment. It’s where the consumer determines if you’ve met the expectations set when they decided to lock in and hand over their cash or credit card.
There’s no turning back now (unless you can return the product). This is always a crucial time because the consumer is going to be using the product for the first time and is measuring it against their expectations to see if they’re satisfied. If they’re unhappy, they may exchange it or return it, and may never do business with you again.
#6: Ongoing Use
Onboarding is just the beginning of the relationship between you and a product or service. After you buy it, you’ll be using it regularly to solve the problem you originally had.
In ongoing use, the consumer is “hiring” the product every time they use it, and customer satisfaction relies on whether the product is doing the job. Are they pleased each time they use it, or are they still struggling with their problem? If they aren’t pleased, they may be able to cancel and start the process all over again. Ongoing use is where the jobs get done, and progress is achieved.
Summary
Businesses should think hard about each step of the buying process because it affects everything from product development to marketing and customer service.
If the consumer is impressed with your product or service, you’ll make the sale and continue making sales throughout your relationship. And you won’t have to spend money on flashy, big displays to get their attention, either.
Look at how organisations have used this approach. Take our case study with Autobooks and how they used this framework to redevelop their sales process.