Getting Started
There are two tracks that could possibly help us build Inbound@Scale in the US and other markets where we don’t yet have a significant presence in: a primary track with ProfitXL as a landing idea and PLG utilities to get marketers and developers started, and a second track showcases the power of AMP via a B2C solution like QuizMails (replicating an idea that had worked in IndiaWorld).
ProfitXL and PLG
As I wrote previously, “In the red ocean of competition, we needed to create our blue ocean where we could create a repeatable sales motion. Instead of us chasing customers, we needed to get customers to chase us for the products which delivered great value to them. And to do this, we needed to change our approach – from thinking about our solutions to solving problems for our customers. We needed to move beyond thinking retention, engagement, and personalization to helping customers grow revenues, cut costs, and supersize their profits – laying a foundation for their exponential, forever, profitable growth. We needed to help them create the best moat in their business – a “profits monopoly” (profipoly). Our ProfitXL idea could help them do just that.”
We need to be able to demonstrate the idea of ProfitXL. We need CMOs, CFOs, and CEOs to think beyond new customer acquisition, retention, and engagement. We need to use “profitable growth” as a landing idea. Perhaps, a Broadway-like show could be used to bring this to life. There still remains the problem of finding the initial audience for such a show, and that will require some marketing. Hopefully, the word of mouth after that can help us create the “Hamilton” equivalent in SaaS marketing!
We then need multiple PLG tools and utilities to convert interest into DIY action. Marketers should be able to get calculators to figure out the impact on their business, see the contribution to profits of their Best Customers, try out utilities like AMPifier and create their own AMPlets to embed in their existing emails.
This will help drive inbound interest which can then work as the target account list (TAL) for our sales team. It is a strategy which many companies have used successfully. Of course, it is easier said than done – the utility must solve an immediate problem and be truly self-serve.
ProfitXL and PLG used well can be the demand generation accelerator which can then provide marketing qualified leads (MQLs) for the sales team to convert into SQLs.
B2C and QuizMails
A second track can drive the popularisation of AMP (and Atomic Rewards) to create further inbound interest. As consumers, we rarely see AMP emails. The purpose of a consumer service like QuizMails is to drive that excitement of interacting with emails in the inbox and then asking: why cannot brand emails do that? Hopefully, marketers and developers will also be among the subscribers and then see the power of what AMP can do.
The big challenge here lies in how to build the B2C business. It must be seeded, and then spread word-of-mouth. Hopefully, quizzing is a horizontal that can work well in its various avatars: general knowledge testing and entrance exams preparation are two possible starting points.
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Inbound@Scale is a challenge for every B2B SaaS company. In a world where less money is available for unrestrained marketing spending, marketers will need to be smart about how they drive demand generation and think past the obvious ones – those are just table stakes. There is a need to bring innovation in inbound and think beyond the incremental to increase interest. Done right, a successful Inbound@Scale problem can create a moat and monopoly, the pillars for building an enduring, great SaaS company.
