Marketing >>> Engineering and Sales
The author highlights that marketing is crucial for SaaS success, noting initial failures despite strong products. Effective marketing and understanding customer needs lead to profitability in competitive markets.
After 15 years in the SaaS industry, the author, an engineer turned marketer, emphasizes the importance of marketing over engineering and sales in achieving success. Despite creating well-designed products with robust backends, the author faced initial failures due to a lack of market interest, even when offering products for free. Observing successful SaaS businesses revealed that they often lacked innovative products but thrived in competitive markets through effective marketing strategies. This realization prompted a shift in focus towards marketing and understanding customer needs, leading to the development of a profitable SaaS product. The author concludes that prioritizing marketing and problem-solving is essential for success in the SaaS landscape.
- Marketing is more critical than engineering and sales for SaaS success.
- Initial product failures can occur despite strong technical foundations.
- Successful SaaS businesses often operate in competitive markets without innovative products.
- Effective marketing strategies can drive interest and profitability.
- Understanding and solving customer problems is key to winning in the market.
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17 commentsMarketing (and sales) are critical. That was obvious to me the first year I was employed when my company sold products and features that didn't even exist.
Sales: "Hey, can product X do feature Y?"
Me: "No, not at all".
Sales: "Well, it does now!"
What tips do you have for marketing? How can engineers break down limiting beliefs and approach marketing? What is marketing and when does it become sales? What have you done that is successful?
If "marketing" is what's happening on the LinkedIn home feed then I'd rather be unemployed and homeless.
It’s not the case, you’re just generalising hard.
I’ve built and sold without marketing, in fact that was my first software sale. I did it with 0 actual marketing, I just made a single reddit post.
I’m about to get users for an innovative project, with 0 marketing (outside of a reddit post) and in a medium with almost no competition.
Never ever say everyone. If you think that’s the case, you’re missing a lot of opportunities, because you’re just thinking like the average.
This sales
> I came up with really amazing ideas and built products with neat UI, scalable backend and beautiful database structure. Something I'd feel proud to show to my engineer friends.
This does not matter, because your users don't care or see the value of scalable backend or beautiful database structure, unless they will also maintain/sell that same software, then it matters, but those customers already buy from consultancy firms(who are experts in selling crapware) so you are out competed.
once you appreciate the dance that all functional teams perform in an organization, you'll experience true success.
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