Creating a growth-focused B2B enterprise that really makes you excited isn’t always easy. It’s something that takes the right approach.
However, it is 100% possible with the right approach. Just look at what brands like Slack, Snowflake and Gong have done in the past. They’ve absolutely dominated, despite the fact that they sell to businesses.
What’s more, even the general public really likes many of these brands, despite the fact that they’d never actually buy their services.
So, what’s going on here? How do you create a B2B enterprise that grows quickly and offers customers a kickass product or service at the end of the day?
Solve CEOs Biggest Pain Point
The number one thing you want to do as a growth-focused B2B enterprise is solve a big CEO pain point. If you can fix something that keeps them up at night, you’ll have a massive impact.
Try to find a problem that most CEOs don’t think anyone can solve, even the best people on their teams. Then, look for a way to solve it at 10x your current price tag. In other words, you want to solve a problem that’s so big, companies will be willing to pay at least ten times more, just for the privilege of you solving it for them.
If you can solve a problem at the “board level” that involves the whole C-suite and major stakeholders, that’s even better. With this, the CEO won’t even need to focus on “buy-in.” All that will have already been done for you.
Start With A Specific Ideal Customer Profile
In B2B marketing focused on growth, it also helps to be hyperspecific about your ideal customer profile. You want to ensure you know exactly who you’re targeting.
Make sure it’s specific. For example, you might say:
- Series B Startups
- Looking for SaaS solutions
- With less than 100 employees
- But more than $10 million in annual revenue
While it might not seem like a lot, this list already eliminates 99% of businesses out there. All you’re doing is targeting those most likely to pay.
Build A Product That Sells Itself
As expert agencies, like CSM point out, building a product that sells itself is critical. If you can sell something that automatically generates clients money, you’re onto a winner.
For example, let’s say you have an ad platform that can boost the revenue generated by brands’ existing ads, taking them from a return of $3 for every dollar they spend to a return of $5. That might not seem like a big change, but it can make an enormous difference in the longer term. Plus, it means you can hide your pricing and make it more palatable. All you do is say to the customer: “I’ll charge you 20% of the extra money I make you” and they’ll want to pay you all day, every day.
Use Value-Based Pricing
A lot of B2B businesses get into trouble when they insist on following cost-based pricing. The idea is that products should be valued on how much they cost the company to produce and distribute.
But that’s an old-fashioned way of looking at things. A better way is to just think about how much the service is worth to customers. That’s where the value lies. Sometimes the value will be below the cost, which means you need to increase value or lower costs, or sometimes it will be above, which is great for profitability.
If you can price according to value, you’re much less likely to face a cash crunch. On the flipside, you’re much more likely to be able to grow at the pace you want.
Hire A Founding Rep
Another thing you want to do early on as a B2B business is hire a founding rep. These individuals are great for setting up your company and really moving things forward quickly.
Most firms concentrate on operations for the first year or two and want to get all their ducks in a row. However, this is actually a terrible way to go about building a business. The best approach is to hire a sales professional from the start who can start testing products and bringing in revenue. Later, once you start to scale, you can bring in people to automate parts of your business, and they’ll do a good job.
Create A Sales Process
Finally, you want a sales process linked to this your staff can repeat. Try to keep it under 90 days if you can, including things like demos, proposals and the closing process.
