Organizations are going SaaS-native.

But what about the companies entering the scene today?

They need a strong marketing message to stand out from their competitors but that does not mean ignoring what the competition is doing. It’s understanding what works for them and then using it to your advantage.

Everyone talks about differentiation but the conversations regarding parity or sameness are limited.

Competitive analysis is vital for standing out. Once you know what’s working in the industry can you use it to create something new while using it as a framework for growth.

However, competitive analysis is not easy. It requires understanding the nuances of your market and your buyer. But it can be done.

Here’s how.

Why Watching Competitors Matters?

Just having a good product is not enough anymore. People will notice your software not just for what it does but for how well you present it. If you don’t keep an eye on others in the same field, you could miss smart pricing, great customer service ideas, or marketing strategies that may attract more people.

Looking at your competitors isn’t just about copying them. You’ll have real data that will help you spot what they do well and where they fail. For example, if a competitor’s pricing model is attracting more customers, you should also look if your model can do the same.

Competitive analysis makes it easier to show why your software is the better choice.

What’s SaaS Competitive Analysis?

Competitive analysis is about studying your competitors. Everything about their products, marketing, customer approach, and business strategy. It helps you see what’s working for them and what’s not. This way, you can make your SaaS product stand out.

How Competitive Analysis Helps Businesses

Studying competitors is indeed a smart way to grow. You can easily :

• Find market gaps – See what your competitors are missing and offer something better.
• Strengthen your value – Knowing what others promise helps you refine what makes your product stand out.
• Stay updated – The SaaS market changes fast. Watching competitors helps you keep up.
• Improve marketing – Learn from their wins and mistakes to avoid wasting time.
• Engage better with customers – See how they interact with customers and find ways to do it better.
• Set better prices – Understanding their pricing can help you create a more attractive offer.
• Keep customers longer – Noticing their flaws can help you improve support and keep users happy.

Steps to Spy on Your Competitors’ SaaS Marketing

If you want to top the competition in SaaS marketing, do these three steps:

Step 1: Find Your Main Competitors

Make a list of businesses in the same industry. Use Google searches, LinkedIn, or industry directories. Also, find all the indirect competitors offering different products but targeting the same audience. Ask yourself:

• Who are the biggest competitors in your field?
• Which companies reach the same customers as you?
• Who is ranking high on Google in your industry?
• Are there any new startups changing the industry?
• Which competitors are often discussed in forums?

Step 2: Research Their Offerings

Look at what your competitors provide:

• How do they price their products?
• What features do they offer?
• Do they have free trials or discounts?
• Who is their target audience?
• What do customers say in reviews?
• Is their product easy to use?

See where they are strong and where they fall short. Do they have something you don’t? Are there gaps you can fill? Noting these differences will help you improve your approach.

Step 3: Study Their Marketing

Check how they attract customers:

• Content marketing – Blogs, videos, case studies
• Social media – What they post and how often
• Emails – Sign up and see their messaging
• Ads and promotions – PPC ads, banners, sponsored content
• Webinars and events – How they engage live
• Referral programs – Do they use affiliates?
• Look at their tone– Is it formal or casual?

Understanding their style will help you shape your own message.

Step 4: Check Customer Feedback and Engagement

See what customers are saying. You can do this by reading reviews, browsing forums, and checking social media comments. Are customers frustrated with their support? Do they love a unique feature? This info can be used to improve your own service.

Step 5: Spot Their Strengths and Weaknesses

Now, compare what you’ve found with your own SaaS product. What do they do better? Where do they fall short? This can help you improve and offer something better.

Step 6: Create a Strategy

Use what you’ve learned to improve your approach. Maybe you need better content, a different pricing model, or stronger customer support. The main thing to apply these things wisely.

If you want to master SaaS marketing, a digital marketing master’s degree can help you succeed in the online world.

Ways to Learn from Your SaaS Competitor’s Marketing Strategy

Not sure about how to spy on your competitor’s strategies in Saas Marketing? Here are some simple ways to find out:

1.  Sign Up for Their Newsletters – Their emails can tell you a lot. Sign up to know how they communicate, what promotions they offer, and what content they push.

2.  Track Brand Mentions – Set up Google Alerts or just browse reviews to see how people feel about them. Are they getting positive feedback? Any common complaints? This can give you ideas on what to do or avoid.

3.  Look at Their Ads – Search for their ads on Facebook and Google. What kind of messages are they using? What deals are they pushing? You will get to know more on their selling points.

4.  Follow Their Social Media – See what they post on LinkedIn, Twitter, or Facebook. How often do they post? How do they reply to comments? This will indeed help you decode their strategy.

5.  Explore Their Website Like a Customer – Visit their website and go through it as if you were a new customer. How do they present their services? This can show you what works well and what doesn’t.

Tools to Spy Your Competitors Better

Here are some tools that will save time and give you accurate competitor data:

SEMrush & Ahrefs – See the Keywords

These tools help to know the keywords that bring traffic.

How to use it:

• Enter their website and check their top keywords.
• See who links to them and find ways to get backlinks too.
• Compare their pages with yours to spot what’s missing.

Google Alerts – Get Updates on Their Mentions

Google Alerts tells you when your competitor’s name appears online.

How to Use:

• Add their company name or key people.
• Get updates when someone mentions them.
• Choose to receive alerts instantly or at set times.

BuiltWith – See Their Website Tools

This tool reveals what technology powers their website.

How to use:

• Enter their website and check the tools they use.
• Compare with yours to find better options.

SimilarWeb – Check Their Website Traffic

Find out where their visitors come from and how they interact.

How to use:

• See if their traffic comes from search engines, ads, or social media.
• Find out which countries their visitors are from.
• Check if their traffic is growing or shrinking.
• Receive alerts instantly or at alert times.

These tools will be really helpful to you see what’s working for your competitors so you can make better decisions for your own business.

Mistakes to Avoid

Watching competitors can help, but don’t fall into these traps:

• Copying Everything – Learning from others is good, but copying won’t make you stand out. Find your own way.
• Ignoring Your Strengths – Don’t get too caught up in what others do. Focus on what makes your business special.
• Overthinking – Too much research can slow you down. Use what you learn and take action.

Dos and Don’ts – Legal considerations

Watching competitors can help in business, but it should always be done honestly.

What’s Okay?

• Checking their website, blog, and social media.
• Asking people about market trends through surveys.
• Reading public customer reviews.
• Using tools like SEMrush or Google Alerts to track changes.

What’s Not OK?

• Gathering private information from their website.
• Opening fake accounts to view off-limits information.
• Attempting to hack or steal confidential data
• Faking being a customer or supplier to obtain insider information

Be ethical. Take lessons from competitors but build your own strength. Fair competition brings long-term success.

Upcoming Trends in SaaS Competitive Analysis

The following are some future trends in SaaS marketing competitive analysis

1.  AI Competitive Analysis – New AI tools will help companies track changes in prices, products, and ads. This will make it easier to keep up with competitors. Predictive analytics might even help companies guess what their competitors will do next, so they can get ready.

2.  Privacy-Focused Data Collection – With new rules like GDPR and CCPA, businesses will use more public data and less third-party tracking. Being careful with how data is collected will be important to stay competitive.

3.  Real-Time Competitor Tracking – Companies will begin using tools that give instant updates on what competitors are doing—like tracking customer feedback and website visits. This helps them make faster decisions with the most current data.

4.  Personalization Strategies – Businesses will watch how competitors tailor their services, such as by offering custom product recommendations and adjusting prices.

Final Thoughts

We hope these steps have given you some clear ideas to boost your SaaS marketing and stand out. Instead of copying others, learn from their mistakes so you can improve. Take time to research and plan. Your next great idea might come from watching your competitors the right way.

The industry is facing a brand-new problem: the oversaturation of data points and an overreliance on that data. While the B2B SaaS train chugs on, is it time to rethink the marketing principles?

The SaaS marketing playbook is outdated.

Jon Miller, the co-founder of Marketo, was a pioneer in the SaaS field. Most of the common principles that the marketing world takes for granted today were perfected by him if not outright created. And he says something known for quite some time: the old playbooks and methods of SaaS marketing will not work.

If that’s a surprise to anyone, it’s time to take note of it. But what’s not working about the old playbooks? It’s the over-reliance on measurable and linear tactics. Many in marketing believe that what is working today will continue to work tomorrow.

But, historically, that hasn’t been true. From the days of Salesforce, SaaS marketing has been a disruptor. Humans crave novel experiences that help them reinforce something about themselves.

It is a very personal endeavor that speaks to our tribality. Marketing is evolving—or rather, it’s returning to its original form: forming communities around solutions and identifying markers of trust.

The marketing principles should be based on today’s culture.

Tribes and Communities

Brand building is a form of identification. But why is this brand-building necessary in the first place? First, it is to distinguish and differentiate. Apple is not Samsung. Trello is not Asana.

Second, it is to build trust. Asana has something Trello doesn’t, and vice versa. But why would someone choose one over the other? That begins by identifying with the mission and what that mission brings to the table.

Think of your own experiences. Maybe it’s a finance or marketing solution that solved your pain point—you will defend that solution. You will tell people why this solution is the best because it makes you feel heard and improves your life.

When it comes to SaaS, this identification is vital—it will keep the buyer asking for more. Anecdotally, many marketing teams have preferences for what tools they use. Maybe it’s Slack for communication (amazing community-building by them, by the way), Notion for brainstorming and writing, or even the Pomodoro timer for getting into the zone. And they swear by it.

It is in our nature to defend the things that help us—if nothing else, for the ease of it all.

Marketing teams must understand that while generating MQLs is a priority, marketing is evolving into a more organic way of communication between two parties: the customer and the vendor.

Problem-Solving

Problem-solving is something all marketers have done and continue to do daily:

1. Addressing their ICP’s pain points
2. Creating a campaign
3. Working around the budget
4. Brainstorming unique ways of reaching the audience
5. Crafting subject lines for emails
6. Writing unique content for blogs
7. Composing copy that speaks to the buyer
8. Directing the journey
9. And so on

The foremost marketing principle is realizing that every marketer, at their core, is a strategic problem solver. And while neither strategy nor problem-solving is measurable, their impact can be. The process requires deep reflection and thinking in novel ways.

This comes from experimentation and patience—two abstract concepts that might be drifting further away in our “always-on” world.

The Attention Economy

In this “always-on” world, attention is a resource that cannot be overlooked. But that doesn’t mean bombarding prospects with indefinite messages.

Attention can be gained through creativity.

But that may not seem actionable enough to some. What does being creative mean? While it involves thinking in novel ways, many creatives start by connecting two different ideas.

Think of handwritten notes and the B2B SaaS industry. Wouldn’t that get your attention? Of course, which is why there’s a B2B company that does it: https://www.scribeless.co/.

B2C industries have it easier—human connection and impulse buying are at the forefront, and a more casual approach often works. However, gaining the attention of the SaaS buying committee can sound daunting. Every decision they make has to lead somewhere. The cost must justify what it does.

Luckily, in the workplace, leaders and even employees are looking for solutions that can ease their work. From the boom in AI-powered virtual assistants, it is evident that we want tools that save time. The challenge lies in finding the correct channels and identifying stakeholders for attention-grabbing ABM campaigns.

The marketing principle viable for the modern B2B buyer’s journey

Customer-centricity will drive the future. With an increase in automation, the need for thoughtful messages will keep increasing.

Content, marketing experiences, and everything in between serve two purposes:

1. To build trust
2. And eventually turn prospects into paying customers

But the buyer’s journey has evolved. Its non-linearity and long buying cycles point to the problem of having too many solutions in the market. Your competitors have the same tech stacks and the same information as you.

So, what can you do when everything else seems stacked against you?

Well, there are two ways:

1. CMOs must lean heavily into storytelling and create an identity for the SaaS product.
2. Get to know the buyer like you would your closest friend, and reach them in empathetic ways.

Trust your SaaS product and articulate what it does. The buyer is no longer someone who doesn’t understand the implications of tech. Tell them what it does, and do it consistently. Promise them a frictionless life and deliver on that promise.

Once you do that, you’ll realize every marketing principle says: connect, attract, and retain.

Gone are the days of manually managing contracts. Global businesses are digitizing and it’s time for your contract management system to revolutionize too.

The practice of storing documents in shared folders, employee inboxes, and email threads is traditional and seemingly backdated. Manual contract management is not only tedious but also prone to a series of errors and delays. What’s worse— important documents like these may get lost among the piled-up files. Such chaos is a shout-out for change.

With the world soaking in emerging technologies, it’s time to resort to software solutions. SaaS contract management software not only safeguards essential materials, but also prevents an important file from getting lost in the clutter. The software is designed to enhance the efficacy of your brand’s contract management system. With this technology in place, managing business contracts is far simplified. From negotiating contracts to signing and renewal, all phases are systemized and available in a single centralized location

Why Integrate B2B SaaS Contract Management Software

There are several pros of leaving behind the traditional practices of manual contract management and choosing a SaaS tool instead. Let’s walk through the list.

Cost-efficient

Besides convenience, SaaS software solutions offer a comprehensive overview of pricing, terms, and usage data. Analyze usage patterns to identify underutilized features or redundant licenses and use this data to renegotiate contract terms with vendors and optimize costs.

Centralized management

As and when business expands, so does the list of contracts. And if you don’t organize them, retrieving the data during audits or renewals would get chaotic. Utilizing SaaS contract management allows you to keep all data in one location and categorize them, promoting seamless data access. Moreover, they also have built-in automated reminders that do not let you miss any renewal or assigned tasks.

Contract review

Irrespective of a growing contract databank, reviewing every document is crucial for adhering to quality standards. It becomes easier to mitigate risks associated with manual processes, keep errors to a bare minimum, and comply with legal requirements while monitoring access controls.

Prevent auto-renewals

Some auto-renewals are unnecessary and could be quite frustrating. SaaS software promotes renewal tracking and alerts you well before the renewal date. This gives you enough time to decide whether you continue the contract or stop the renewal.

How B2B SAAS Contract Management Operates

B2B SaaS contract management system plays the role of your behind-the-scenes assistant. You can let it handle the series of complex components involved in managing these files. They get automated and hardly consume your time. Here’s what’s behind the seamless functioning of the software:

Contract creation: Choose from various templates to swiftly create your unique contract. The contract creation stage is fun and ensures consistency throughout. You don’t have to go through any manual hassle in the initial drafting stage.

Negotiation: Exchange contracts for a smooth collaboration with vendors and stakeholders. Track changes and ensure all parties are updated, saving you from back-and-forth follow-ups.

Approval: Automate the entire approval cycle by adding contracts to hand-picked workflows. The stakeholders receive prompt notifications, and approvals are tracked within the system.

Execution: Receive electronic signatures from all parties and store them securely in the cloud. The contracts are organized by categories or tags, allowing quick retrieval. There is no need to print, scan, or mail contracts. All data is available in the software.

Monitoring and compliance: Receive automated reminders for tracking deadlines or expirations. It eliminates the trouble of manual record-keeping to track when the next renewal is due.

Audit and reporting: View the audit trail of every action associated with a contract. From the edits to the approvals phase, utilize advanced analytics to evaluate contract performance, cycle times, and bottlenecks, and stay tuned to all essential data.

Top B2B SAAS Contract Automation Softwares for 2025

Now that we have covered how a SaaS tool will benefit you, let’s dive into the best software solutions to choose from.

Pandodac

(Source: Pandodac)

This solution provides all data in a single document, helping you digitally create, approve, and sign contracts.

Key features

• Drag and drop editor, simplifying proposal and contract writing.
• Centralized, cloud-based contracts
• Series of contract templates and pre-approved conditions

ContractWorks

(Source: ContractWorks)

The highlight of this software is its AI-powered OCR and search capabilities allowing you to locate particular words. Its cloud-backed security features safeguard your data and make it accessible.

Key features

• User-friendly interface simplifying onboarding of new employees
• Personalized reporting provides important insight
• Creates tag-based reports to share with your stakeholders

Gatekeeper

(Source: Gatekeeper)

Besides offering a centralized information center, the AI-powered software provides an auditable record of operations.

Key features

• One of the most reliable, quick, and efficient systems in the market
• Optimizes contracts
• Integrated electronic signature compliant with regulatory standards

Trackado

(Source: Trackado)

Trackado is another cloud-based SaaS to assist you with streamlining the entire contract lifecycle. It simplifies finding and collecting contracts based on category, sector, or business partner. The best part is— it doesn’t require any extensive training.

Key features

• Organizes contacts, stores emails in one location
• Tracks all activities
• Sends real-time notifications

Concord

(Source: Concord)

You can access various tools for automating and integrating the contract lifecycle with this software. Its pre-approved templates offer smooth contract drafting.

Key features

• Custom approval workflows for contract distribution
• Version control to allow users access to the recent versions
• Overview of the status of all contracts

Contractbook

(Source: Contractbook)

If you want to write a contract directly, then this is the perfect software. It is integrated with a machine-friendly format and allows you to work with multiple teams to get a glimpse of your legal standing.

Key features

• Invite outside guests
• Build contracts from scratch, record, store, and send
• Smart task management for staying on top of all contact updates

Signeasy

(Source: Signeasy)

Its eSignature API makes it super easy to sign contracts and manage documentation. If any signatures are pending, you immediately receive an auto-reminder.

Key features

• Integration with multiple business tools like Google Drive and Microsoft SharePoint
• Reusable templates
• Contract categorization and secure storage

CloudEagle

(Source: CloudEagle)

This comprehensive SaaS contract management tool offers a user-friendly interface and robust features.

Key features

• Customizable templates, automated reminders, and advanced data analytics
• Tracking of contract negotiation and approvals
• AI-driven contract insights, vendor management, and spend optimization

Best Practices to choose cloud-based contract management software:

There are so many options available for a SaaS platform, that choosing the right one could seem overwhelming. Here are some key factors to consider while picking the software for your brand:

Alignment with your needs: List out the features you are looking for in your brand. Is it a robust e-signature a customizable template or something else? Identify your key requirements and filter out those that fit the criteria.

Scalability: Determine the software that grows with your expanding business and the evolving contract requirements. Verify whether the solution can handle a high volume of contracts, users, and workflows without facing performance hiccups.

User-friendly: Complex functionality can reduce the pace of the integration process and hinder overall productivity. The software you select must have an interface that is easy to navigate.

Integration with other tools: Check if it is compatible with existing tools like CRM systems and financial platforms. Smooth integration will prevent data silos and save you time.

Security and compliance: Contractual agreements contain sensitive and confidential data, which makes security a top priority. While narrowing down on SaaS software, find features like encryption and regulatory compliance to ensure top-notch data security.

Automation and AI features: Repetitive tasks like reminders, approvals, and contract renewals can seem mundane and if not automated, they can go amiss. AI-powered features are embedded with insights that carve out the route for the best decision-making.

Customer support and reviews: Reliable customer support is a surefire way to improve customer satisfaction. Figure out software offering a robust framework for customer support by checking user reviews and getting an idea of the responsiveness in real-time.

Summing up

A consolidated platform is a must-have tool for tracking the approved workflows, keeping up with renewal dates, and streamlining contract negotiations. Don’t think twice before integrating an effective B2B SaaS contact management software. It offers insights into all this essential data in a single tab. While there is an array of software services in the market, our comprehensive list will guide you to incorporate the best platform.

Benchmarking your conversion rates underscores any lack in your sales funnel. Can it also help your team max out their conversion potential?

Keep your friends close and enemies closer. The competition in the B2B world is extensive. With the introduction of AI and automation tools, businesses are taking shorter, reliable, and efficient routes to improve their operations.

But marketing and sales are two areas of business that you cannot rush, or take a shortcut for. These processes are highly detailed and require the utmost attention. We are doing this differently, but some traditional methods still exercise precedence.

It’s the same for B2B SaaS funnel conversion benchmarks. These benchmarks do not pit us against our competitors but provide insight into the performance and roadmaps they use in the B2B SaaS funnel.

The race is to seem unique to the customers amidst all the businesses that offer the same services. You can master the game. A healthy understanding of what the competitor is doing differently helps improve business strategy and highlight the pain points to revamp your marketing and sales efforts.

How SaaS Sales Funnel Work?

A funnel is a tube-like object with a wide top (like a cone) and a thin-elongated bottom that guides liquid substances into containers with a narrow opening.

This is technically what a sales funnel also entails.

Now imagine the wide top of a funnel with several potential prospects at the beginning of the funnel. This is where you create awareness for your business and try to poach as many leads as possible.

Sounds simple, right? However, a single step (in theory) comprises several more curated processes and measures.

At the entry point or top of the funnel (TOFU), you create awareness for your business through social media, blog posts, newsletters, and paid ads. Not only does your business require traffic and engagement, but it requires one that is defined and condensed. It is impossible to cater to everyone, so the primary objective is recognizing a niche market.

With the help of outreach, prospects become aware of your business, while the potential buyers understand why they might need you. You have to exude an appeal to attract the targeted audience towards your brand – we can offer solutions to fix your problems.

As these prospects move forward to the middle of the funnel (MOFU), the funnel narrows down. In every stage, qualifying leads are filtered out (Remember that a funnel is a significant tool used for filtration) and taught how your offers can provide them with a solution. The focus remains on qualifying leads where you investigate their intent. You track their course based on whether they are interested in your SaaS solutions or have the resources and authority to make the final sales decisions. A qualified lead may significantly help boost your win rates.

SaaS Lead Nurturing Process

This is what lead nurturing is about.

1. The leads recognize their problems and become aware. The prospect identifies their problems and the different variables associated with them.
2. They notice and gain interest in your business. Your offer could provide them with solutions for a problem-less future.
3. They do their research to make the final decision. After becoming aware of your business and the possible solutions, they begin to learn more about you to find out whether they are the right fit for you and whether you are the right fit for them.

More modern consumers are diligent in their research. They search through, study, and analyze different variables across the internet before taking the next step in the funnel.

So, your lead nurturing process has to be interactive, creative, and engaging to hook the prospects from the beginning to the end of the sales funnel.

Keep them engaged and hold their attention – the most significant part of the funnel where the sales process begins.

Providing more detailed information regarding your offers – pricing structures, guarantees, and proofs (reviews) increases the possibility of conversion. This eliminates additional leads who are not ready to commit i.e., purchase your products or services.

Besides, it should give you a rather concrete idea regarding which prospects are guided until the last stage of the funnel – a close – representing the final stage or bottom of the funnel (BOFU). When the prospect finally leaves the funnel, you have lost or won the sale, turning the qualifying lead into a successful customer/buyer.

This is what the last stage in the funnel entails. Generate sales. Offer compelling but competitive pricing, push your leads to the checkout pages, customize them, and boost conversion rates. But is it as easy as it sounds? No, it’s easier said than done.

Optimizing SaaS Sales Funnel Metrics for B2B Success

In the B2B SaaS landscape, you can adopt benchmarking to evaluate how your product is fairing against your competitors using specific metrics or KPIs.

Sales funnel metrics are the steering wheel of your marketing bus here. These metrics track and highlight your success or areas of improvement, monitor, quantify, and improve the overall sales journey.

Do you want to know if the budget and resources spent on your marketing efforts benefit your business? KPIs will help you here. Funnel metrics can be considered as KPIs that track the efficiency of sales and marketing teams in closing a lead.

Assume that these KPIs are your exam results. Don’t these results show how much effort you put into your preparation and how efficient those tactics were? The same applies to the funnel metrics. They help analyze and outline the efficiency of your marketing tactics.

This is why conversion rate is a significant sales funnel metric. The world of B2B holds the measurement of your marketing or sales effort to the highest potential value. Your conversion rate measures how many prospects move through each stage in the funnel, and lastly, how they convert from potential leads into customers.

Tracking and optimizing SaaS conversion rates throughout the sales funnel can be optimal to drive product growth. The ultimate objective is to improve efficiency, maximize results, and enhance the entire customer experience, from lead nurturing to retention.

If the offers do not resonate with you, the funnel could end on a road with a dead-end for the prospects. This is possible in every part of the sales funnel. While the closer a lead is to the bottom, it increases the likeliness that it could lead to a close (won/loss), but they could defer too. The possibility is never nil.

What does it all narrow down to? You are guiding your business’ website visitors to become paying customers.

The space of B2B SaaS is competitive and complex.

More often than not, nurturing leads does not result in a sale or won. You wish to understand why and also record why your marketing efforts are not reaping any fruits.

What do you measure them against? B2B SaaS benchmarks.

Setting up B2B SaaS Funnel Conversion Benchmarks

B2B SaaS funnel conversion benchmarks are not the law, but guidelines differ from business to business.

These depend on factors such as the complexity of your sales process and the targeted market size. These allow you to regularly measure the success rate of your efforts and improve your sales process.

Setting specific industry standards – B2B SaaS marketing benchmarks – offers your business an idea regarding how your sales funnel performs compared to others within the same industrial domain. It foregrounds an in-depth insight into the areas in need of improvement. By understanding where you stand, you can set targeted goals that meet your marketing objectives but are realistic and also optimize your sales process.

However, in case of any drawbacks, these benchmarks pinpoint how your sales and marketing teams can relocate the resources and reiterate their approach to generating maximum potential leads. It begins at the top of the funnel, no matter how insignificant that stage might seem. Unsatisfactory strategies or too many funnel stages also result in low conversion rates.

But how do we dictate what ‘good’ or ‘low’ or ‘successful’ conversion rates are?

Six Stages in the B2B SaaS funnel:

• Website Visitors
• Lead: A lead is a website visitor who may have shown interest in your offer and submitted their contact information.

If a prospect has signed up for a demo, continues visiting your websites, and has agreed to communicate with an executive, they are a qualified lead. Actions undertaken by the sales and marketing teams vary depending on the services or products offered.

• MQL: MQL is a Marketing Qualified Lead who is the lead interested in your services but may or may not have purchasing intent.
• SQL: SQL is a Sales Qualified Lead interested in your services and has purchase intent.
• Opportunity: An opportunity is a lead on the way to closing the offer and has a contract secured in hand.

In the SaaS landscape, this stage is also known as PQL or Product Qualified Lead, where the prospect has signed up for a trial or demo period of your services and attained value.

• Closed: This could end in closing the offer however, it is not always a win. The sales team could also end up losing the deal.

The last few stages differ broadly across industries. For the B2B SaaS industry, qualified leads convert to product-qualified leads and then lastly to paying users.

Now, that we have a straightforward understanding of the B2B SaaS funnel stages, we explore B2B SaaS funnel conversion benchmarks.

Top B2B SaaS Funnel Conversion Benchmarks

As mentioned previously, your business must track their conversion rates i.e., to quantify their marketing efforts and if they are harvesting any results (Your CMO wants numbers!). The higher numbers that marketing brings in, the more credible their efforts become for the business.

Overall, the steps or stages in the sales funnel are highly dependent on industry type and size, marketing and sales strategy, trial type, and the engagement model.

We understand how crucial conversion rates and numbers are to establish our profitability, but how do we know these numbers are good?

This is where B2B SaaS benchmarks enter the chat.

These benchmarks make it crucial to tap into the performance and efficiency of the conversion stages in the SaaS funnel. Here, we dive into the significant benchmarks that drive successful conversion rates:

Website visitors to Lead Conversion Rate Benchmark

The metrics measure how many website visitors convert into qualified leads in a specific period. For this stage of the funnel, which is its entry point, the conversion rate benchmark for SaaS industries falls at a rough average of 7%, according to Capterra. This is considered the free trial conversion rate – the percentage of prospects who visit the business website and sign up for a free trial.

This depends on the company size as well as the model. For example, free trial models have a conversion rate of 25% whereas for freemium models, it is approximately between 1 to 10%.

B2B SaaS conversion rates differ along with the channels. The SaaS conversion rate depends on the competitor’s sales channels and engagement model.

Free Trial to PQL Conversion Rate Benchmark

This funnel stage illustrates the percentage of previous users who have interacted and engaged with the free trial services and also draws value from the same. In a more general sense, it also signifies the MQL to SQL conversion rate benchmark.

Diverse businesses use freemium models to collect the lead’s data and enable the sales team to chase them down. The average free trial conversion rate benchmark is 1-10% as mentioned above.

Under freemium, we can find a classification of conversion rate benchmarks – those who used credit cards and those who didn’t.

For a free trial to PQL using credit cards, the conversion rate benchmark is approx. 50%, states Tatango.

Meanwhile, for those who didn’t use credit cards, the conversion rate is nearly 25% based on a survey report published by Softletter. This decrease in conversion rate in this scenario helps provide insight into the user behavior due to friction in payment.

PQL to Paid Customer Conversion Rate Benchmark

While statistics show that not a high percentage of MQLs convert to SQLs, PQLs have showcased a 20-40% conversion rate into paid customers. The benchmark provides insight into the percentage of PQLs the sales team helps convert to paid customers.

Gainsight’s Product-Led Growth Index states that compared to a 9% median conversion rate from free to paid accounts, we can witness a growth in conversion rates for free trials using PQLs – a 2.8x conversion rate.

Marketing efforts of your time nurture and qualify leads, but by identifying PQLs, you gauge the product ROI and negotiate the sales contract. Here, personalized outreach goes a long way.

Benchmarking your performance will outline where our closest competitors beating us and how, says Gartner.

The benchmarks provide an in-depth insight into quantitative data i.e., sales funnel metrics or KPIs. It illustrates simple facts regarding your average conversion rate compared to your competitors and how your buyers and clients measure against them. And most importantly – the fractures in your sales funnel.

By correlating your quantitative data against the benchmark, you can map the future course of your marketing and sales strategies. Additionally, you can modify your landing pages, CTAs, content produced, and lead nurturing techniques to improve the SaaS funnel.

When you adapt strategies that work for your competitors i.e., what they are doing differently along with the channels they are utilizing, you comprehend your weaknesses and pain points.

However, benchmarking your efforts and processes is only half the concern. The B2B SaaS marketing benchmarks will allow you to skillfully strategize how to boost your conversion rates up to industry standards. You begin to work towards securing the whole when you understand the lack.

Are you ready to secure the leaks in your sales funnel and scale up your conversion potential?

B2B marketers are on a quest to expand their customer base and sustain brand value. Find out how white label SaaS can help you streamline this journey.

In the dynamic world of business, white label SaaS platforms are perfect for brands that want to sell software but lack resources. According to a survey by Statista, 75% of web and cloud-based businesses use white label solutions.

They are a good choice for businesses looking to expand their service portfolios without internal development. When you buy software rather than build it from scratch, you can save time, resources, and money while accelerating your business growth. It helps you deliver tailored experiences to your customers. Businesses like yours can leverage white label SaaS services, rebrand, reprice, and sell them under your banner.  

Top 3 Benefits of White Label SaaS

These software solutions present various opportunities that can help boost your brand reputation and accelerate the ROI cycle. White labeled tools make it easier to integrate a software solution without building it from scratch.

Speed-to-Market:

You can enter the market faster while cutting out on the long duration of building software from scratch.

Cost-Effective:

Developing software solutions can be an expensive process involving large amounts of resources. This white label SaaS solution offers a cost-effective alternative. The only expense from your end is the licensing fee. 

Brand Visibility:

You can utilize a product built by experts to enhance your brand presence without the stress of hiring a development team.

Types of products that can be white labeled

Social media management software

White labeling this software helps to seamlessly manage, post, and respond to social media interactions. A white-label social media platform allows you to brand systems that are already functioning rather than building them.

Mobile applications

When white labeled, mobile apps allow multiple brands to use the same function under their brand name. This explains why there could be many apps in the market for a single function like payments linked to business websites, for instance.

SEO and SEM management software

When SEO services are resellable, their popularity can increase multi-fold because you may not have the resources to figure out how to implement SEO effectively. White label services for this application allow you to provide SEO solutions to your client network even when you are crunched with time.

Email marketing software

Email marketing is a keystone tool for any B2B brand. The ability to track email campaigns is the need of the hour. With white label software as a service, you can add your branding to the software, generating customized dashboards. The selling point here is the ability to personalize the solution conveying your brand’s voice.

Marketing Automation Tools

Marketing strategy is like an endless loop, requiring tweaks periodically to cater to your target audience and accomplish the goals. There are many components involved in a marketing plan and if not managed well, the entire system can become imbalanced. That’s where marketing automation tools come in handy. You can automate daily tasks, and view comprehensive analytics. And with white-label products in marketing automation, you don’t have to stress about building them. They can seamlessly streamline your overall marketing efforts.

CRM software 

CRM has become an integral component of businesses with a medium to high customer base. A good CRM software can propel your business to great heights. As per a statistical report, by 2025, revenues from CRM systems are estimated to reach $80 billion! Brands can make the most of this high demand with a white label SaaS CRM Software. White label CRM comprises collaborative models, where software developers and experts develop applications to help other companies navigate the competitive market. This makes the tool available to users to organize contact information and build strong client relationships.

5 Best White Label SaaS Platforms

We have prepared a list of top white label solutions for you to choose from:

ActiveCampaign for marketing automation

(Source: ActiveCampaign)

With ActiveCampaign’s automation services, you can track your engagement analytics and performance reporting. What’s more— it allows you to derive data from multiple sources, automating your marketing. You can sell this software service under your brand banner or customize its features to match your business goals. Alternatively, you can utilize the white label tools for all enterprise-level accounts and small businesses.

AuthorityLabs for SEO

(Source: AuthorityLabs)

If you are looking for a white label analytics tool that can provide remarkable SEO-based services, then AuthorityLabs is your choice. This platform greatly simplifies monitoring of the SEO performance of campaigns by integrating relevant keywords with high search volume and organic keywords and automating local and mobile ranks to collect daily reports. AuthorityLabs allows you to track the performance of your SEO campaigns with their white-label services. It offers a highlighting feature for customizing the reports to align with the solutions your prospects seek.

SocialPilot for social media marketing

(Source: SocialPilot)

SocialPilot helps you to stay on top of everything that happens online. This white label SaaS platform can be your go-to for staying ahead on social networking. You can amplify your customer reach multi-fold through its unique features, such as social media scheduling, publishing, and analytics. What makes it stand out is the flexibility it offers to use these services under your banner.

SalesPype for CRM automation

(Source: SalesPype)

This platform is a good fit for your business if you want to manage client relationships efficiently. What makes it a viable choice is its white label program for marketing agents, consultants, and enterprise clients who intend to resell their CRM and increase their revenue returns.

Simvoly for building websites and funnels

(Source: Simvoly)

Simvoly is your best bet if you are seeking a white label SaaS tool for building websites and funnels. You can experience these two benefits together in a single platform. In this way, it helps you rapidly expand your business in no time. 

Wrapping up

White label SaaS platforms are a doorway to expanding your brand presence and getting more recurring revenue. You can purchase solutions that will enhance the performance efficiency of your business while conveying the brand voice. When you opt for this technology, you deliver innovative software services under your brand banner. Whether you are starting up or already have an established brand image, these tools can bring you great benefits if you know which platform is best suited for your business. The list of best white label SaaS tools we have shared here will make it easier for you to select the ideal platform.

If you’re investing more time in technology than it’s freeing up for you- is it an investment or a mere liability?

We’ve all had our fair share of experiences with complicated technologies that make most of us want to pull our hair out. It’s frustrating, to say the least.

We’ve also had experiences that are the polar opposite- they make life easy. These platforms and technologies are smooth and intuitive. You get what you need without racking your brains too hard.

Simplicity wins in the digital world. Your customers want seamless experiences with the products and services they interact with; brands that provide ease and convenience with a solid backbone of technology will continue to leapfrog their counterparts that don’t. Because complicated doesn’t always mean intelligent.

The stacks

If your tech stack is causing your team more problems than it solves, you might be going about building it all wrong. Tech leaders must bring transparency at all levels to break down organizational silos and ensure no team or department is sitting on data it doesn’t share across the business.

If you want to keep your customer, keep it simple- the entire customer experience with tech, processes, and people.

There’s a massive opportunity in simplifying your tech stack. Start with not building any process in isolation- bring it all together. As leaders, it’s imperative to gauge how the dots connect. Ask your team some crucial questions related to the tech stack- which technology acquisition made sense and which didn’t in terms of usage, training, and ROI. Prioritize the processes you want to automate first without jumping on the bandwagon.

Not every fad becomes a trend, and not every product is worth your investment.

What’s it getting you

Every business unit will face complications, but it’s the difference between complicated and byzantine that matters. If you’re investing more time in technology than it’s freeing up for you- is it an investment or a mere liability?

Have a customer-centric mindset when you buy, manage, or scrap technologies. What makes the end goal easier? New technologies keep emerging in the market with added features; this has also led to tech leaders choosing the best-of-the-breed approach rather than relying on a single vendor.

Modern organizations need specialized, more focused solutions that align with the overall business objectives.

Tech complexity has implications on team composition too. The kind of tools we need and build today rely on different skill sets and constant collaboration; cross-functional teams are the new competitive advantage.

The Editor’s Note

The tech industry works on the premise of adaptive learning, but it’s crucial to gauge the value of technology before you decide to invest in it. Each technology adoption comes with opportunities and risks, and it’s up to the leader to weigh the pros and cons to interpret what makes the most sense for the business requisites and customer satisfaction.

It’s time tech leaders manage change with a result-driven approach because technical debt doesn’t look good on anyone.