What is SaaS?
SAAS stands for Software as a Service, which allows users to access their products via the internet rather than downloading and installing them on their computers.
SaaS is a cloud-based service. Therefore, the infrastructure and hardware are prebuilt into the SaaS offering, so you don't have to worry about installing software on-premise; all you need is an internet connection, and boom, you can access it virtually anywhere.
In general, Software as a service providers offer subscription-based services to a customer base that pays a monthly or annual fee.
Moreover, SaaS includes an ongoing service. Therefore, this software delivered as a service usually has continuous support and access to updates.
According to the Global Software as a Service (SaaS) Market 2021-2025 report, the SaaS market is expected to grow by $99.99 billion over five years between 2021 and 2025.
This growth will primarily be driven by the growing demand for cloud-based solutions among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
A major part of this growth can be attributed to the recovery measures that organizations adopted to combat the effects of the Coronavirus crisis, which included reorienting their business models and traditional practices toward cloud-based solutions.
What is B2B SaaS?
Now that you have a general idea about what is “SaaS” product, you are better prepared to understand B2B SaaS.
B2B stands for "Business-To-Business" and is a term used for companies that sell their products/services like apps, extensions, or add-ons to other businesses.
B2B SaaS products are cloud-based tools designed to assist businesses in operating more efficiently and effectively through highly automated technology.
Basically, a B2B SaaS provider creates, updates, and renders applications from a hub, accessed online by organizations via the "cloud", a network of servers provided by the company.
A few remarkable B2B SaaS companies have emerged in recent years; among them, Google, Microsoft, Shopify, and Slack are well-known solutions that you may have heard of or used.
Now, let's take a look at some of the key advantages of SaaS tools and review the top 10 B2B SaaS companies to get a sense of how they work and why they are so successful.
What are the Benefits of Using SaaS Solutions?
It's Super Cost-Effective 🪙
In the past, companies had to pay high license fees in order to purchase on-premise software installations.
This was particularly challenging for small and mid-sized companies with a little spending budgets.
However, with the rise of cloud computing systems, you can pay for your service as you go.
Businesses often find SaaS business products more cost-effective and practical since subscription-based software involves less financial risk than buying expensive software upfront.
You Can Easily Access It 📱
Easy access is one of the most significant benefits of SaaS applications. You only need an internet connection, and you never need to install an operating system.
Customers can usually access up-to-date, functional applications by simply connecting to the internet and opening and signing into them.
This instant, easy access saves time and effort and eliminates the need for the client to have IT expertise.
Gives You Flexible Payment Plans 💸
Flexibility is a vital detail in business, and according to SaaS statistics, 37% of companies use it to improve their performance.
The SaaS model allows customers to only pay for the product as they use it, providing them with significant flexibility.
Moreover, some companies can offer customized payment plans with different tiers for clients of different sizes and financial circumstances.
Provides Continuous Updates 🔁
With the SaaS model, the software can be continuously updated as these updates are handled by the provider.
Almost all the SaaS companies drop a new update and upgrade versions of their products every six or 12 months, or even every week, to make sure the product remains relevant to current user needs.
Your Data is Secured 🔐
You can easily back up and store your data with the SaaS model on the Internet and access it from different computers. Advances in cloud technology provide high-quality data security solutions to clients, involving tools such as multi-factor authentication and anti-phishing programs.
It Gives You Opportunities to Scale Your Business 💡
Taking advantage of the flexibility and different aspects that SaaS products provide will open up more possibilities for your business to scale and manage increased demands.
As far as scalability goes, SaaS tools have an advantage since they are more adaptable to the changing needs or demands of the customers.
Essential B2B SaaS KPIs to Follow
If you're a business owner or executive, chances are you're constantly juggling a myriad of different metrics—and perhaps not all of them are as important as you might think.
It's actually only a handful of key SaaS metrics that you truly need to focus on in order to grow your business and measure your profitability.
Here are some of the most essential SaaS growth metrics that you should measure as part of your KPIs. Measuring these metrics is relatively easy and should be considered as part of your organization's overall strategy for improving its performance over time:
✅ Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)
Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) is the total cost of acquiring a customer via marketing and advertisement efforts.
Simply put, CAC calculates the amount of money your business invests in acquiring new clients.
For most SaaS companies, their most significant expense is the cost of acquiring a new customer.
An excellent way to reduce this expense is by channeling your resources and efforts into marketing channels with the highest return on ad spend (ROAS).
✅ Customer Lifetime Value (CLV)
Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) is the total sales earned by a company from an average customer over the entire period of their relationship with the company.
The CLV is typically used by B2B SaaS businesses to decide if they should retain, grow, or dispose of prospects.
When a customer has a high CLV, they are more likely to be retained and offered additional premium products and services.
✅ Churn Rates
Churn rate is another important metric in B2B SaaS that helps you determine how many customers are leaving your business.
The churn rate refers to the number of customers who cancel their subscriptions and quit using a vendor's services.
In the SaaS business, customer churn rates are very important since they indicate how well the company retains its customers over time.
Several measures can be taken to lower your churn rate, such as focusing on customer loyalty programs, asking for their feedback, and offering discounts.
In any case, the more you know about your customer, the better you'll be able to match their needs and expectations, and popups are one of the most effective options to do so.
Popups are one of the best ways to increase your conversion rate and retain your churned customers.
Using a user-friendly popup builder like Popupsmart is a good solution to win back your churned customers, grow your email list, and boost sales and conversions.
Popupsmart is also a great B2B SaaS tool offering a no-code popup builder that allows you to create user-friendly email pop-ups with lead capture forms and generate high-quality leads.
You can capture your leads attention with a compelling CTA, and prevent them from navigating away by offering them a coupon or a special offer.
Using Popupsmart, you'll have access to a variety of ready-made templates, dozens of design options, and multiple types of popups for your website, including:
- Lightbox popups
- Floating bars
- Full-screen popups
- Slide-ins
- Gamification popups
- Video popups
Best B2B SaaS Companies to Keep Your Eyes On in 2024
Now to give you a better idea of B2B SaaS businesses, below is a list of the ten most successful SaaS companies according to users' reviews, online sources, and social networks.
Moreover, we should point out that our list follows no particular order.
1. Google
Google is undoubtedly one of the most famous SaaS platforms offering its users many services, including document creation, advertising, website analytics, spreadsheets, email, file storage, and time management through its calendar application. 🎯
The number of products focused on Internet-related services owned by this large SaaS company goes up to 137, and you can use most of them for free just with a Google account.
However, enterprises often upgrade their accounts and pay a fee to access additional features, such as 24/7 customer support or unlimited cloud storage.
G2 Rating of Google: ⭐ 4.7/5
2. Shopify
Shopify is one of the best ecommerce content management systems and online e-store builders that provides sales, hosting, shopping cart, and storefront and allows anyone to set up, run and manage an online store.
The Shopify fees feature a tiered pricing structure, which, like any SaaS pricing plan, allows merchants to choose which is appropriate for their business at the time.
G2 Rating of Shopify: ⭐ 4.3/5
3. BigCommerce
BigCommerce is also another leading open B2C & B2B SaaS ecommerce platform for mid-market and enterprise brands.
The BigCommerce platform offers business-to-business and business-to-customer options and gives customers access to different catalogs and price lists based on their needs. As a result, you can have a unified solution that addresses both B2B and B2C.
You can also use BigCommerce as one of the Shopify alternatives that offers an all-in-one solution for managing your inventory, order processing, payments, and fulfillment.
G2 Rating of BigCommerce: ⭐ 4.2/5
4. Slack
Slack is a well-known service used as a collaboration and chats tool for businesses, offering multiple features like video conferencing, AI bots, and messages.
Using this communication software for your organization allows each employee to access the company information at any time.
The freemium model of Slack delivers value right from the start by solving some key communication problems for teams. Additionally, by switching to the premium model, teams can gain more value and access to more advanced features.
G2 Rating of Slack: ⭐ 4.5/5
5. MailChimp
Mailchimp is one of the best email marketing tools that allows you to send newsletters, manage mailing lists, and create email campaigns.
Using this software, businesses can create automated marketing campaigns and send transactional emails and regular newsletters while segmenting their customer email lists for more refined marketing efforts.
G2 Rating of Mailchimp: ⭐ 4.3/5
6. HubSpot
HubSpot is a cloud-based inbound marketing and sales platform that helps businesses capture leads, manage customer relationships, and nurture prospects.
It's used by companies of all sizes to increase their customer base, convert sales leads and manage advertisements.
With HubSpot's advanced tools, businesses can also improve their web analytics, content management, and SEO.
G2 Rating of Hubspot: ⭐ 4.4/5
7. Microsoft
Microsoft is one of the largest software companies in the world, offering cloud services to its customers.
The company has over 100 B2B products, including computer software, online chat, video meetings, and file management.
Such tools include Office 365 and Azure, in combination with value-added services either directly or indirectly through partners.
G2 Rating of Microsoft: ⭐ 4.3/5
8. Dropbox
Dropbox is another known cloud storage service that companies can use to store files and access them across different devices as needed.
Using Dropbox links, you can share files with others, whether personally or professionally. The tool is perfect for business professionals who wish to keep their data safe, but also need it to be accessed from anywhere.
Dropbox provides up to 2 gigabytes of free storage space. There are also paid plans that give you up to a terabyte of space for $19.99 a month or $9.99 a year if you pay annually.
G2 Rating of Dropbox: ⭐ 4.4/5
9. Zendesk
Zendesk is the leading customer relationship management software that helps businesses provide customer service, engage with customers and set up automated responses based on common questions and concerns through the software.
Zendesk helps you create a more personal experience with your customers by providing them with an easy way to reach out for help.
G2 Rating of Zendesk: ⭐ 4.3/5
10. SurveyMonkey
SurveyMonkey is one of the most popular customer feedback tools for websites that provides the web-based survey for businesses of all sizes.
Its categories range from Survey, Online Form Builder, and Enterprise Feedback Management to Market Research Services.
Using the survey, you can analyze and represent data while identifying your Net Promoter Score, customer experience, and tracking trends in customer loyalty programs.
G2 Rating of SurveyMonkey: ⭐ 4.4/5
Frequently Asked Questions
Who Needs B2B SaaS Services?
B2B SaaS is a valuable service, particularly for small and medium-sized businesses, as it allows them access to expensive software with an affordable pricing plan that would otherwise have been unavailable to them through conventional means.
What is B2C SaaS?
As opposed to B2B SaaS, a B2C SaaS provides software as a service designed specifically for customers. Just like any other SaaS products B2C users also can access and use the software from anywhere in the world via the internet. For example many of the applications you use on your phone, like Amazon or Doulingo are B2C SaaS.
As a Final Note...
Now that you know why the B2B SaaS industry is growing so rapidly and how it can benefit your business, what are your next steps?
Don't miss out on this exciting opportunity by ignoring upcoming trends like automation, software integrations, and Big Data.
Try to keep yourself updated about these incredible sales channel that can improve your lead generation automation process, expand your market reach, and help you reach out to new customers.
We hope our article has piqued your interest in learning the basics of the B2B SaaS concept and what top companies are leading the way in this market.
Pay close attention to the benefits and KPIs we mentioned above, and make sure you stay current on which companies are applying them to their services.
Each of the B2B SaaS companies we have listed will provide users with a seamless and intuitive experience, plenty of features, and customizable products.
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