RB2B reposted this
Customer Acquisition Costs are about to explode. Here's why the next great $1B Unicorn Startups will compete and differentiate on CAC not Product (and the 2 GTM strategies that will generate billions in revenue): BACKGROUND As the pace of AI-based product development picks up, the price of building apps decreases, and the number of market substitutes will increase, driving CAC to unthinkable levels. The fastest growing SaaS companies will use Partnerships and LinkedIn Influencer Marketing to lower CAC and cut through the noise. Here's a breakdown: 1. Partnerships As new business dries up and all business shifts to competitive displacements - lead sharing and account intel sharing will become rampant. Partnership is the most exciting and underlooked jobs of the future It's one of the last non-linear growth opportunities still left unharvested That's why companies that get partnership right will grow faster. We will see companies decide who in their user stack to automatically share their leads with that are not directly competitive to each other through a platform like Crossbeam We will see the rise of automated systems where you select a few vendors from a tech stack and a demo video with pricing and packaging can be generated in real time along with a provisioned license of an instance with just those 4 tools integrated with automated APIs We will see AI systems where you punch in a prospect and the system will spit out the different ways to approach the prospect via joint solutions with 5 different vendors. Along with best message to pitch and the least friction point for the prospect to enable them to displace other vendors. 2. Linkedin Influencer Marketing Attracting audience to listen to your pitch will become a much larger business than it is now. In B2C, influencers are not only creating demand but also fulfilling demand in the same session while providing entertainment. B2B will follow suit. We will see Influencers combining entertainment and education in the same session all designed to drive demand and instant signups. Top 1% of the sales reps, Marketers, Recruiters, Vendors, Engineers will all be influencers Right now influencers get measured on content engagement. As it becomes easier to measure actual units of demand created (not likes or comments) the way these Influencers are measured and incentivized will also undergo a change making their approach more strategic. Today's successful B2B influencers are sharing tactical best practices on Linkedin to get traction. Popular Linkedin Influencers of the future will do a lot more research on content and audience in collaboration with Product marketing folks. They will craft a strategic narrative to connect with the audience to build intense demand for the solutions they are promoting. That's how I see it anyway. What do you think?
The rise of AI in product development is set to increase market competition and elevate Customer Acquisition Costs (CAC). Consequently, partnerships and LinkedIn influencer marketing will be vital for startups to remain competitive. A more nuanced approach to influencer marketing will involve deeper collaboration between influencers and product marketing teams. This collaboration will result in well-crafted narratives that cater specifically to target audiences, driving more precise and impactful demand generation. Additionally, automated partnership solutions may become mainstream, allowing companies to share leads and prospect data seamlessly within non-competing ecosystems. Looking ahead, the integration of advanced AI in marketing strategies should be balanced with the need for genuine human connections to cut through the noise effectively.
Partnerahip here is: group of vendors come together and present their products on the shelf as a store so buyers pick and bundle tools they need ?
Santosh Sharan - insightful as always. For me and rest of the team at SETTL, we have two key takeaways: 1. Partnerships and ecosystems as the next growth strategy for almost any organisation (us included) driving B2B2X multiples. 2. This drives complexity and increase in CAC costs which does not end with customer acquisition - there is an operational aspect to it as well. This is where automating #PartnerRevOps becomes a critical element to this equation.
Thank you for sharing these insights. I completely agree that the convergence of AI and automation in sales processes, alongside the rise of LinkedIn influencer marketing, presents a transformative shift in how businesses will operate and compete. The potential for streamlined, data-driven lead sharing through platforms like Crossbeam and the strategic utilization of influencers to drive demand underscores the importance of innovative marketing strategies. Your emphasis on partnerships as a critical growth opportunity is particularly insightful, highlighting a key area for businesses to explore in reducing CAC and achieving scalable growth. I look forward to seeing how these trends will shape the future landscape.How do you envision the role of AI evolving in the context of partnerships and lead sharing? What metrics do you believe will become most important in measuring the success of LinkedIn influencers in B2B marketing? How can businesses best prepare to integrate these new strategies into their existing marketing frameworks?
So, is this post part of a Crossbeam barter? ;)
This is already underway, Crossbeam is an example. I look forward and hope to contribute to the arrival of the educational/etertaining influencers on LinkedIn. Zack Scriven this process will add value to the customer. Just as the brands will deploy these tactics to wade through the noise to have their voices heard, customers will also deploy to control the volume & remove the distortion of their preferred channels of information.
Influencers? Oh boy. Good luck to everyone reading this. May God have mercy on your souls taking certain parts of this advice.
I actively co sell with 3 partners within the stack. The business relationship is built on trust because receproity is a must. Pros are lower CAC, better deal volicity and higher tickets. Cons are more complex implementation & CS motions. One vendor is going to client facing and the rest have to sit behind them. Great post Santosh Sharan on a trial of RB2B atm and so far so good
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1moI can see this playing out. AI is really boosting our productivity. I can see more niche type SaaS products, so it could just increase the number of products and take market share for the one size fits all products. For example instead of using HubSpot, maybe a dog groomer uses a CRM built just for dog groomers who are self employed. The team behind this CRM consist of two people, so they can serve a smaller niche market and still make money.