The United States dominates the global SaaS market, with revenues and number of players multiples higher than any other nation. As of 2022, North America represents 44% of the $261bn global SaaS market per reports. 

Non-US players looking to enter the US market will face unique challenges and need a strategic plan to succeed. A B2B SaaS Go-to-Market (“GTM”) strategy that specifically addresses the US market will help companies overcome steep competition and tap the growth potential of the world’s largest SaaS market by revenue. 

At Efficient Capital Labs, we know entering a foreign market can be daunting, but we are here to help. We wrote this guide to educate and assist founders in constructing an effective GTM strategy for the US. 

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What is a B2B SaaS Go-to-Market Strategy?

A B2B SaaS Go-to-Market strategy is a plan that helps a B2B (a business selling to other business) company bring a new SaaS product (software-as-a-service) to market. It includes a few key components, including defining a target market, value proposition, pricing strategy, and distribution plan. 

B2B SaaS GTM Strategy vs B2B SaaS Marketing Strategy

B2B SaaS Go-to-market strategies encompass a broader plan to bring a new product to market. B2B SaaS Marketing strategies are more narrow, focusing specifically on generating awareness and leads, and promoting the product through various marketing channels. 

Think of a car wash business; the yellow billboard on the side of the road represents the marketing strategy, while the $20-per-wash facility located in a high-traffic intersection is the GTM strategy. The two are interconnected and essential for the overall success of a business.

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Why Do You Need a B2B SaaS Go-to-market Strategy? 

A B2B SaaS GTM strategy is crucial for the successful launch & growth of a new product. It ensures the software is built for its target market, provides value and is in demand for its customers, is well-priced to maximize subscription volume against company revenue, and can be distributed easily. 

Let’s explore some key objectives delivered by a quality GTM strategy.  

Maps Out Customer Touchpoints

A customer touchpoint map outlines each way a customer interacts with a software product across its lifecycle. This generally includes awareness, interest, adoption, implementation, and renewal. 

Defining each interaction stage is crucial to ensure your software is seen, selected, used, and renewed by satisfied customers. 

Easier to Achieve Product-Market Fit

A quality GTM strategy includes defining a target market and value proposition for a product. This makes finding product-market fit easier in that it ensures there is an existing customer base who will find the product valuable. 

A great product that solves a problem no one has will be challenging to sell; a product that solves a problem everyone has but is slower and more expensive than competing products will lose out. 

In an interview published by McKinsey & Company, founding member of Skype’s management team James Bilefield notes that one of the most common mistakes in scaling a startup is “scaling too fast before achieving a proper product market fit.”‍

A thoughtful GTM strategy which defines a clear value proposition eliminates these product market fit pain points.

Standing Out From the Competition

The B2B SaaS market in the United States is highly competitive; there is an ample stream of capital backing innovative startups looking to make their mark. A successful GTM strategy enables a business to stand out from their competition and drive sales to their product. 

Carving out a “right-size” market means balancing a focused offering that is distinct from competitors, while also ensuring it is not too narrow that the end market is too small. 

Clearly defining your offering and market additionally allows the business to establish reasonable revenue expectations based on expected penetration of the addressable market.

Supports Sales & Marketing Alignment 

Sales & marketing alignment refers to the advertised features of a product being consistent with the features promised to a customer during a direct sale process. This is conceptually similar to the sales expectations concept, whereby it is important to align the messaging of the marketing & sales teams to the customer. 

GTM strategies should clearly define the value proposition of a product and the marketing and sales messaging will key off the same information. This ensures consistent messaging within the organization and to the customer. 

Find Scalable & Sustainable Processes

The last element of a GTM strategy is the distribution plan. Once customers have elected to purchase software, how will it be delivered and implemented in their business? A GTM strategy is aligned top-to-bottom from design to delivery of the product. 

The strategy should consider repeated processes and ensure they can be scaled and sustainably executed. This improves efficiency in the organization and sets it up for growth.  

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Why Do You Need a B2B Saas Go-to-market Strategy for the US Specifically 

For SaaS businesses based outside of the US, it is important to have a GTM strategy focused on your US launch–especially because it’s by far the largest market in SaaS by revenue. In their 2023 report, research firm Grand View Research notes that as of 2022, North America represents 44% of the $261bn global SaaS market. 

Although North America dominates the space currently, other geographic regions are seeing rapid growth and should gain share in the coming decade. 

Brazil is an emerging player in the space; SaaS revenue in the country is expected to grow at a 13.5% CAGR from 2024-2028, resulting in 2028 revenues at ~$4bn per Statista. 

India is a growing powerhouse in the global SaaS market. Bessemer Venture Partners notes that Indian firms commanded $13bn of annual recurring revenue (“ARR”) in 2022 and are projected to grow to $50bn by 2030. 

However, the US market is a key driver of revenue and growth for many non-US SaaS firms, who on average earn 75-80% of revenue from the US market. Addressing the US market with a tailored GTM strategy can be key for growth.

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B2B SaaS GTM Strategy Example

Slack is a cloud-based team communications software platform and their growth story offers a wonderful case study for a successful GTM strategy. In an interview with The Review, Slack founder Stewart Butterfield discusses the company’s growth and GTM strategy. 

Slack set out with a mission in 2012 to “make work-life simpler, more pleasant and more productive.” Tired of the long threads of confusing email chains which office workers were all too familiar with, Slack found their target market in the group company communication space. 

Slack was rigorous with soliciting and incorporating customer feedback throughout their development process so they could define a truly unique value prop. They tested the product with small teams and advanced to new testing rounds with larger teams, iterating with feedback received from each larger team. 

Butterfield describes this process: “The pattern was to share Slack with progressively larger groups. We would say, ‘Oh, that great idea isn’t so great after all.' We amplified the feedback we got at each stage by adding more teams."‍

Through this process they learned the features that made their product unique and function smoothly with large team sizes. By focusing on these defining features, they differentiated their product and established a clear use case to their customers. 

Users loved the product and took to social media to show their appreciation. Tweets like: 

“Dear @SlackHQ, I love you. Yours, Dan”

“@SlackHQ YOU COMPLETE ME”

Began popping up organically, driving conversation and interest in the product. 

This word-of-mouth marketing sparked explosive growth for Slack. They recognized and amplified the feedback they got. Furthermore, they sought to capitalize using their pricing strategy of offering a freemium product. 

Prospective users saw the discussion and wanted to get in on the action; the freemium allowed a low-hurdle entry point. User growth was parabolic and the company was able to convert freemium users to the paid product. 

This GTM approach allowed Slack to be one of the fastest growing SaaS companies in history. After its humble beginnings in 2012, Slack reached 500,000 daily active users (“DAUs”) by February 2015, and reached the 3 million DAU mark by 2018. 

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How are B2B SaaS Go-to-market Strategies Different From Standard GTM Strategies? 

GTM strategies for a B2B SaaS business are a bit more complex than those for simple consumer products such as shoes or bicycles. The customer is a business vs. an individual, the product is software that requires implementation and training, and the pricing is subscription-based vs. a one-time sale. 

GTM strategies need to address these complexities throughout the customer journey.

You’re Marketing to Companies

Selling to a company is a more involved process than selling to an individual. Companies have multiple decision-makers, organizational layers, and IT professionals who need to be satisfied. 

There are a few specific challenges in B2B sales that need to be addressed: 

• Longer sales cycles: Relative to a B2C, sales cycles in B2B are longer and take additional steps. Sales cycles in B2B can range from a few weeks to a few months or more. Larger organizations will have more layers of management and committees to approve spend.
• Decision maker identification: In B2B sales there is often a key decision maker driving choices for the organization or serving as the driving force in a committee. It is necessary to identify this person and focus relationship-building efforts in order to move the sale process along.
• Price negotiation: In B2C sales, businesses are generally price-setters (think: Nike selling a pair of sneakers for $100). However, in B2B software sales the product use case, contract length, organization size, etc. all come into play to make the pricing structures more tailored. Under this framework, there’s often a price negotiation process in both the initial sale and subsequent renewal discussions. This requires more thorough pricing frameworks and strategy to secure and retain customers. 

Overall, the additional complexities in B2B require a more thorough target market definition and value proposition for your software. It additionally requires your marketing and sales messaging to be consistent across folks in the organization being sold to. 

Your Product is a Software 

In addition to complexity on the customer side, software products are differentiated from consumer products given their more complicated use cases, implementation processes, and training requirements for users. 

Cold Sales Outreach is Possible 

In general, marketing for consumer products relies on customers being interested in a product and then finding the product through their own research. Although B2C and D2C sales do include outbound marketing such as sponsorships, billboards, and traditional media advertisements, it does not include outbound cold sales: Nike sales reps don’t call your cell phone and try to sell you a pair of shoes. 

SaaS, on the other hand, can leverage outbound sales and marketing, where the software provider can proactively reach out to businesses and see if there might be a need for their product. 

This might involve a sales team identifying businesses in their area and calling decision-makers directly to build a relationship and explore a sale process for their product. This is a more involved process and relies on educational content, utilizing business-focused pricing models, and emphasizing long-term relationships. 

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How to Build an Effective Go-to-market Strategy for B2B SaaS Companies in the US

An effective GTM strategy includes four key components: defining a target market, value proposition, pricing strategy, and distribution plan. As we have explored, a quality GTM strategy is crucial for B2B SaaS companies. Furthermore, addressing the US market specifically is a priority as it is by far the largest market in SaaS. 

Below we will explore important steps to building an effective GTM strategy for B2B SaaS companies in the US.

1. Know Your Target US Market

The US is the largest and most developed SaaS market globally. Given its sophistication and maturity relative to other geographies, it requires a high degree of strategy to find a competitive edge.

Define the market you wish to address and research it thoroughly. Even if you have already launched in other countries, as a SaaS founder, you’ll need to analyze the US market specifically. Know its ins and outs, competitors and their value proposition, customers and their needs. 

Additionally, the capital flowing into the space, maturity, and sophistication in the US mean that any business with a profitable niche will rapidly see competitors spin up and enter the space to harvest that profitability. This requires anticipation of competition and planning ahead.

2. Set Revenue Goals & Success Metrics

The next element will be to set revenue goals and success metrics. Outlining a clear picture of objectives will set the direction and growth trajectory for the business. This aligns different parts of the organization around the same goals. 

Proper incentives related to success metrics will encourage employee performance and work ethic toward goals.

3. Build Your US Team

SaaS businesses based outside the US looking to expand into the US market will need to establish their US team. This includes administrative items such as establishing a US entity, setting up cross-border payment capabilities, and procuring proper legal and accounting frameworks. 

It also includes hiring a local sales and marketing team to drive engagement and sales in the region. Entrepreneur Vinod Muthukrishnan shared that most SaaS founders from India have issues when making their first sales hires. 

They hire based on past performance exceeding quotas at late-stage firms–which are often not the right fit for a new startup. You’ll need teams who can thrive in a startup environment, full of individuals who are adaptable, tenacious, and passionate about problem solving. 

4. Set Up the Right Financing 

The next step is to decide on the financing structure for the US business. Founders will need to decide on the mix of financing instruments that are a good fit for their business and engage with lending partners to put these instruments in place.  

One option that works well for SaaS companies is Revenue-Based Financing (RBF). RBF allows you to receive cash upfront based on your annual recurring revenue. This means you can invest in growth–without diluting your equity. 

For example, Efficient Capital Labs offers non-dilutive financing to SaaS companies quickly and seamlessly. Businesses can receive funds within 3 days–powered by ECL’s own debt facility–with upfront capital of up to 65% of their projected revenue.

ECL is a trusted partner for many startups and holds particular expertise with cross-border companies, for example India-based businesses looking for non-dilutive funding as they expand into the US. 

‍Calculate your funding eligibility for the US market

5. Determine Your Value Proposition & Niche

Another component of an effective GTM strategy is to determine the value proposition for your software and the niche in which you seek to operate. The US market is deep and mature with over 17,000 SaaS businesses in operation according to a report from Fortune Business Insights.

Given its depth, determining a value proposition & niche are crucial to help your product stand out among the competition. You want to be the go-to solution for the problem in your niche market–rather than being an okay solution for lots of different problems. 

The Slack example discussed earlier is a great case study in determining value proposition. Through a series of tests, Slack identified that the differentiator in their product was efficiency in enterprise-level communication. That is, streamlining communication among large teams. By focusing their testing and product refinement efforts with increasingly large teams, they became the go-to product in the space and saw rapid adoption.

6. Create a Pricing Strategy

Creating a pricing strategy is key for growth and revenue generation in the SaaS space. Pricing can be thought of in two contexts: type and strategy. The three most common types are subscription, pay-per-use, and one-time purchase models. 

The decision around type will be more self-evident and based on the use case. Next is your pricing strategy, which is a more thoughtful decision that can have meaningful effects on growth rate and margins. 

Market comps: The first option would be to look at comparable services offered in your market, and price your software close to “market.” On the margin you can choose to price above or below if you wish to align with a “premium” or “utility” feel in your marketing and value proposition. 

Think about the big three US telecom providers. Verizon markets itself as the “premium” service, with slightly faster data speeds–and on average prices themselves marginally higher than AT&T and T-Mobile.

Market share: The next option on pricing would be to prioritize market share at all costs and come in well below competitor pricing. This can be an attractive option early on to gain share and increase prices once relationships are built. 

However, it can be challenging from a cash flow standpoint early on as you look to scale. This is the age-old strategy used by large US tech companies in the last decade. Think about the likes of Uber and Netflix, who offered their services well below cost to gain share and scale rapidly.

The Financial Times reports Uber recorded its first cash-flow positive quarter in 2022 after burning a staggering $25bn since being founded 13 years prior.

Cost-based: The final option for pricing is to determine the cost to produce your product and charge a slight markup to the cost to pay for business expenses. This approach tends to be a better fit for pay-per-use type models and not for subscriptions. 

This is because the beauty of a subscription-based SaaS business is the zero marginal cost of selling the Nth software subscription at scale. A cost-based strategy is a better fit for a pay-per-use pricing structure.  

However you choose your pricing, the main takeaway is to test multiple models per market. Rather than assuming that existing pricing will convert, you’ll often find that differentiated pricing optimized for each region's expectations will drive the highest adoption and revenue.

Pricing flexibility is critical when pursuing global product-market fit. Being adaptable and data-driven allows startups to maximize monetization throughout the world..

7. Choose Your Sales Channels

There are a few sales channels and methods to consider. Direct sales is led by a sales team and involves building relationships with prospects through phone, video calls, or in-person interactions. This approach represents the core sales strategy for many B2B SaaS businesses and employs energetic, personable, and intelligent individuals to build and maintain relationships with decision-makers at organizations. 

Online sales provide a convenient way for customers to purchase your software directly from your website or through e-commerce platforms. This channel ensures a seamless and efficient buying process, catering to customers who prefer self-service.

By strategically combining these channels, you can optimize your customer acquisition efforts, ensuring a well-rounded approach that caters to different preferences and needs in the B2B SaaS landscape.

One key point: B2B SaaS companies–especially startups–must need to tailor their sales approach to each stage of growth. In early phases, hands-on selling to close deals may be suitable. But as you scale, transitioning to self-serve models and product-led growth can allow you to reach more customers.

Remaining flexible and building the right team is critical to success in US markets.

8. Choose Your Marketing Channels

Similar to the sales channel concept, marketing channels are how customers become aware and interested in your product. Some marketing channels for SaaS companies to consider include content marketing, social media, and email marketing. 

Content marketing plays a pivotal role in attracting and educating your target audience. By creating valuable content such as blogs, webinars, and whitepapers, you can position your company as a thought leader in the industry, addressing pain points and building credibility.

Social media is a powerful platform for connecting with your audience, fostering engagement, and increasing brand visibility. Utilize platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter, and others to share insights and updates and engage in conversations relevant to your industry.

Email marketing remains a reliable channel for nurturing leads and maintaining communication with your audience. Through targeted email campaigns, you can provide valuable information, share product updates, and promote special offers to keep your audience engaged.

However, it’s important to understand the different usage patterns between the US and your current home base. This includes all your marketing techniques–how do Americans use social media?–as well as product UI and branding.

9. Create Your Revenue Team

Strong revenue is a key component for growth in a B2B SaaS business and includes the various teams who contribute to top-line revenue generation in the business. The sales, marketing, and product teams partner with each other as well as company functions such as operations, development, and finance to drive growth. 

Clearly defining revenue goals and product value propositions will ensure alignment within your revenue team and externally with clients.

10. Measure Results

As brilliant management theorist Peter Drucker once said “What gets measured, gets managed.” It’s crucial to establish metrics and methods to measure results in your organization. In management parlance, these are typically referred to as key progress indicators (“KPIs”) and are often tied to employee compensation to align individual and organizational objectives. 

Some key KPIs to be aware of are:

• Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR): Measures the predictable and recurring revenue generated from subscriptions on a monthly basis.
• Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR): Similar to MRR but calculated on an annual basis, providing a longer-term view of revenue stability.
• Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC): Calculates the average cost to acquire a new customer, considering sales and marketing expenses.
• Customer Lifetime Value (CLV or LTV): Estimates the total revenue a company can expect from a customer throughout their entire relationship.
• Churn Rate: Measures the percentage of customers who cancel or stop using the service over a specific period, indicating customer retention.
• Net Promoter Score (NPS): Assesses customer satisfaction and loyalty by measuring the likelihood of customers recommending the product.

11. Incorporate Customer Feedback

The final step in building an effective GTM strategy is to incorporate customer feedback. This is an iterative process and businesses should seek to listen to their customers throughout their journey with your company. This includes the phases discussed earlier; awareness, marketing, sales, product use, and (hopefully) subscription renewal. 

Engaging in regular dialogue with customers and incorporating their feedback has numerous benefits: increases customer satisfaction, ensures the product is cutting-edge, and proactively catches issues that may have been missed through the internal vetting process.

GTM strategies are critical for success in the B2B SaaS space and should be well-thought-out by management. 

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More About B2B SaaS Go-to-Market Strategies

Let’s cover a few more questions one may have regarding B2B SaaS strategies.

What is a vertical go-to-market strategy SaaS?

A vertical GTM strategy in SaaS refers to building the strategy to specifically address an industry sector such as healthcare, oil & gas, or finance. This can be taken steps further to sub-sectors and specific niches. Each component of the GTM strategy will be catered to the industry or “vertical” it seeks to serve. 

How do you promote B2B SaaS?

There are many strategies to promote B2B SaaS. An effective promotion strategy generates awareness and interest in your product. A few  ways to promote include content marketing, demos at events, webinars,  and email marketing.

How do you enter a market in SaaS?

Entering a market in SaaS can be a daunting task. In general, it involves a few steps including performing market research, understanding existing players, defining your value proposition within the existing market context, and understanding any regulatory requirements or barriers to entry.

An effective GTM strategy will serve as a roadmap for a business to enter a new market, generate value for its customers, and grow and succeed over time.

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Make Your B2B SaaS Go-to-Market Strategy a Success in the US

A successful B2B SaaS GTM strategy in the US must be well thought out and address the US market specifically, given its sophistication, maturity, and competitive landscape. There are many steps in developing a GTM strategy which will require consultation with experts. 

Setting up the right financing structure for your business is a key component of your GTM strategy. Smart funding can truly unlock global growth. For SaaS startups with international revenue traction, customizable and flexible financing allows you to invest in your future–without sacrificing equity control. 

Efficient Capital Labs are experts in this space and hold particular expertise with cross-border businesses looking to scale in the US market. With the right funding plan through ECL, your dreams for worldwide reach can become reality. 

‍Learn more about funding with ECL