If you’re in marketing for a SaaS company, you are in an exciting industry – one that is both booming and overflowing with competition. Tried and true tactics age out, identifying new trends can be hard to pin down. The role of the CMO is challenging and requires a unique strategic eye.
With the 2nd in our SaaS Spotlight series focusing on Marketing on May 19, we want to give you a taste of what to expect from our exciting speaker lineup. We sat down with one of our leading panelists, Genefa Murphy, CMO at Five9, to discuss some of the tactics she uses to stay ahead of the herd.
Look at behavioral science
Genefa earned her PhD researching the determinants of ‘User Acceptance of New Technology’ specifically in the airline industry with a focus on Self Service Technologies. Her research helps to better understand what “sociological, psychological and computer science factors can help with understanding what makes people adopt new technologies”. Genefa attributes this research as an advantage in further understanding “what’s going on in the market and to build a product roadmap that aligns to customer problems and business outcomes”.
Process & technology
Genefa’s 15 years in enterprise software working with the largest Fortune 1000 companies accelerated her knowledge in process and technology and talking about her move to a pure SaaS-based solution, she adds, “I learned a lot of things throughout that I wanted to apply in a different space with a need to continue to challenge myself. And I figured the best way to do that was to be able to maybe come into a new industry and experience something different”. One of her go-to tips is “at a high-level, demo your product”. Customers want to experience what you have to offer, not just read about it. Also, think about implementing marketing processes to identify areas of opportunity – this is where automated systems can really run the show for you.
Use your brand values as your differentiation
With so much competition in the SaaS space, ‘companies are looking for other ways to create a differentiation for themselves and their values’. Consumers expect more than just a good product. Marketers need to take societal changes and challenges into consideration. For example, what is your corporate social responsibility policy? What are the values of your company and how do those values align with consumer values? This is becoming more and more a part of the selling process.
She believes that ‘service, intimacy, loyalty, and customer experience is one of the ways to close the gap” with your competition. This starts with the founders and their ability to instill core values within the company – authenticity is key. And as Genefa puts it “I think people just want to feel more connected. They want that human experience. In this way, the values of your company are just as important as the product or service you provide”.
Genefa will be joining our panel on “The Interconnectedness of Company Culture, Brand, and Consumer Behavior”. She will be discussing the different elements of brand values that contribute to loyalty and its impact on revenue.
Don’t miss out on accessing key expert insight from the leading SaaS CMOs. Join Genefa and be part of the conversation on how to overcome your challenges on May 19. Save your seat here.