Upmarket… A lot of people have no clue what it means and our image of a fish swimming upstream may have made it more confusing. But we like fishing at Be Uniic so that’s why we added it. Anyway, going upmarket is one of the most talked-about strategies for B2B companies and their buyer journeys. The reason being: enterprise customers are stickier, have bigger deal sizes, and also have better retention rates. B2B companies believe that if they inevitably land one enterprise client, it’s similar to landing several, if not hundreds, of SMB or Mid-Market clients. However, this shift is not as simple as it might appear.
One of the biggest mistakes companies make when attempting the push to upmarket clients is they think their product will fit the needs of these new sharks because they fall within the same category. Enterprise clients are a lot different than smaller businesses and it tends to make companies have to replicate the process of launching an entirely new product. Here’s why:
Product Feature Set Needs Alignment: Even though they’ll give you more money, stick around longer, and might actually have longer periods of time in which they don’t respond, enterprise clients also have larger requirements and demand a more robust and feature-rich product. If your current offer is perfect for SMBs, it’ll most likely need enhancements for these big fish.
Product Development Cycles: There will be more time added to product development cycles which includes customer feedback and improving your offer to align with the needs of enterprise clients.
New Messaging and Positioning: Your value proposition is now going to need to resonate with the issues and goals of enterprise customers – not the small businesses you’re used to. More times than not, they’ll differ significantly.
Comprehensive Collateral and Sales Tools: One of the most extensive portions of changes you’ll need to make is the webpages, sales material, sales tools, and collateral. These will all be tailored to address the concerns and interests of enterprise clients.
Adjusted Pricing Tiers and Models: Budget and purchasing processes are significantly different in the enterprise space. Adjust your pricing to appeal to them.
Some companies have found the investment can take 6 months to a whole year and also requires a dedicated team to just focus on the upmarket effort. The process is far from just targeting a different group of people
Avoiding Common Pitfalls:
While it seems unreasonable, there’s actually a lot of companies that expect to succeed in the upmarket space by just throwing together a landing page and having a sales rep work on cold calling larger accounts. Realistically, this is a recipe for disaster… Try taking a more thorough, thought out approach.
Going upmarket can be a game-changer for your company. However, it takes more of an investment than most people expect to expend. By aligning product, message, and sales tools with the needs of your new prospects, you can successfully navigate the transition and unlock new growth opportunities for your business.