The Software-as-a-Service Conversation – and Conversion – is Alive and Going Strong

I participated as a panelist in a Massachusetts Technology Leadership Council event this morning focused on the marketing and sales opportunities and challenges with moving to and supporting Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) applications. TimeTrade’s personal appointment scheduler TimeDriver and many of our enterprise solution customers leverage our technology through a SaaS-based model.

The major benefit of SaaS – and something we obviously feel strongly about – is driving better customer service and delivering a great customer experience. We as service providers get to know our customers almost on a first-name basis through offering on-demand solutions and understand real-time how they are using our services/applications. We’re able to leverage our customers’ great ideas and feedback quickly to enable new capabilities that helps them improve their business. If something needs to be addressed, we know it right away and can respond. Not possible with licensed or packaged applications.

One of the many companies speaking this morning was Constant Contact – a company who has leveraged SaaS and the customer experience to be the leader in email marketing and online surveys.

On-demand has reshaped how companies, like ours, do business. Marketing has moved from traditional methods such as print advertising to leveraging Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and analysis tools, creating vertically-focused promotions and offering free trials to virally drive adoption. Results are measured real-time rather than quarterly enabling our marketing programs to be much more effective and focused.

Being reported constantly in the news is the trend that the companies who will succeed in this challenging economic environment are those that define themselves by delivering the ultimate in customer service. SaaS certainly is a platform to help drive customer satisfaction and create customer promoters.

Posted by ed.mallen