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The SMB SaaS Playbook: Building a High-Growth SaaS Engine by Bridging the Gap Between Enterprise and SMB Tactics

Why smaller buyers suit iterative products, and how to staff high-volume sales and raise revenue per customer

Amin Yazdani · Craver

Published September 6, 2024
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What you’ll learn

The speaker explains how SaaS companies can combine enterprise discipline with SMB realities to build a high-growth engine. The guidance covers working with smaller buyers, adapting tactics, staffing high-volume sales, channel diversification, and raising revenue per customer.

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Key moments

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Turn SMB constraints into opportunities

“uh potential buyers for you but they have their unique challenges a smaller teams a smaller budget but able to really work with you and go through uh through the getting a product that might not be as polished as a as an Enterprise and really work with you and iterate on getting what what they want is super important because then what you can do is that you can turn those unique challenges that it comes with an SMB into unique opportunities for you to be”
Watch at 03:27

Adapt tactics to the business model

“strategy that we adapted adopted first without adapting to it and it didn't work but we came back to it and we were looking at specifically Why didn't it work for us we're going we're working with restaurants uh our aru at the time was around $4,000 per year and what what the literature was telling us is that if you don't have an RP of 2550 better 100”
Watch at 06:47

Staff for high-volume sales

“they're not used to the high volume calling and booking they will not be able to perform so you need to find the right team that can do what you need from them to do really well and that's the hard part of it but I think it's important to just make sure you don't throw the the baby with the bath water say doesn't work sometimes it's just a team issue the second one is and this one is coming more from the b2c rather”
Watch at 10:40

Reduce reliance on one channel

“um but you need to re reduce your Reliance on any single Channel otherwise you're not going to be successful we have had that that problem on this one significantly let's talk about increasing arpo this is the this is what we did over 24 months increased our RP 54% from about 4500 to 7,000 and there are couple of different smaller steps here and one big step smaller step was”
Watch at 13:59

Recognize the growth plateau

“Hitting a Wall: Growth Plateau”
Read slide 3

Adapt outbound to SMB buyers

“Outbound for SMB SaaS Adapt to SMBs Adjust ARPU to make it work! Iterate! They said it would never work”
Read slide 8

Use different channels by stage

“Different Channels for Different Stages True for Outbound but also true for other strategies We found a lot of success on SMS - because of our target customers.”
Read slide 11

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About the speaker
Amin Yazdani

Amin Yazdani

CEO · Craver

LinkedIn

Co-founder & CEO of Craver, providing mobile app solutions for restaurants to enhance their customer ordering experience.

Company revenue
$20M

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Slide by slide

Each slide with a short explanation of what it shows. Open the slide text for its exact wording.

14 passages

The SMB SaaS playbook

  1. Slide 1Open deck
    Slide text

    SaaSOpen, September 2024 The SMB SaaS Playbook: Building a High-Growth SaaS Engine by Bridging the Gap Between Enterprise & SMB Tactics Amin Yazdani CEO, Craver

  2. Slide 2Open deck

    SMB SaaS and practical tactics

    The talk covers the SMB SaaS opportunity, adapting enterprise tactics, diversifying sales and marketing, and applying practical growth strategies.

    Slide text

    Over the next 20 minutes I’m going to talk about The SMB SaaS Landscape Why SMB SaaS is a goldmine of opportunity Key differences between SMB and Enterprise SaaS that matter How to adapt Enterprise tactics for SMB success The importance of diversification in Sales & Marketing approach Practical tactics to implement and accelerate your growth today Bridging the Gap Tactics and Strategies

Recognizing a growth plateau

  1. Slide 3Open deck

    Growth reached a plateau

    The quarterly revenue bars climb from 2019 through 2021, then level off around the same range through 2022.

    Slide text

    Hitting a Wall: Growth Plateau

  2. Slide 4Open deck

    Growth resumes after a plateau

    The chart shows growth flattening around 2021 and 2022, followed by a renewed rise through 2023. The slide attributes the turnaround to a set of strategies.

    Slide text

    Turnaround: Reigniting Growth Strategies that helped us reignite growth.

  3. Slide 5Open deck

    SMB SaaS is a large market

    The slide cites more than 30M SMBs in the US and frames their underserved status as an opportunity for companies that address their distinct challenges.

    Slide text

    More than 30M SMBs in US alone. Underserved and open for Disruption Unique Challenges -> Unique Opportunities The SMB SaaS Landscape Why I’m bullish on SMB SaaS The Goldmine David vs Goliath Key to Success

  4. Slide 6Open deck

    Photo by ennif pendahl on Unsplash

  5. Slide 7Open deck

    Learn, adapt, and diversify

    The framework recommends learning from enterprise SaaS, adapting its tactics rather than copying them, and diversifying to thrive.

    Slide text

    Learn from the Enterprise SaaS Adapt, Don't Adopt Diversify to Thrive Bridging the Gap Don't Reinvent, Adapt: Leveraging Enterprise Wisdom Learn Adapt Diversify

Adapting outbound for SMB SaaS

  1. Slide 8Open deck

    Adapt outbound to SMB buyers

    The slide pairs outbound sales with adapting to SMBs, adjusting ARPU, and iterating; the adjacent chart shows uneven activity with sharper spikes later.

    Slide text

    Outbound for SMB SaaS Adapt to SMBs Adjust ARPU to make it work! Iterate! They said it would never work

  2. Slide 9Open deck

    Test and diversify acquisition channels

    The tactics group outbound around ARPU, channel tests, and team fit, while search and social ads call for targeting, gradual increases, and planning. The stated outcome is more robust growth with less reliance on any one channel.

    Slide text

    Targeting is key Increase slowly Do NOT set and forget Plan ahead Increase ARPU Test Channels Find the right team More robust growth Reduce the reliance on any channel Tactics and Strategies Let’s get our hands dirty! Outbound Search / Social Ads Diversify

  3. Slide 10Open deck

    ARPU rose across the period

    The chart marks a +54% increase across the full period and a +33% rise in the later span, with a pronounced step up near the start of 2023.

    Slide text

    Increasing ARPU 54% in 24 month

Choosing channels by stage

  1. Slide 11Open deck

    Match channels to customer stages

    The slide says channel-stage matching applies beyond outbound and highlights SMS as effective for this customer group; the phone screenshot illustrates a follow-up message.

    Slide text

    Different Channels for Different Stages True for Outbound but also true for other strategies We found a lot of success on SMS - because of our target customers.

  2. Slide 12Open deck

    Avoid relying on one source

    A Google Ads suspension notice illustrates how dependence on one acquisition source can leave a business exposed.

    Slide text

    Do Not Rely on One Source!

  3. Slide 13Open deck

    Recap the SMB playbook

    The summary returns to the SMB landscape, adapting enterprise tactics, diversifying sales and marketing, and applying practical examples.

    Slide text

    Over the last 20 minutes, I showed you: With real examples The SMB SaaS Landscape Why SMB SaaS is a goldmine of opportunity Key differences between SMB and Enterprise SaaS that matter How to adapt Enterprise tactics for SMB success The importance of diversification in Sales & Marketing approach Practical tactics to implement and accelerate your growth today Bridging the Gap Tactics and Strategies

  4. Slide 14Open deck

    Thank you

    The speaker closes with a thank-you and directs the audience to follow up through the contact options shown.

    Slide text

    SaaSOpen, September 2024 Thank you! LinkedIn: /aminyazdani Email: [redacted email] Amin Yazdani CEO, Craver