EPISODE SUMMARY
In this episode, Blustream Corporation CEO Ken Rapp discusses the SaaS post-sale environment with SaaS-Story In The Making host, Matt Wolach. He talks about the importance of addressing customers after making a sale and how his software, Blustream, can assist with consumer and product engagement insights.
Coming from a science and medicine background, Ken ventured into SaaS and developed Blustream to solve a problem that many companies in the SaaS industry tend to overlook. He shares tried and tested tips that can help software startups navigate their way to success.
PODCAST-AT-A-GLANCE
Podcast: SaaS-Story in the Making
Episode: Episode 169, Exploring the Post-Sale Experience: How to Create an Amazing Buyer’s Journey
Host: Matt Wolach, a B2B SaaS sales coach, Entrepreneur, and Investor
Guest: Ken Rapp, CEO of Bluestream Corporation
TOP TIPS FROM THIS EPISODE
Surround Yourself with Smarter People
When asked about the best tip he can give to SaaS startups so they can get out there and achieve success, Ken underscored the value of surrounding yourself with much smarter people than you are – or people who are much more experienced. He adds that for startups, it’s okay not to know the answers right away. It’s okay not to have the solutions upfront. His number one advice for startups would be to make sure that you are willing to surround yourself with outstanding talent.
Zig Left and Right
A common problem that startups face is scaling too soon by solving problems upfront and going on a straight path. Ken’s second most valuable advice would be to solve a real problem by allowing yourself to zig left and right. Zigzag your way to the solution. Go out and keep testing and experimenting. Ken points out that it’s not a straight path from wherever you are to wherever you are going. Get feedback from your consumers, adjust according to that, and evolve.
Customer Happiness Brings Rewards
Ken shares what makes him and his team most passionate about Blustream and its culture. It’s all about the company culture, noting that their customers are an extension of their team. Rewards of growth and business success come from making your customers happy and solving their problems. Ken states that this has been the foundation of his company. Success comes when you do something very valuable for your industry, your employees, and your customers.
EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS
The Three Stages of Ownership
A lot of SaaS companies overlook the after-sales environment sometimes. There’s huge whitespace in the world of what a consumer will do with your product or service, which most companies do not address. Ken shares how he looks at this through the three stages of ownership. The first stage is onboarding the product by telling your consumers how it should look, how it should behave, and letting them try it. The second stage is defining your consumer’s experience or usage. The last stage is maintenance, and you do this by providing a manual that tells your buyer how to take care of the product they purchased.
Solving an Unmet Need
In SaaS, many marketing and selling automation systems focus on the pre-sale, which typically covers the first stages of the buyer’s journey. They tend to miss out on what happens after making a sale. Ken notes that usually, the only reason a customer connects back to you is when they have a problem with your service. This is where taking care of customers after-sale comes into the picture. He calls it an “unmet need” that became his motivation to develop Bluestream, which powers brands through post-sale product engagement.
The Three Touchpoints of After-Sale
When a customer purchases from you, you don’t want buyer’s remorse. You want to make sure you create an amazing buyer’s journey. Ken shares how Blustream makes it happen by breaking down his strategy into three touchpoints. The first one is to provide an alert about the product. The second one is to offer educational links and opportunities.
Most of the clients that Ken worked with already have the educational content on their website. He remarks that customers must be able to find them. The third one is purchase recommendations. This is done by letting the AI take care of that particular engagement by giving customers other relevant products to the one they bought.
TOP QUOTES
Kenn Rapp
[18:43] “Our culture is focused on our customers and making them happy, solving their problems. And then the rewards of growth and business success come after that.”
[20:16] “Make sure that you’re willing to surround yourself with great talent.”
Matt Wolach
[10:07] “It shouldn’t just be: “We did that to make the sale.” It should be: You care about helping people.”
[20:53] “You’ve got to go out and understand them deeply. Get inside their head and their life to understand their worries, their needs, their desires, their goals, all of it so that you can develop your product towards them.
LEARN MORE
To learn more about Ken Rapp and Bluestream visit https://www.linkedin.com/company/blustream/.
You can also find Ken Rapp on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/ken-rapp-b922766/.
For more about how host Matt Wolach helps software companies achieve maximum growth, visit https://mattwolach.com/.