Case Studies

A $1 Million Growth Strategy - SAAS

"We were stagnant—our users were frustrated, and growth had plateaued."
— Client CEO
In 2020, a SaaS CMS company faced a significant challenge: its growth had stalled, customer acquisition costs were rising, and customer churn was increasing. However, the exact reasons behind these challenges were unclear at the time.

The CEO described the situation as "trying to steer a ship weighed down by unnecessary cargo, with no clear path to profitability."

What We Uncovered (That Others Didn’t):

The client knew growth had plateaued, but the underlying reasons for rising customer acquisition costs and increasing churn were elusive. Recognizing this, we embarked on a comprehensive research initiative, leveraging both internal data and external market insights. Here’s what we found:
  • Features Were Not the Answer: Customers (SaaS CMS users) cared far less about additional features than the industry assumed. While the SaaS CMS market poured resources into building feature-packed platforms, the root issue for users remained unaddressed: profitability. Rising advertising costs, fueled by growing competition for digital ad space and changing consumer behavior toward marketplaces, were eroding SMB margins. As one user put it, "The features are great, but they don’t solve my core problem—making a profit."

  • Profitability Struggles Across the Board: Rising ad costs were a pervasive challenge, driven by a surge in CMS platforms enabling SMBs to launch online stores. This intensified competition for digital ad space, causing costs to skyrocket. At the same time, consumer behavior began shifting toward online marketplaces, making it harder for individual SMBs to compete. This dual pressure created a profitability squeeze that left many SMBs struggling to sustain their businesses.

  • Churn Driven by Frustration: Many users weren’t just leaving the platform; they were abandoning their business goals entirely, citing unsustainable customer acquisition costs as the primary reason.
This placed our client—a software development leader—in a tough spot within a challenging market environment. Their expertise in software wasn’t enough to counter these macroeconomic trends.

From Research to Action: Finding the Right Solution

Our challenge was twofold: first, to resolve the SaaS CMS client’s immediate growth and churn issues, and second, to tackle the deeper profitability struggles their users faced—struggles that were driving dissatisfaction and abandonment. These intersecting challenges required a holistic strategy that addressed the root causes impacting both the client and their customers. To achieve this, we looked to other industries that had faced similar challenges. The service industry, which shifted from traditional marketing to funnel-based strategies, stood out as a model.
Borrowing insights from this approach, we proposed creating sales funnel templates tailored to SMBs. Here’s why:
  • Funnel Benefits: Sales funnels help businesses reduce ad dependency by increasing conversion rates throughout the buyer’s journey, enhancing the average transaction value, and boosting transaction frequency.

  • Blue Ocean Opportunity: By solving profitability problems for users, our client could differentiate itself from competitors and lower its own customer acquisition costs.

Our Solutions in Action

Based on our findings, we implemented a user-centric strategy focused on profitability:
  • Pre-Built Funnel Templates: Designed customizable sales funnels for SMBs, enabling them to enhance conversions and improve profitability without extensive technical knowledge.

  • Educational Portal: Developed a comprehensive learning hub with tutorials, guides, and success stories, empowering users to adopt funnel strategies effectively.

  • Market Realignment: Shifted the platform’s positioning from a "feature-rich CMS" to a "profitability enabler," emphasizing results and user success.

In Six Months:

“For the first time, the CEO saw growth as sustainable—not just a lucky streak but the start of something bigger.”
  • Over $1 Million in Additional Annual Revenue: Achieved through increased subscriptions and higher-tier adoption.

  • 14% Growth in Subscriptions: Funnel-driven solutions and targeted messaging attracted new users and retained existing ones.

  • 12% Retention Improvement: Users who experienced tangible profitability gains were more likely to renew.

  • Market Differentiation: The platform became known as an e-commerce growth enabler, not just another CMS.
The results directly tied to actionable insights, user-centric innovation, and a focus on profitability.

Long-Term Impact:

The profitability-focused strategy not only revitalized the SaaS CMS platform but also set a new standard for addressing the profitability challenges facing the entire industry. For example, one SMB user reported a 35% increase in transaction value within two months of implementing the new sales funnels. By refining these templates and expanding the educational content, the company ensured not just immediate gains but also sustained growth and enhanced customer loyalty, turning short-term wins into long-term advantages.
The CEO later shared: “You didn’t just solve our problems—you showed us a new way to think about user success.”

Key Insights and Notes:

“Imagine applying these insights to your own business to unlock growth and build user loyalty.”
  • Profitability-focused solutions resonate deeply with users across industries.

  • Educational support fosters trust and empowers users to succeed, creating long-term brand advocates.

  • Strategic differentiation—by solving real problems—yields more impactful results than feature parity.

Discussion Questions:

  1. What key challenges are preventing your users from achieving success?
  2. Are you leveraging user-centric innovation to uncover untapped opportunities?
  3. Could profitability-focused strategies help differentiate your business in a crowded market?
2022-01-21 22:54