Why We Created a Slack Community specially designed for SaaS and Software Professionals -
- Global concentration.
- Established professionals and firms (less students and young-stage startups).
- Moderation by professionals.
- Less focus on the funding or venture capital rounds.
- A truly supportive group that has not even a hint of disrespect for unprofessional or disrespectful behavior.
It's true that elements such as an international business perspective and knowledgeable professionals as moderators (that's me!) are the things we want to find in online forums.
The post discussed the features available to members in particular in comparison to other groups online.
However, you may still be asking yourself, "But what's in it to do ?"
It's a valid concern, which I'll attempt to resolve it in light of the motivations (plural) the reasons we're considering investing in this initiative might not be as clear as people who are most skeptical think.
As a business person yourself, you know the way it works. Businesses don't invest in new programs to assist business people who are online. They use it for their individual business in some manner.
And yes that the existence of an online community could be an excellent opportunity to boost your brand's visibility or even create potential customers from time to time.
But, it's not the only one reason we're conducting this. It doesn't matter if you're our client or not, we wish for members to be a member of the community or the community won't succeed in any way.
The Basis of Our Guiding Principle We think that our Software as well as SaaS Community Must Be Good to You in order to Succeed
It's a simple explanation The main thing to remember is that if one doesn't feel that our community is beneficial and an energizing environment, then you'll never be hanging out in our community.
This is why it's essential to its expansion -- for the members as well as our own members that we strive to build a amazing group to be part of.
(And If we appear to diverge from this in some way, or if you have suggestions on how you can improve our experience, do contact us. More on that in the next section.)
What are the advantages of Hosting an Online Community
There must have something to this and we'd never do it, wouldn't we?
Naturally. Our intentions should be clear and unambiguous.
Here's what we'd like to accomplish with this project.
Understanding the most important aspects to your business
One of the first things the community's CEO David Nachman said to me in one-on-one conversations about the vision and goals of the community was that this community is an opportunity to reduce the nature of transactions in the relationship we have with our customers as well as the other Software and SaaS firms.
This is an issue that's legitimate. We assist in the process of dealing with businesses online as well as it's very common for anyone to fall into the rut of having a effectively, a connection to transactions.
You receive a product or service. You earn profits; you continue to run the service on autopilot.
Yet, allowing this pattern to continue can make us ineffective at enhancing your B2B company to directly improve the performance of your business in ensuring the online business is successful is a major goal for us.
It's applicable to our current clients, but it's also relevant to businesses using software that they may be in the process of implementing . If you're not sure if this is the appropriate method of payments and also that of the Merchant of Record (MOR) for your B2C and/or B2B SaaS business, we'd like to know about any concerns or worries you're having to take them into our consideration while we develop the services and features that we provide.
For further details on the ways David would like to meet with you and your company, take a look at the video interview with his members. I talked about David's behalf on behalf of one of his fellow members:
This is also the reason we have extended the scope of the community to include the individual contributor, executive, entrepreneur and founder membership basesince we're confident that we'll be able to learn more about the business (and aid them in a better way) once we have members of all kinds.
This mission of increasing the intimacy of our relationship with business (and specifically, with those who have found or work for the business) is a further reason our reason to interview our members. In addition to improving the way members meet their fellow members and their fellow members, it assists in getting to know the members' business interests and the members.
Establishing relationships with customers
Learning more about your business is an excellent way for us to strengthen the relationships with you, regardless of whether you're a client or you're not.
Our relationship with our clients can be enhanced by giving members additional access to those of us .
We have an extensive and accessible customer service for buyers and customers as well as customer success specialists for a few of our clients with huge or difficult business.
However, we are aware that most businesses are able to improve the way they serve their customers and strengthen their relationship with them.
Ninety-nine percent of the time, out of a hundred, creating accounts is the ideal way to get help. This helps our support staff to properly handle a ticket in accordance with the type or urgency of the issue . Additionally, it aids us in keeping track of your support requirements as time passes.
(That final part assists us in gaining more knowledge of the requirements of the business.)
However, it could be helpful to regularly get in touch with leaders in person particularly for people with a particular business requirement that isn't always an issue with our platform. There's a variety of experts within our community which aren't limited to technical support specialists.
Tax and payment specialists, expert in customer service along with the occasional marketing or sales manager might be on hand to answer relevant business questions. They may even provide insight on the future from the's platform.
We'd like our customers experience to be the kind of happy experiences that they'll be telling their peers about. We believe that being more easily accessible can improve their prospects. If you're a customer who's not having that kind of relationship with us, there's a community on our site which is the best place to let us know that.
Yes, Leads
It is in this section of the article in which we need to get totally open and transparent.
It would be great to have some members that don't have an authorized vendor sign up to our service.
It's a great thing that it's not the primary purpose of the community.
Our goal is building relationships with our customers and understanding every bit we can we can about SaaS and software business's needs:
- We can safely say that the process of registering for new customers is just one aspect of the goals we've set to help our community. Furthermore, we're not planning to contact anyone who's not stated their interest to us prior to the time..
- The odds are better in securing new users if you've achieved the first two objectives we mentioned above, which is why we'll work harder to reach them.
We're confident that if our the community sees us treating customers with genuine concern and asking them to provide feedback They'll be much more interested in our role as a commerce platform as well as a retailer of record- as they'll see our efforts and the care we show our customers firsthand.
If you've considered it before, this could be the ideal opportunity to begin the journey informally. The community members can connect with fellow customers, read discussions that occur among customers , and (remotely) get to know the individuals that make up the company it.
What are the things you can expect to experience when You Join This Community
The article focused on some of the characteristics of the GSL community, it didn't explain the true benefits of joining a group such as this.
We have big plans to establish a network of Global SaaS leaders We're constantly developing community-building efforts. Below are some benefits we've already provided for software and SaaS founders, executives entrepreneurs, marketing professionals and engineers, developers and many more.
Network With Software Professionals Everywhere Over the World
It doesn't matter if you're an SaaS marketer looking to boost your SEO in your region, or a people and culture director concerned with meeting and onboarding foreign customers, or that is a SaaS business owner searching for ideas for selling to specific countries Accessing those in the global community makes "going international" a lot more simple.
We currently have member representation from over 50 countries across 17 time zones.
Find New Markets You're Looking to Expand or Introduce Within
A particular advantage to having a global network is that you are able to utilize it for assistance in your journey to break into a new market.
There's a forum to join the community and solicit help from people in certain nations to assist you and you may also reach out to me, chief moderator. I will connect you with the right members on your behalf.
Keep your eyes on the discussion threads on the forum to find prior questions that pertain to the SaaS market you're trying to enter into.
Also, you'll be able to watch videos of our members which we're recording on a rolling basis with people who'd like to participate (like the above video, with the CEO of our company, David Nachman).
One of the things that we typically ask our interviewees is "What's an aspect that's just not well-known by those selling software in your nation?" This question's purpose is to help you to understand the different both business and cultural differences which could influence the ease to market software in the country.
Take a look at SaaS Company Leaders and Experts
Our members may be spread between different roles and at different levels, we have many executive, SaaS founders, as well as department heads from Global SaaS Leaders who are happy to share their expertise to other members.
Certain members are software or SaaS founders with numerous SaaS businesses, others have been employed at internationally-known companies, and some entrepreneurs have switched career paths or sectors and possess a wide range of knowledge to provide suggestions.
Furthermore, multiple top managers and executives are also present, including the Chief Executive Officer and the Global Tax Director along with our Vice-Chairman of the Global Customer Operations. They're in the community as they're willing to help members in whatever way they can.
(For additional information from Kurt on this topic take a look at his in-person presentation on SaaS Pricing Strategy That is effective: How to create the best Pricing model at SaaStr Europe in the year 2022.)
We love to answer these kinds of questions and are thrilled to establish an environment where topics such as this can be addressed by world-class colleagues.
You can present yourself as an expert
If you're already renowned for your role as an SaaS market influencer or expert in the field, then congratulations! We'd be delighted to receive your contributions to the community, while continuing to build your image professionally and personally through knowledge sharing.
Or, if you're still working on creating your own brand identity. Participating in professional forums is a fantastic method to achieve this. It doesn't mean that we must be SaaS founders to have an in-depth grasp of the specific areas that we are experts in, however having a positive attitude in giving our expertise to other people will position us as not only competent as well, but also charming and hospitable. that's a great image for our public to build.
The Community will be formed as it Develops
We launched this software and SaaS community in the month of March 2022 and we have seen it expand rapidly. We want it to be an ideal space to allow the users to "hang out" in a space that is flexible and open to new ideas.
A member, for instance, recently suggested we add an option that is specific to a type of use for a particular type of use.
This was then transformed into a poll asking Slack members to provide their opinions on the channels they'd rather include in the Slack workspace. Slack:
Also, whether you'd rather make a small-scale vote for changes to our community or even make suggestions We're always open to your suggestions!
If you're looking for specific forum channels, recommendations for suppliers, LinkedIn and social media connections, podcasts on Facebook groups web-based meetups as well as templates and webinars or simply more software and SaaS development hacks broadly and more, we'd love to let us know.
Share Your Thoughts
There are other options for members to share their views outside of the the community. One of the recent questions we asked members to inform us of the kind of benchmarking information as well as metrics they'd like get in the release.
These kinds of actions can assist software and SaaS businesses develop strategies for increasing their annual revenue.
To provide useful and valuable data to growing and profitable software and SaaS firms, we went in direct contact with the communities to ask about benchmarking information we should be thinking about compiling later on:
The responses varied from retention rates for a particular sector, MRR growth in a particular sector, failure of measures of payment (unintentional conversion rate churn) as well as churn and conversion rates in different regions.
This survey is open to anyone regardless of their situation.
As we mentioned earlier, knowing what really matters for software as well as SaaS business is essential us. That's why we'd prefer to build this Global SaaS Leaders community to provide you with the opportunity to discuss your requirements for moving your company to higher levels.
Join our Community and learn more about (If you're interested)
This poll was made public in the -specific channel of the community. It exists so discussions about (as in contrast to more general discussions about business) can be posted in that channel and kept from general feeds.
We aren't looking for customers -- particularly members who don't have customers to believe that we're constantly promoting . Like we've stated before, the software and SaaS community needs to have something that they can benefit from in order to succeed, and we think over-selling can give negative perceptions and create the community a space the user should not like to be.
If you're not yet an existing client, but have thought of taking a look, joining GSL is a great way to learn more about our business by watching customer interactions with our management and observing the types of comments and questions people have on the platform, and more. The GSL channel specially designed intended for GSL is accessible to anyone who is a member of any kind.
If you aren't sure if you have any passion for the channel ? It is possible to leave the channel you're interested in unread. There are many opportunities to participate on the forum with no need to read articles on platforms you are not required to read about.
Be part of to be part of the Global SaaS Leaders Community
We're really proud of the Global SaaS Leaders community already and are proud to provide an international network and discussion forum with options like live events, live interviews with video profiles of our members and a wide range of input from experts.
We will continue to concentrate on community building and, as the community grows it will be expanding its functions. We'd like to offer additional networking opportunities for individuals and also launch a podcast. We also plan to organize additional live events as well as integrate social media features down the line.
But if you join now, you can influence what the group grows to.
To ensure the best quality of members service, and also to make sure that I have the authority to review new applications for membership and ensure that there aren't any automated programs to let in spammers or bots. Thus, making sure you submit your LinkedIn URL is essential. We thank you for your patience as I review your profile and also feel free to reach us by email If you have questions prior to submitting your application!
About
Katie Stephan Katie Stephan is Katie Stephan, the Social Media and Community Manager Katie Stephan is the Social Media and Community Manager at Katie Stephan, as well as Moderator for Katie Stephan's Global SaaS Leaders community. She graduated from the MFA in creative nonfiction writing. She also served as an college instructor of writing.
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