VENTURE-BACKED SAAS COMPANIES AND THE RESOURCES PAGE

Here at Allarium, we’ve noticed a surprising trend among SaaS companies…

Mid-sized SaaS companies (~$15M ARR or greater) report that their Resources page is one of the most important parts of their website. Why? Here are a few responses we heard during our interviews…

1. “Our Resources Page is SEO in disguise. People initially come to our website to learn and then realize how we can help them.”
2. “Our Resources Page is a full-on academy that offers training to our customers. Our onboarding/support costs would be 3x if we didn’t offer video training courses.”
3. “Our Resources Page significantly reduces the time it takes to complete a sale. We anticipate customer objections and post them on our Resources page.”

This focus on online training and resources has led to the rise of the SaaS “academy” or “university.” More and more software companies are offering virtual training courses and certificates to customers and potential customers, with the three-pronged goal of a) generating leads, b) lowering training costs, and c) establishing market credibility.

Large SaaS companies spend a significant portion of their budget on these online “academies”. This article, for example, highlights the incredible growth of the Hubspot Academy. Initially launched in 2012, by 2016 Hubspot Academy was supported by a full-time team of more than a dozen and awarded over 8,000 certifications a year.

It is easy to see why smaller venture-backed SaaS companies can’t afford this type of investment. However, we have found that small SaaS companies (~10MM or less of ARR) report spending minimal time on their Resources page. The Resources page of smaller companies is often a mishmash of 90-minute webinars, occasional blogs, training decks, and more. Here are a few comments from leaders at small companies…

1. “Video training and SEO are on our to-do list, but so are a thousand other things.”
2. “Our customer success team does all our training. That’s what they’re there for.”
3. “We don’t have time to record video or create training.”

It’s not that smaller companies don’t care about training. It is just that there is an opportunity cost to everything they do. And while there are often a million and one priorities for small SaaS companies, an online academy takes time. Even once the content is built, it can take years to build the SEO and word-of-mouth momentum.

How do smaller SaaS companies avoid falling into the trap where they are finally large enough to care about their Resources page, but don’t want to wait to build the requisite momentum? Contact us at learning@allarium.com to learn more.