Hey! Your favorite B2B marketing newsletter, Fresh Salmon, is back with its latest edition.

In this episode, I share a case study about upcoming musicians on TikTok, 3 types of SaaS businesses, and the secret to B2B sales.

Here we go. . . .

1) Case Study: Upcoming Musicians on TikTok

I must admit that I am a big fan of Tiktok. The diversity and creativity on TikTok is absolutely on fire. 

On TikTok, upcoming musicians are doing something really interesting. This is a lesson in 1-to-1 account-based marketing and audience building.  

 A typical playbook deployed by these musicians looks like this:

1. They use apps like “Omegle”. For 1-to-1 facetime with their target audience.

1. Interact on a one-to-one basis with the individual or group of people they are matched with.

1. Take requests from the other party, based on their musical interests (~ personalization).

1. Seal the deal by overdelivering with a mind-blowing musical performance that puts people in disbelief and shock (+ Word of Mouth).  

1. Last but not least, they use Omegle to record all their videos, which are then repurposed on TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube to build more followers, showcasing their musical talents and raw emotions (~ Viral Content). 

So that's how you build an audience flywheel. Amazing, isn’t it?

Check out this guy to see this playbook in action here.

2) What Type of SaaS Are You?

The most successful SaaS businesses today can be broken down into just three types of ideas.

System of Record:

SaaS systems of record are essentially databases or tools where customers can store and manage all their data in one place. It provides tools such as search, reporting, and analytics that customers need to access regularly.

A System of Record SaaS is Salesforce, which is a customer relationship management (CRM) platform that tracks sales, customer interactions, and other business data. HubSpot provides a range of marketing and sales tools that help businesses manage their customer information.

System of Engagement:

In the System of Engagement SaaS, customers do the actual work involved in their operations. A tool or platform that facilitates the completion of tasks or workflows, often with collaboration capabilities.

Trello, for example, is a project management SaaS that helps teams collaborate and organize tasks. Similarly, Asana provides a platform for teams to manage projects, track progress, and communicate.

System of Decision:

By providing data insights, analytics, or other relevant information, a System of Decision SaaS helps customers make informed decisions.

Google Analytics, for example, provides businesses with data about their website traffic, user behavior, and other metrics to help them make data-driven decisions. Similarly, Tableau offers data visualization and analytics tools that help businesses interpret and communicate their data.

What type of SaaS do you offer?

3) Building Relationships vs. Chasing Ratings: The Secret to B2B Success

90% of B2B buying decisions are influenced by Peer Recommendations.

🤯 🤯 . . .

What about online ratings? Are online ratings really reliable?

I mean, c'mon, they can be manipulated. Some vendors even buy fake reviews. We all know how that works.

Peer Recommendations carry more weight because people trust their homies over some anonymous internet review.

So, B2B companies, build relationships with your customers and industry peers - that's the real key to success.

And for those in the market for software, don't just rely on online ratings. Ask your peers for recommendations, they won't steer you wrong.

Interesting “Meme” That I Saw Last Week

Tweet That I “Wrote” Last Week

What Do You Think?

This concludes this edition of Fresh Salmon.

I would like to hear what you thought of today's newsletter.

Also, let’s connect on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Cheers,

Vivek

PS. I love you ❤️