It’s crucial that startups focus their business models correctly. Choosing the wrong business path or an unobtainable market can be a direct path to closure only a few months after opening. When it comes to startups, there is a nearly fail-safe niche that remains open to businesses that are willing to do the legwork to provide a quality product. The enterprise level business software sphere provides an excellent place for startups to enter the game.
Enterprise Marketing has Changed
The enterprise business market isn’t the stuffy, all-in-suits, uptight market it once was. What used to be commandeered by stern-looking older men in board rooms has received a much more youthful invigoration, thanks to the inclusion of technology. Today, many enterprise software programs are marketed using the same youthful vigor found in consumer-level marketing.
While a certain level of professionalism is required, it is far easier to step into enterprise marketing from an entry-level standpoint because of this. Today, apps, SaaS-based software, and remote services can all provide enterprise-level consumers with useful, desired productivity boosts that can be delivered in a much friendlier manner. A number of additional benefits await startups who step into this vital sphere.
Enterprises Have More Money
The shortest and simplest answer to this question is that enterprises almost exclusively have money available to spend on useful software. Budgets for these large, sprawling corporations tend to be more forgiving, especially when it comes to highly-useful SaaS solutions that can eventually help them to cut costs across their operation. Startups who market their software to enterprises should ensure that their programs address at least one of the following questions:
How can it help me to be more productive?
How can it save me money?
How can it deconstruct obstacles to enterprise efficiency?
Enterprise Level Business Software, by its very nature, is designed for customization and flexibility. Most small businesses don’t have the resources or requirements for customized software. Software companies that market to small businesses may access a larger market, but much of that market is going to be entry-level.
The smaller amount of revenue generated by marketing to small businesses makes it a poor choice for start-ups. Enterprise-level marketing can resolve this; with just a single client, the software company may be able to roll out thousands of premium access accounts after the enterprise signs up. There’s also plenty of room for growth within enterprise down the road. Once the company has signed up for a single business software program, it is far more likely to stick with the same company for additional software programs.
It’s About Value, not Quantity
Small businesses often aim for getting as much as they can out of a single program, whereas enterprises may be more concerned with preserving quality over a wider base. That means that start-ups can focus on providing one or two main benefits at a higher level, rather than attempting to include as many features as possible. It also opens up the floor for additional integrated software to be offered in conjunction with the software. Whereas small businesses are likely to aim for the least expensive software with the highest amount of functionality, enterprises are more likely to choose the software programs that allow them to customize as closely to their needs as possible.
Enterprise-level business software can also be automatically upgraded by the providers on a much more frequent basis than standalone software programs. Industry expert, previous CEO of Oracle, and current leader of tech sphere software giant Infor, Charles Phillips says, “The pace of business is changing faster. You’re stuck if can only upgrade once every five years. You should be upgrading once every five weeks; that is why people are open to a new generation of companies. “This is extensively wise advice for new start-ups.