Like many other industries, the SaaS industry is also evolving over time. Right now, it is undergoing a transition in how to structure the front machine in the organisation. This is seen in the introduction of the Revenue Organisation.
What is a Revenue Organisation and why should you care? A Revenue Organisation is a new way of thinking about how to run a SaaS business that focuses on aligning all the functions and processes around the customer journey and the revenue outcomes. A Revenue Organisation is not just a sales-driven organisation, but a customer-driven one that optimises the entire customer lifecycle from the first touch point to the sales process, retention and expansion.
A classic SaaS organisation, on the other hand, is typically organised around functional silos, such as marketing, sales, customer success, product, engineering, etc. Each function has its own goals, metrics, and incentives, which may not always be aligned. This can lead to inefficiencies, conflicts, missed opportunities and revenue leakage.
The benefits of introducing a Revenue Organisation are clear: increased customer satisfaction, loyalty, and advocacy; improved revenue growth and profitability; and enhanced innovation and agility. Friction between the teams is reduced compared to the classic SaaS organisation, as all revenue streams are in focus and everyone on the organisation plays a role to reach the targets. But how do you make this transformation happen? Here are some key steps to consider:
- Find the setup that matches your company. When you research a Revenue Organisation, you will find many ways to organise it. Be bold but also true to what would make sense in your place.
- Align your revenue culture. This means fostering a mindset and a behaviour that puts the customer at the centre of everything you do. Your revenue culture should encourage collaboration, communication, and accountability across all functions and levels. When creating a true revenue culture, you will start seeing how teams move together and take a shared responsibility for all the revenue streams.
- Define your commercial strategy. This means identifying your ideal customer profile, your revenue streams (and goals), how you work with pricing and packaging, competition etc. Your Commercial strategy should guide all your decisions and actions across the Revenue Organisation and be connected with your company, product and tech strategy.
- Align your revenue operations. This means creating a team that oversees and coordinates all the activities, data and systems that support the customer journey and the revenue outcomes. Your revenue operation team should ensure that you have a consistent and seamless customer experience, a data-driven and agile decision-making process, and a scalable and efficient infrastructure.
- Measure your revenue performance. This means tracking and analysing the key metrics that reflect your progress and impact on the customer journey and the revenue outcomes. Your revenue performance should help you identify your strengths and weaknesses, your opportunities and threats, and your actions and improvements.
The transformation of a classic SaaS organisation to a Revenue Organisation is not easy or quick. It requires a clear vision, a strong leadership, and a committed execution. But it is worth it. A Revenue Organisation is not only more successful but also more sustainable in the long run.
