In B2B SaaS, we often obsess over user love—streamlined onboarding, intuitive UX, sticky features. But what happens when the person using your product isn’t the one who signs the contract?
That’s the paradox Merel van der Lei, CEO and CPO of WyzeTalk, unpacked at SaaSiest 2025.
With over two decades of experience turning service-led businesses into product-led engines, and now leading a company connecting 2.8 billion overlooked frontline workers, Merel knows the high stakes of building for business-to-business-to-employee (B2B2E) models—where delighting users is just the start.
Her message? Great design doesn’t just drive adoption. It drives revenue—if you know how to build for users and buyers.
The B2B2E Paradox
Designing a product where the end user isn’t the economic buyer creates a tension most SaaS companies struggle to solve.
Merel lays it out simply:
- Peter, the CEO, wants ROI and governance.
- Joe, the internal champion, wants speed and control.
- Tafa, the frontline worker, wants to get through the day—safely, efficiently, and with dignity.
Each persona has wildly different needs, pain points, and definitions of success. And yet, your product must serve them all—or risk falling short for the one that signs the check.
The Design-Conversion Gap (and Why It Matters Now)
Design has often been treated as a “nice to have,” yet Merel showed how smart solution design directly drives business outcomes:
- Intercom streamlined onboarding and workflows → 42% increase in enterprise revenue
- Figma introduced real-time collaboration tools → 240% growth in paid users
- ASOS revamped mobile UX and checkout → 30% boost in mobile sales
Each of these wins came from investments in UX tailored to the real needs of their users. And yet, most SaaS companies still allocate just 12% of product budgets to UX/UI design.
“Is that enough,” Merel asked, “when user expectations evolve every 2.7 seconds?”
How to Build Products That Convert and Convince
WyzeTalk’s solution design strategy rests on three key principles:
- Deliver daily value to end users (Tafa)
Make their lives easier, safer, and more inclusive. This builds grassroots adoption and usage at scale. - Empower internal champions (Joe)
These “super users” become internal influencers. Equip them with tools—dashboards, adoption metrics, and outcomes—they can share upward. - Make impact visible to buyers (Peter)
Buyers often never log in. That means the product must demonstrate ROI without relying on internal storytelling.
The B2B2E Design Framework
Here are four tactical moves WyzeTalk implemented that every SaaS leader can learn from:
1. Tick the Governance Box
Especially in enterprise: security, reliability, and compliance are non-negotiable. Zoom nailed this early on. Workday learned it the hard way.
2. Build Buyer Dashboards
Include buyer-specific metrics in your admin interface—tie usage to their objectives. WyzeTalk shows adoption and success metrics in one click, echoing what companies like Lattice and Datadog do well.
3. Design for Virality
Encourage users to share, reward engagement, and feed it all back into dashboards. Slack and HubSpot mastered this feedback loop. So has WyzeTalk—with “wrapped-style” insights sent straight to buyers.
4. Don’t Rely on Internal Evangelism
If your buyer never logs in, don’t depend on Joe to tell the story. Send monthly impact reports, infographics, or personalised updates to buyers. Make them feel smart—and central to success.
The Final Takeaway
When users aren’t your buyers, your product has to do more than convert—it has to convince.
That means designing solutions that speak to the hearts of users and the heads of buyers. By investing in solution design as a revenue driver—not just an aesthetic layer—WyzeTalk has proven that real growth starts when you bridge the B2B2E gap.
Merel leaves us with one reminder: “Be the painkiller for both—even if it means swallowing different pills.”
Watch Merel’s full keynote at SaaSiest 2025 here
