As part of the ritual of examining local commerce and SMB Saas strategies, Localogy goes right to the source: SMBs themselves. How do they feel about marketing and operational software? What features do they want? And how has their hunger changed in a pandemic? This is all a moving target.
But as part of that exercise, we sometimes broaden the subject matter beyond traditional SMBs. In the latest Localogy study, done in collaboration with Mono Solutions, we looked specifically at freelancers. Why is this important? The Covid-driven “great resignation” has boosted the freelancer economy.
With that backdrop, who are freelancers and what makes them tick? The report, The Freelance Channel – A Growing Reseller Resource dives in. After examining campaigns through which freelancers market themseleves last week, we switch gears to examine how they influence their clients’ tech adoption.
Breaking down the results, the top technology freelancers recommend to clients is marketing software (55 percent). That’s followed by CRM (52 percent) websites, hosting and email (50 percent), eCommerce (47 percent), accounting, HR, and payroll (46 percent), and graphic design (40 percent).
Localogy members can access full charts and SMB survey reports. Non-members can purchase reports.
What Does it All Mean?
Going a bit deeper, a few things jump out at us:
– One of the main points of the above exercise is to see if freelancers could serve as a worthwhile reseller channel for SMB software & services.
– This involves affiliate marketing programs that rewards them directly for influencing their clients’ software purchases.
– Given that freelancers are eager for contract work, this type of paid influence is generally welcomed. And they can be powerful advocates.
– This appears to especially be the case in marketing software such as marketing automation and campaign management.
– Given that this is a highly competitive area of enterprise software, any edge can be impactful, meaning that enlisting freelancers as a reseller channel can pay dividends.
– CRM is likewise a competitive area of enterprise software, and it scored highly in these survey results, meaning freelancers can have a valuable impact.
– Elsewhere on the list websites and web hosting can be a valuable area of influence, given that it usually represents a high lifetime value, given high switching costs for websites and email.
– Similarly, eCommerce solutions have gained value during the pandemic, given Covid-era inflections in all-things eCommerce.
– Other areas that are specifically tied to the type of work that freelancers do (e.g. graphic design software) can likewise be powerful, given their perceived credibility in these areas.
– Speaking of perceived credibility, one advantage in all of the above is that freelancers are perceived by organizations as unbiased and astute sources on optimal software buying decisions.
Time to Shine
Stepping back, SMB online marketing – website-based or otherwise – continues to grow rapidly. SMB SaaS startups and online services providers are correspondingly thriving as it continues to grow as a leading subsector of the broader SaaS universe. There’s a long-tail opportunity at play.
Meanwhile, new SMB SaaS users could represent permanent adopters – a concept that’s accelerated in the Covid era as SMBs are forced to boost their digital transformation. This sends them into the arms of SaaS providers to accomplish a range of marketing and operational functions.
We’ll return in the next installment to go deeper into Localogy original survey research. That will include SMB goals and success factors. Let us know what additional insights jump out at you from the above data, and stay tuned for more breakdowns in our Benchmark Bytes series.
