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 freelancers’ satisfaction with their reseller roles last week, we switch gears to examine the things they want to see more in those roles.
The thought is that the traditional role of freelancers – everything from copywriting to graphic design – has evolved into a reseller channel for tech vendors. In other words, freelancers have been discovered as an influential and organic inroad to enterprises, thus a back door for software sales.
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Data Dive
So what did the survey uncover about freelancers’ desired attributes in their reseller roles?
– The largest group by far wants higher commissions at 70 percent. That’s followed by an easier-to-use reseller platform (41 percent), more one-on-one support such as live chat (40 percent), more knowledge-base materials to refer to (39 percent), more educational media such as frequent webinars (34 percent), and a wider selection of products to sell (26 percent).
– These results are fairly intuitive with no big surprises, especially the dominant sentiment toward higher commissions – a common feeling throughout the sales world.
– The desire for an easier-to-use reseller platform signals opportunities for software vendors to better acquire and retain freelancer talent for their reseller channel.
– This result also signals an opportunity for a purpose-built software platform for this particular flavor of sales rep. It could be a modified version of a CRM or sales automation platform that addresses their unique needs and pain points (seen throughout this report).
– Educational and reference materials also scored high as desired attributes, considering both “content libraries” (39 percent) and “regular webinars with ideas and tips (34 percent).
– These resources could represent low-hanging fruit to satisfy and incentivize freelancer resellers.
– The desire for a “wider selection of products” scored lowest, but was still significant at 26 percent.
– This represents a feeling among freelancers that they’re hungry for more opportunities to sell and to find product synergies with their clients. This indicates high motivation levels.
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.
