Though the unicorn club is an oft-discussed milestone in tech startup land, a more meaningful and operationally-reflective metric is the Centaur Club. Signifying $100 million in annual recurring revenue, it’s a more tangible milestone than the on-paper-value signified by a unicorn’s $1 billion+ valuation.
Beyond a static metric, the key term in ARR is the second R: recurring. This extends the milestone beyond a fleeting signal. Sustained value and cash-flow advantages come from the consistency and momentum of repeatable inflows. This is what made SaaS so popular over the past decade.
These are broader fundamentals of course, but the reason we bring it up now is that SOCi – a digital marketing powerhouse in the Localogyverse – recently announced its induction into the Centaur Club. Always looking for extractable and transferrable lessons, we recently caught up with CMO Monica Ho.
Of course “extractable and transferrable” isn’t always possible, given that each business is different. And the market conditions that face each business are likewise unique. But to the degree we can point to attributable factors for SOCi’s revenue milestone, there are potentially meaningful lessons within.
Three Things
With that backdrop, what did we learn from Monica? There were several points that flowed from our discussion, but to keep things streamlined and digestible, we’ve synthesized it into three takeaways…
1. Focus
SOCi is nothing if not disciplined. Though there are always pressures to chase new shiny things and additional revenue streams, a certain degree of focus can keep startups on the right long-term trajectory. When done right, focal points map to core strengths and the things you can do better than anyone.
For SOCi, that north star is multi-location brands. Its platform uniquely addresses their pain points. And it embeds functions that were developed over a decade, based on learned competency around this target user base. This focus allows it to be a bona fide specialist, rather than a generalist in digital marketing.
Of course, the temptation to be a generalist is always there, given that it maps to an inherently greater addressable market. But SOCi has chosen the focused approach and it has paid off through a best-of-breed status that drives customer growth and retention… not to mention $100 million in ARR.
2. Adjacency
Though it may seem to contradict the operational focus espoused above, it can often be advantageous to grow into product areas that are adjacent and synergistic. This can achieve economies of scale on the cost side of things, while making the product better and more attractive through a holistic approach.
In SOCi’s case, that translates to offering digital marketing across formats. The company is strong in social marketing for multi-location brands (as its name implies). But it also sees strategic importance in search marketing. More importantly, social and search marketing go together and hold each other up.
For example, a buttoned-up social marketing playbook – such as optimized Yelp listings per-location, and comprehensive review responsiveness – confers authority to Google… and is thus a key ranking factor. When federated under one platform and done right, this social/search harmony can be achieved.
3. Automation
Another growth engine for SOCi is its evolving service model. The autonomous workflows at the heart of its CoMarketing ethos have unlocked scale in the platform. Importantly, this also taps into tangible aspects of AI’s value proposition, while transcending the hype that surrounds the technology.
For example, to achieve scalability and co-marketing support for its users, SOCi has layered in its Genius AI technology. This includes Genius Reviews, Genius Social, and Genius Search – AI-driven features meant to automate time-intensive tasks in their respective – and self-explanatory – areas.
Beyond automation in managing functions like reviews, social marketing, and SEO, Genius AI offers analytics that are boiled down to actionable insights. Altogether, it’s a deft application of AI in that it saves time and addresses tangible pain points. This is where AI and automation will be best placed.
Soci Chat is An AI-Fueled Resource for Multi-Location Businesses
Color Commentary
All the above hits the broad strokes, but for more color, listen to our full discussion with Monica on Localogy’s This Week in Local Podcast. You can listen below and we encourage you to subscribe for regular updates on our episodes. And let us know if you’d like to be a guest or sponsor on the show…
Header image credit: Matt Jones on Unsplash
