Gartner’s Future of Sales 2025 report states that 80% of B2B sales interactions between suppliers and buyers will occur in digital channels. For B2B SaaS companies, that future is already here.
Today’s SaaS buyers are more independent, research-driven, and less trusting of traditional vendor claims than ever before. They want control, transparency, and personalization—not another sales pitch.
If your marketing strategy hasn’t evolved to meet this new buyer journey, you’re not just missing opportunities—you’re losing deals to competitors who have. This blog unpacks how the SaaS buyer has changed and how your marketing must adapt to match.
How the SaaS Buyer Has Changed
Several key trends have contributed to longer decision timelines:- Self-Education is Dominant
Buyers now spend 60% to 70% of their journey researching independently before engaging with sales (Forrester).
Before booking a demo, they consume blogs, webinars, peer reviews, product videos, and case studies. - Buying Committees are Bigger
Today, an average SaaS deal involves 6–8 stakeholders, including finance, IT, operations, and end-users.
Your marketing must win over groups, not just individuals. - Trust is at an All-Time Low
Buyers are skeptical of “vendor speak.” They prefer:- Peer reviews
- Third-party analyst reports
- Real-world customer stories
- They Expect Hyper-Personalization
Spray-and-pray marketing is dead. Buyers expect:- Relevant messaging by role, industry, and stage
- Smart retargeting based on behavior
- Personalized nurture sequences
- Buying Happens Across Channels
It’s not linear. Before serious engagement, a buyer might read a blog, listen to a podcast, chat with an SDR, or download a guide.
Your marketing must work cohesively across:- Organic search
- Paid ads
- Social media
- Email marketing
- Review sites
- Sales conversations
Founder challenge: Traditional marketing funnels assumed a neat, orderly buyer journey. Today’s SaaS journey is chaotic, nonlinear, and self-directed.
- Funnel Thinking: Assuming buyers progress step-by-step (TOFU → MOFU → BOFU) on your timeline.
- Product-Centric Messaging: Focusing too much on features instead of outcomes.
- Generic Campaigns: Sending the same emails to every lead, regardless of their intent signals.
- Siloed Teams: Poor handoff between marketing and sales causes friction.
- Ignoring Post-Sale Marketing: Missing opportunities to expand, upsell, and turn customers into advocates.
- Map the Buyer Journey Realistically
Build customer journey maps based on:
- How does your ICP research
- What questions do they ask at each stage
- Which channels they trust
Pro tip: Interview recent wins and losses. Reverse-engineer how they bought.
Create detailed personas that reflect buyers’ complex paths, including multi-touch journeys across platforms.
- Lead with Educational Content, Not Sales Pitches
Content must:
- Educate first
- Address fears and risks
- Validate internal discussions
Content types that work:
- Deep-dive blogs
- Webinars
- Industry benchmarks
- ROI calculators
- Buyer’s guides
Offer ungated and gated versions of key content pieces to give buyers options based on their intent.
- Create Buying Group-Focused Campaigns
Instead of targeting just “the decision maker,” build:
- Technical deep dives for IT
- ROI decks for finance
- UX benefits for end-users
Align messaging with stakeholder priorities.
Launch account-based marketing (ABM) programs that personalize outreach by buying committee role.
- Master Intent-Based Personalization
Not all visitors are equal. Use:
- Behavioral triggers (pricing page visits, multiple return visits)
- Firmographic data (industry, size)
- Predictive scoring (6sense, Bombora)
Then:
- Serve dynamic CTAs
- Tailor nurture streams
- Prioritize high-intent follow-up
Create segment-specific nurture tracks that address top concerns for each vertical or use case.
- Bring Sales and Marketing into One Revenue Team
Alignment isn’t optional anymore.
- Joint planning and KPIs
- Shared access to engagement data
- Real-time feedback loops on messaging
Marketing must see itself as a pipeline owner, not just a lead generator.
Host quarterly revenue team offsites to strengthen collaboration and jointly plan future initiatives.
Modern RevOps mantra: Revenue is a team sport.
- Leverage Social Proof Relentlessly
Trust is earned externally now. Bake social proof into:
- Website pages
- Ad creative
- Demo decks
- Email nurtures
- Case studies
- G2 reviews
- Analyst rankings
- Customer video testimonials
Also, encourage user-generated content (UGC) where customers authentically showcase their success with your platform.
- Invest in Conversational Marketing: Use chatbots and live chat to meet buyers in real time.
- Double Down on Video: Product walkthroughs, customer interviews, and thought leadership videos build trust faster.
- Enable Self-Serve Paths: Offer free trials, freemium models, or interactive demos for buyers who prefer no-touch evaluation.
- Expand Post-Sale Marketing: Marketing shouldn’t stop at the sale. Implement customer success campaigns that drive renewals, upsells, and advocacy.
- Increase MQL-to-SQL conversion by 40% by re-aligning content to real buyer questions
- Shorten sales cycles by 28% through role-based personalization
- Boost demo requests by 35% by removing friction points across digital touchpoints
- Enhance win rates by 22% with strategic deployment of customer proof across the journey
- Expand customer lifetime value (CLTV) by optimizing post-sale engagement campaigns
- Show up earlier
- Educate smarter
- Personalize deeper
- Align across channels
- Build trust relentlessly
Where Traditional SaaS Marketing Fails
If your marketing still treats buyers like passive participants, you’re behind.
How to Adapt Your SaaS Marketing for the New Decision Journey
Additional Ways to Adapt Faster
Acceleration mindset: The companies that make buying easier, smarter, and lower-risk win in 2025 and beyond.
Simon Fractional in Action: Modernizing Buyer Journeys
At Simon Fractional, we’ve helped SaaS brands:
By reshaping marketing strategies to reflect the new buyer journey, SaaS companies unlock faster growth, stronger loyalty, and higher ROI.
Final Thoughts: Win the Modern Buyer, Win the Market
Today’s SaaS buyer isn’t waiting for you to show up with a pitch deck. They’re already forming opinions, comparing options, and making decisions digitally.
If you want to influence their choice, your marketing must:
Competitive edge: The SaaS brands that adapt fastest to the new buyer journey will control the next era of growth.
Don’t market to the buyer you wish you had. Market to the buyer that you have—smarter, faster, and more empowered than ever.
Companies that respect the modern buyer’s autonomy, preferences, and expectations will earn their trust and business for years.
Next Steps
Want help modernizing your SaaS marketing strategy for today’s buyer journey? Let’s architect it together.
