Executive Summary: Drawing on observations from HubSpot’s UNBOUND conference and Insight to Action’s growth strategy consulting frameworks, this article examines how B2B AI SaaS companies can differentiate themselves in an increasingly crowded market. We discuss the competitive threat posed by generalist AI platforms like ChatGPT and Claude, and offer three strategies for creating more durable value: developing a clear value proposition, using AI to amplify an existing product rather than serve as the entire product, and differentiating through stronger customer service and support. Together, these recommendations show how B2B AI SaaS firms can build more defensible growth strategies by focusing on the unique value they provide beyond the underlying AI technology.
Lessons from Hubspot UNBOUND: What Does Your Service Do that Claude Can’t?
As a growth strategy consulting professional, I recently had the opportunity to attend UNBOUND. Hubspot’s yearly conference brings together about 10,000 sales and marketing professionals to attend talks, make business connections, and learn more about the industry. As soon as you step on the conference floor, it’s clear what is dominating the marketing industry these days: AI. In particular, there were a ton of business to business (B2B) AI software-as-a-service (SaaS) firms. Basically, these were companies leveraging AI in software that they license to other firms to assist with marketing and sales (e.g. AI phone calls, AI texts, etc.).
Many of the companies with booths at UNBOUND were new, and it seemed that everyone was looking to grow, so I started wondering… how can I apply the lens of growth strategy consulting to B2B AI SaaS firms?
How Claude and ChatGPT Erode the SaaS Market
The market is flooded with B2B AI SaaS companies, but all of these companies face a big challenge: the existence of highly-capable generalist AI models, like Claude and ChatGPT. These models pose at least two problems.
- First, if a B2B firm created its software pretty quickly using a generalist AI, it stands to reason that its customers could do the same.
- Second, oftentimes a generalist model can simply replace specialized software. I’ll give an example of this one: I visited one booth for a firm that sells software to assist with writing, giving feedback and making corrections. The software piggybacks off of a generalist AI model but has some special features. They touted their agents, which took on different personas and gave feedback in those personas. ChatGPT can do all this. I asked the sales rep why I shouldn’t just use ChatGPT instead, and he pointed out that through integration with Google Docs and Word, his software reduced the need to copy and paste. Because copy and paste is a low barrier, I found this unconvincing, to say the least.
From my experience with Insight to Action’s growth strategy consulting frameworks, I have three suggestions for B2B SaaS firms that are leveraging AI and hoping to stay in the game, while competing with larger firms:
- Create a value proposition
- Consider using AI as an amplifier, not a starting point
- Put the service in SaaS
Growth Strategy Consulting Tip 1:
Your Value Proposition
My first suggestion to all companies who are looking to stand out from a larger competitor is to drill down on your value proposition. Basically, a value proposition is an analysis of the benefit that your company provides to the customer. It has two elements:
- First, identify your pillars of value
- Second, identify the concrete actions your company takes to provide that value
For example, one of Insight to Action’s pillars of value is lifelong learning for everyone. We educate our clients on fundamental concepts of market strategy and our research about the market as we learn from them about the specifics of their business. We tie this all together to create the final growth strategy consulting recommendation. This is valuable to our clients because not only does it help them solve the business problem at hand with a well-researched strategy that actually has buy-in (people are more likely to implement a strategy they helped develop), but also empowers them to apply market strategy skills and frameworks themselves in the future. It increases the human capital of their organizations in the long term.
Some of the concrete actions we take to deliver this pillar of value include:
- ensuring client participation in the consulting process
- focusing on education and process in addition to strategy outcomes at meetings
- ensuring client understanding and buy-in when developing a work plan or a strategy recommendation
For a full example growth strategy from the world of perfume, with an example value proposition and actions that back it up, see our article on Perfumania.
Lifelong learning for everyone is just one pillar of value, but already you can see that a value proposition can help you articulate how your company stands out, because not every consulting firm values educating their clients as much as we do.
When it comes to growth strategy, the value proposition can also help you hone in on markets where you really add value, so you can focus your growth efforts where they logically fit, and help you identify which messaging is going to resonate most with your customers. An evidence-based, thoughtful value proposition can be a guiding star for many business decisions.
Growth Strategy Consulting Tip 2:
Don’t Build Castles in the Sky
When considering your value proposition, my second growth strategy consulting recommendation comes into play. This one is more specific to SaaS firms. My experience at UNBOUND showed me how important it is to ADD AI to your existing pillars of value, rather than expecting to repackage ChatGPT and call it a day.
One great example of adding AI to a great product is Pitch. Pitch is a slide creation software that was initially created without AI features. Their value proposition as compared to Powerpoint was greater collaboration. With AI, they have levelled up that claim by focusing on easily creating consistent presentations for any company. This feature builds on the initial theme of collaboration, and reduces the friction of keeping visual language consistent across an organization. On their website, we can read:
“Most AI tools apply your colors and fonts to a fixed set of generic layouts and call it ‘branded.’ Meanwhile, Pitch Agent builds from real templates with fully-custom layouts. As it’s a full workspace, Pitch also lets you collaborate in real time, deliver content through branded deal rooms, and track engagement and analytics — all in one place. Almost a decade of building a presentation workspace means AI fits into an already solid foundation, not the other way around.”
In other words, AI expands their capacities, but it is not the only capacity.
By contrast, another company I talked to (which shall remain nameless) touted its software, but when asked what differentiated them from ChatGPT, failed to name a single thing they could do that ChatGPT could not. That’s because they let AI form the backbone of their value, as opposed to letting it amplify other ways they were creating value. Unless you are creating the AI yourself, it cannot be your whole value proposition. Putting AI on top of nothing is building a castle in the sky.
Growth Strategy Consulting Tip 3:
Putting the “Service” in SaaS
My third growth strategy consulting recommendation for these B2B AI SaaS companies is to focus on the “service” element of SaaS. ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude are not generally focusing on customer service and customer support when they pitch their value. However, the emergence of an entire cottage industry of AI consultants proves that there is demand for more support in using AI tools, and offering more service could be a great way to differentiate oneself from generalist AIs.
Let’s go back to the example of the writing support firm. They could offer support for their clients in creating personalized agents for document creation and feedback, allowing clients to call a helpline when desired and perhaps offering scheduled sessions where they would teach people how to use software tools effectively. The point is to really highlight these services and message them. AI users have an emotional and practical need for support in the adoption of new tools. Small companies should focus on the thing they can do and generalist AI companies cannot: provide human support to their customers.
The #1 Takeaway B2B AI SaaS Firms Need to Know
To all the firms I saw at UNBOUND, my three recommendations boil down to one principle: to make money, you need to create value for your customer and message that value in a way that they can understand. Right now, most B2B AI SaaS firms are just putting a wrapper on ChatGPT, but that’s not really providing value. I gave a couple suggestions on how to provide value, but fundamentally, the answer will be different for every firm.
Insight to Action can not only help you create a growth strategy, but also give your team the tools to think more strategically about every problem they face. To learn more about growth strategy consulting, value propositions, and more, check out our resources page or subscribe to our newsletter, your go-to source for the ever-evolving world of market strategy. If you think your business could benefit from lifelong learning for everyone, contact us!
