Was SaaS-Startups von anderen Branchen lernen können

Von gehypter Streetwear bis zu modularen Möbeln

There are best practices and top market leaders across every industry. Companies who have “been there” and “done that” can teach you invaluable lessons that can be applied to SaaS startups.

We’re big believers in this – hence our Iconic Products series.

Aber wie wäre es, wenn wir für einen Moment über den Tellerrand hinausblicken und uns überlegen, was wir von Branchen außerhalb von SaaS und Technologie lernen könnten?

 

Startups, die über den Tellerrand schauen

 

That’s exactly what we’re going to do. From fashion to furniture to a few things in between, let’s explore what we can learn from some of the best in other industries. 🔎

Einige dieser Unternehmen sind Disruptoren, während andere alteingesessene Unternehmen sind, die gelernt haben, sich anzupassen und in einer sich ständig verändernden Geschäftslandschaft brillante Wege zu beschreiten.

Let’s get to it! 👊

 

Mode

Creating every company’s dream scenario

It’s nearly impossible to talk about branding in fashion and not discuss the mega-cult success of Supreme. 🤷‍♀️

Was 1994 in New York als Skateboarding- und Bekleidungsmarke begann, hat sich in die vorderste Reihe der Popkultur und der Markenbegeisterung katapultiert.

Hundreds of people line up for Supreme drops every Thursday (when there’s a new release of products, of course), and it’s utter chaos. 😱

 

chaos

 

People fly in from all over the world in order to stand in line for hours just to go into one of Supreme’s 11 brick-and-mortar stores and try their luck of finding that perfect overpriced t-shirt or brick or whatever other weird item they’re selling that week.

Or, fans try their luck online – this normally results in some people paying ~4000% more for an item than its retail price. 💸

Oh, and this happens outside of drop days, too. Just walk around London’s (or New York’s, for that matter) SoHo neighborhood on a Saturday morning and count how many blocks are covered with people lined up waiting for Supreme to open.

Supreme has managed to create the ultimate founder fever dream – but how? 🤔

 

Warum kaufen sie? Die Psychologie des Kunden

Many people cite the “hype” around the brand, but surely it’s about more than that.

There are plenty of people who get excited about the latest Yeezy shoes or OVO hoodie (confession time: I’m kind of one of those people) – but neither of those brands even come close to the level of hype around Supreme.

Scarcity certainly comes to the forefront here. There are a limited number of items that Supreme creates and when they’re gone, they’re gone – hence the insane markups on the secondhand market. 🤑

But let’s get a bit deeper – let’s consider the psychology around the customer.

Dr. Dimitrios Tsivrikos, consumer psychologist at University College London, in an interview with Vice, said, “Millennials in particular are very aware of different consumer tribes; they look to inspire or impress peers who share the same kind of interests as them, who will recognize that particular T-shirt.” 👕

 

tshirt

 

Jonathan Gabay, author of Brand Psychology: Consumer Perceptions, Corporate Reputations, goes even further in the article, saying, “[Importantly], Supreme was started in the right bit of New York by skaters. That makes it authentic, or seen to be authentic.

“The fact that they’ve brought in other designers over the years is irrelevant; it all goes back to the fact that the original people who wore this stuff were authentic—they weren’t wearing it because it was trendy.”

“A brand is an extension of oneself—psychologically, in terms of how you want the world to see you, or what you want the world to believe you are,” said Gabay. “But deeper than that: what you believe you are, through that brand.”

 

Bumm. Da ist es.

Scarcity. Authenticity. Identity. 💪

Obviously, these three concepts are easier to say than to actually apply to your startups – but think of them as guiding points for a moment.

Do you have a new product that you’re trying to launch? Perhaps start a waitlist to get people excited about it, and offer certain perks, such as early access or special discounts. Create a sense of scarcity and exclusivity around your product.

 

 

Or maybe you’re thinking about a brand refresh – or a total rebranding? Think about your narrative and the message you want to convey. Does it encompass your company’s identity? Is it authentic? Or is it just more idealistic business jargon? 🤝

Many companies can only dream of having the success of a brand like Supreme, but as you can see, there are lessons to be learned from how they “made it” that can be applied to just about any industry – including SaaS and tech.

TL;DR

  • Denken Sie an den Kunden und daran, wie er mit der Marke interagiert.
  • Erzählen Sie die Geschichte, die Sie mit Ihrer Marke erzählen wollen?
  • Ist Ihr Unternehmen authentisch in der Art und Weise, wie es sein Angebot beschreibt?
  • Gibt es Möglichkeiten, wie Sie Ihre Marke bekannt machen können?

 

Nachrichtenmedien

Anpassung an eine sich verändernde Landschaft

It wasn’t all that long ago when the main forms of receiving news updates came in the form of television and print media. 🗞

Of course, both of those things still exist, but let’s be real: news media, especially print media, was perhaps the most deeply disrupted industry by the mass adoption of the internet.

 

Zeitung

 

This led the news media industry into a crisis mode. What’s next? How do you generate revenue when people aren’t buying your paper?

Nun, im Fall der New York Times und vieler anderer Zeitungen, die diesem Beispiel folgten, war es eine Situation, in der es galt, sich anzupassen oder zu sterben.

If you can’t beat them, join them. 😎

 

Ganz auf die Digitalisierung setzen

Die Times war fast 150 Jahre alt, als das Internet begann, die Art und Weise zu verändern, wie die Menschen ihre Informationen erhalten.

Das bedeutete, dass sie trotz ihrer langen Tradition und ihrer tiefen Verwurzelung in der eigenen Kultur schnell innovativ sein mussten.

It’s hard enough for 25-year-old companies to innovate and adapt – imagine that, times six. 😳

Doch im Gegensatz zu vielen anderen Zeitungen, die sich bei der Umstellung auf die digitale Technik stur stellten, entschied sich die Times für den vollen Einsatz.

 

 

Im Jahr 2011 führte das Unternehmen seine Paywall ein und stellte 2013 innerhalb eines Jahres mehr als 100 Mitarbeiter im technischen Bereich ein.

And it didn’t just stop there. On top of their new tech employees strengthening the user experience of their website and app, they also started a products department that was tasked with releasing new apps and new revenue sources.

This resulted in three new successful apps around their opinion section, streamlined news for millennials and cooking – PLUS a huge partnership with Google by creating a new VR app for the Google Cardboard headsets.

 

 

Alter Hund, neue Tricks

If one of the most historical newsrooms in the world can modernize and adapt to the changing times – there’s hope for the rest of us.

And no, it doesn’t mean you need to hire 100 new employees or aggressively launch a VR app.

It’s about understanding the landscape, and identifying where your customers are – and how you can effectively reach them.

And one thing we can all learn from this, or be reminded of, is the fact that you should never be against change. 😄

Die Zukunft der Arbeitsweise und des Kundenverhaltens ist entscheidend dafür, dass sich Ihr Unternehmen von anderen abhebt.

TL;DR

  • Don’t be afraid of change.
  • Startups are much more poised to disrupt and change industries than legacy companies, but that change won’t come automatically or overnight.
  • It’s about finding the strategy that works best for your company and being where your customers are (and offering the right product or service).

 

Möbel

Unterbrechung eines ansonsten langweiligen Marktes

It may sound a tad dramatic, but buying a mattress or a couch can be an incredibly emotional purchase for people. 🛋

Not in the sense of people crying over their couch, but rather the fact that it’s an expensive purchase that is supposed to last you for years.

On top of that, it’s just a frustrating and overwhelming experience. Buying a couch or mattress opens you up to so many different choices and it’s hard to tell whether you’re actually getting a good deal. 😓

Plus, the logistics of getting a large piece of furniture delivered to your house or apartment is a commitment in itself – you need to pay a ridiculous fee, wait around all day for the delivery people to show up and then get everything set up.

 

keine Zeit für so etwas

 

It can feel a bit exhausting when it’s all said and done.

Aber genau deshalb verändern Start-ups wie Casper und Burrow das Möbelgeschäft.

Casper started as a mattress e-commerce store, but has exploded in the past few years, and now offers other items such as bed frames and dog beds. 🐶

In ähnlicher Weise entwirft und fertigt Burrow kompromisslose Möbel und andere Produkte für das moderne Leben zu Hause. Das Unternehmen startete 2017 mit einem modularen Sofa und hat sich seitdem auf mehrere Konfigurationen von Sitzmöbeln für das Wohnzimmer erweitert.

Wie schaffen sie es also, ein nahtloses Erlebnis mit einem Produkt zu schaffen, das für ihre Kunden ein hochinvestiver, emotionaler Kauf sein soll?

 

Startups nehmen großen Investitionen den Schrecken

Casper erkannte die oben genannten Probleme und beschloss, die Dinge zu ändern.

With its single-model mattress offered at an affordable price, including free shipping and a 100-night trial period, it’s no wonder Casper easily surpassed $100 million in revenue in less than two years of being in business. 😲

 

 

As Casper’s co-founders have explained in multiple interviews, it was originally about disrupting the mattress industry, because it was so obviously broken.

But this eventually turned into the goal of inventing an industry around sleep. They decided to create a mattress that would fit just about everyone’s needs. 😴

Und was noch wichtiger ist: Sie wollten, dass die Erfahrung erstklassig ist.

In Casper’s earlier days, there was a couple who made a YouTube video about their mattress. They explained that the bed wasn’t right for them, but the experience was incredible.

For Casper, that’s the ultimate goal. 🙏

Wenn Sie Ihre Kunden glücklich machen, wie im Fall von Casper, sorgen diese Kunden für mehr Mund-zu-Mund-Propaganda und kaufen am Ende vielleicht sogar andere Produkte, wie Kissen oder einen Nachttisch.

Casper hat erklärt, dass die Rückgabequote eher gering ist, so dass sie versuchen, die zurückgegebenen Matratzen an eine örtliche Wohltätigkeitsorganisation zu spenden, was letztendlich kostengünstiger ist, als sie quer durch das Land zu transportieren, um sie aufzuarbeiten und zu versuchen, das Produkt weiterzuverkaufen.

In the case of Burrow, they offer modular furniture – essentially, a customer can purchase an armchair and later decide to turn it into a larger sofa by buying a loveseat and connecting them. And vice versa – you can turn a larger sofa into a loveseat or four separate chairs.

 

 

You get the picture. 😉

On top of that, Burrow offers hidden USB charging ports in the furniture, so you never have to get up to charge your phone – handy.

Wie bei Casper ist der Versand kostenlos und die Lieferung erfolgt in der Regel innerhalb einer Woche.

Erkennen Sie ein Muster? Diese Start-ups haben es geschafft, alle Probleme beim Kauf großer Möbel zu identifizieren und das Geschäftsmodell komplett auf den Kopf zu stellen.

Aber was ist mit denen, die immer noch Bedenken haben, Möbel einfach online zu kaufen?

It’s time to go physical.

 

Vom Digitalen zum Physischen

For those among us who want to feel, see and touch a mattress or couch that we want to buy – ordering one online might evoke anxiety or fear. Are you really going to be happy with something that you buy before trying?

Glücklicherweise ist dies genau das Konzept, das diese Unternehmen erforschen. Casper ist vor kurzem eine Partnerschaft mit dem Einzelhandelsriesen Target eingegangen und plant darüber hinaus die Eröffnung von 200 Casper-Geschäften in den gesamten Vereinigten Staaten.

In the case of Burrow, the young company originally entered physical spaces in the form of partnerships with co-working spaces and breweries – you can even apply on their website to host a showroom in your space.

Now, they have a showroom in the SoHo neighborhood of New York. This gives customers the chance to experience Burrow’s products IRL.

According to an article from Fast Company, “visitors can hang out in front of a fireplace, watch movies in a private screening room, and also play around with making their own videos in a green screen studio.”

Of course, the initial goal of these store concepts isn’t just to sell products, but it’s also about giving customers a positive experience that helps increase brand loyalty. 💛

TL;DR

  • Bei der Umwälzung einer Branche geht es darum, Schmerzpunkte zu identifizieren und zu beseitigen.
  • Wie können Sie Ihr Kundenerlebnis noch besser machen? Verlassen die Kunden Ihr Unternehmen mit einem positiven oder negativen Gefühl?
  • This concept reminds me quite a bit of a quote from Sujan Patel, co-founder of Web Profits, “Customers may forget what you said, but they’ll never forget how you made them feel.”

 

There are a ton of inspirational companies – startups and legacy companies alike – out there doing amazing things. And we can all certainly learn from them. 🧠

But it’s not just about learning from companies in your industry. SaaS companies can learn a lot from seeing how things are done across a variety of industries.

Not only in fashion or news media or furniture, but also healthcare, in the case of startups such as Capsule Pharmacy and Oscar Health. 💊

Or even in eyeglasses – with companies such as Warby Parker or Zenni Optical.

Die Liste lässt sich beliebig fortsetzen.

So, next time you’re interacting with a company or making an important purchase, stop and think for a moment about the things that they’re doing right (and wrong, of course) and think about how you could inject a bit of that experience into your own startups. 💉

 

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Ali Colwell
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