This article sets the foundation for understanding the attributes of a B2B2C SaaS product and its implications for creating messages that resonate with target audiences.

B2B2C represents a business model that enables SaaS companies to reach individual consumers indirectly through the businesses that purchase their software.

Some B2B2C explanations overlook the connection between the SaaS company and its primary clients. These narratives often emphasize appealing to external stakeholders—the ‘C’ in B2B2C—over the businesses themselves, the second ‘B’ in B2B2C.

This approach can be highly damaging from a communication perspective.

The standard B2B2C definition also fails to explain the subtleties of a B2B2C SaaS product, which are crucial for building efficient marketing and sales messages.

A Brief Yet Insightful Explanation of B2B2C SaaS Products

In simple terms, a B2B2C SaaS product is software businesses purchase to achieve different goals by engaging their stakeholders.

The subtleties of a B2B2C SaaS product depend on the type of stakeholders these businesses aim to engage.

To achieve maximum efficiency, your marketing and sales messages should vary depending on the stakeholders of your customers.

But before getting there, let’s discuss these stakeholders.

The ‘C’ from B2B2C: Internal Stakeholders

Usually, businesses will purchase SaaS solutions to manage or engage two types of stakeholders: internal or/and external.

Internal stakeholders are end users within or associated with the organization, such as:

• Managers
• Employees
• Contractors
• Freelancers
• Affiliates
• Partners and resellers
• Suppliers
• And more
  

All these end users are involved in a business’s operational process and are integral to achieving its overall growth goals.

There are multiple B2B2C SaaS companies offering solutions dedicated to internal stakeholders.

Here are some examples:

• Project management software: Asana, Click-up, Monday, Basecamp
• Knowledge management platforms: Notion, Guru, Slab, Document360
• Human Resources solutions: Rippling, BambooHR, Zenefits
• People management software: Lattice, Leapsome, CultureAmp
• Communication platforms: Slack, Workvivo, SnapComms
• And more
  

In other words, businesses will purchase different B2B2C SaaS solutions to facilitate internal workflows and increase team efficiency.

😲 Fun note: From a business perspective, the B2B2C model can easily take a B2C2B format in the context of internal stakeholders.

Let’s take Miro, the digital collaboration platform, as an example.

• B2B2C Model: A business may choose Miro for internal collaboration. Executives may decide to purchase a yearly plan and encourage teams to actively use it.
• B2C2B Model: An employee discovers Miro and starts using it, inviting other team members to work on a project. The platform gains popularity internally, proving its efficiency, and executives decide to purchase a yearly plan and expand its use company-wide.
  

The ‘C’ from B2B2C: External Stakeholders

External stakeholders are end users who interact with the business through its products or services but are not part of the organization.

In this case, we can list stakeholders such as:

• Leads
• Prospects
• Customers
• Community members
• Attendees
• Subscribers
• Social media followers
• And more

Usually, engagement with these end users is crucial to ensuring business growth.

A wide variety of B2B2C SaaS companies offer solutions for engaging with external stakeholders.  

Here are some examples:

• Community-building platforms: Circle, Hivebrite, Mighty Networks
• Event management software: Bizzabo, Zkipster, Splashthat, Brella
• Webinar platforms: Demio, Livestorm, Airmeet
• User onboarding solutions: Plotline, Appcues, Userpilot
• Customer engagement platforms: Iterable, Braze
• And more

In other words, businesses will purchase B2B2C SaaS solutions to cover different dynamics and touchpoints in their engagement with external stakeholders.

❗Important: B2B2C SaaS solutions dedicated to external stakeholders have a team-facing segment. Think about event management software. Although it facilitates the setup of external-facing assets, such as an event landing page, online registration, check-in, and more, it also provides a team-facing interface.

This interface enables internal stakeholders, or people within the organization planning the event, to set up, update, and track different aspects of the event.  

All these insights play a big role in how to communicate and craft marketing and sales messages for a B2B2C SaaS product.

Things to Consider When Communicating a B2B2C SaaS Product

Regardless of the stakeholder type, a B2B2C SaaS product is sold to a business, not its end users.

If you’ve developed a B2B2C SaaS product, your messaging strategy should focus on showcasing how your software helps businesses achieve their goals in relation to their internal or external stakeholders.

The stakeholder type signals different priorities businesses have.

A business seeking a SaaS solution tailored for external stakeholders will pay attention to different messaging cues and elements from one seeking SaaS solutions for internal stakeholders.

And these subtleties can help improve and tailor marketing and sales messages. Let’s discuss them one by one.

Communicating a B2B2C SaaS for Internal Stakeholders

Usually, businesses will purchase B2B2C SaaS for internal stakeholders pursuing goals such as:

• Increasing team efficiency
• Facilitating internal workflows
• Maximizing resource efficiency

So, your marketing and sales messages should highlight how the B2B2C SaaS product can help businesses achieve these outcomes.

Here are a few pointers you can consider when crafting these marketing and sales messages:

→ Fast onboarding

Highlight that your B2B2C SaaS product that is easy to use and provides fast onboarding.

After all, your prospects, aka businesses and decision-makers purchasing the SaaS, don’t want to waste more time and resources on extensive training programs for their teams.  

→ Access management

If your B2B2C SaaS product offers granular control over permissions and access levels, highlight it when creating marketing and sales messages.

Focus on showcasing how your SaaS enables sensitive data protection while still allowing for collaboration and flexibility within the organization.

→ Adaptability and flexibility

Highlight features that allow the software to mirror the organization’s unique operational structure, enhancing efficiency and reducing the need for workarounds.

→ Collaboration

Discuss how your product enhances internal communication and collaboration, including features like shared workspaces and messaging and tools designed to improve how teams work together internally.

Communicating a B2B2C SaaS for External Stakeholders

Usually, businesses will purchase B2B2C SaaS for internal stakeholders pursuing reputation and financial goals such as:

• Increasing brand visibility
• Attracting high-quality leads
• Gaining more customers
• Retaining customers
• Building communities

… and more

In other words, everything revolves around expanding business opportunities and growing revenue.

Considering this aspect, here are a few pointers to consider when crafting marketing and sales messages to communicate a B2B2C SaaS product for external stakeholders:

→ User experience

Businesses care a lot about the experience of their external stakeholders, such as leads, prospects, or customers.

They’re interested in reducing friction and providing a compelling experience to motivate end users to take desired actions such as subscribing, engaging, or purchasing something.  

So make sure to highlight the frictionless and friendly experience your SaaS provides when the ‘C’ from the B2B2C engages with the interface.

Example: Let’s say you’re developing an event management platform for retail companies. When searching for events software, these companies will first pay attention to the experience their attendees will have with the platform and only then to its operational efficiency. They will care more about how the online registration and ticketing looks and feels to a potential attendee than how to set it up.

When promoting a B2B2C SaaS product for external stakeholders, create messages highlighting the following attributes:

• User-friendliness
• Appealing interface
• Responsive design

→ Branding and personalization

Since the SaaS product is facing the external stakeholders of businesses, it’s crucial to highlight its flexibility for customization with a brand’s color schemes, fonts, and other elements.

→ Multi-channel consistency

Multi-channel consistency is crucial because it enables businesses to meet their external stakeholders—customers, prospects, and leads—where they are at. By doing so, they can ensure cohesive and personalized experiences across multiple platforms.

This approach ensures stronger brand perception, which is critical to achieving good financial outcomes. If your B2B2C SaaS product provides this capability, highlight it when crafting your marketing and sales messages.

→ Data protection and compliance

Data protection and compliance are crucial for both internal and external stakeholders. You can’t signal trust without communication that your B2B2C SaaS product adheres to industry security protocols and compliance standards, such as GDPR, HIPAA, or CCPA.

Highlight how your product ensures the safe handling, storage, and processing of sensitive data, offering peace of mind to businesses concerned about protecting their and their customers’ information.

Final note

If your SaaS product is based on the B2B2C model, identify the goals businesses (second ‘B’ in the B2B2C formula) want to achieve in their interaction with their stakeholders (the ’C’ in the B2B2C formula).

Then, craft your marketing and sales messages accordingly, always focusing on how your SaaS can help your main clients (businesses) achieve their goals.