The AWS Marketplace has become a thriving platform for SaaS companies, offering immense growth opportunities and improved performance. As per AWS research, partners selling on the Marketplace have witnessed significant advancements, including a 27% increase in win rates, a 40% reduction in sales cycle duration, and an impressive 80% improvement in deal sizes. McKinsey research has further confirmed that partners selling AWS services through the marketplace can expect to earn $6.4 for every $1 of AWS spend. To leverage this potential, AWS emphasizes the “Build->Market->Sell” Model, where each stage plays a crucial role in scaling up SaaS revenue generation. As we have observed that partners are able to achieve a lot when it comes to the Build Stage of the Model, in this article we will focus on the Market and Sell stages.

Market – Maximizing SaaS Positioning on AWS Marketplace

1. Have a unique Customer Value Proposition

When targeting the AWS ecosystem, it’s essential to redefine your customer value proposition to align with the unique needs of AWS Selling and ISV Partner teams. While many partners excel at defining their customer value proposition against competitors, they often overlook the importance of tailoring it to different AWS stakeholder teams. By amalgamating the value provided to customers, end-users, and AWS stakeholders, partners can create a compelling AWS value proposition that resonates throughout their marketplace listings and AWS channels.

2. Define your Brand Strategy

Defining a comprehensive brand strategy and incorporating it into marketplace listings and AWS channels is critical for effective marketing. Many partners struggle to define their brand’s tone of voice, personality, and emotional and functional benefits. It’s crucial for young SaaS companies to not only establish visual elements but also articulate their brand story. Highlighting the brand essence in top-level product descriptions, taglines, and embedding emotional and functional benefits alongside feature descriptions in marketplace listings helps differentiate and attract customers.

3. Utilize your Vendor Insights

Utilizing Vendor Insights, a powerful feature embedded in the AWS Marketplace, can significantly enhance the sales cycle and showcase the perceived value of your product. Partners should take advantage of this capability, highlighting verified aspects of their business and products. As customers spend significant time on security due diligence when evaluating SaaS options, emphasizing security aspects through Vendor Insights is particularly effective in expediting the customers’ decision-making process.

Through the vendor insights functionality, 125 control questions are used to identify the security current state of your product. There are four different kinds of clearances that can be achieved and subsequently publicized using the vendor insights section and these four clearance types are dependent on you choosing one of the following methods:

• Your product clearing the self assessment
• Your product being validated through a third party
• Product achieving very famous accreditations such as ISO certifications or SOC2
• Your product assessed by providing real time access through the AWS Security Hub

Sell – Leveraging AWS Marketplace features for SaaS sales

Many partners mistakenly assume that simply having a listing on the AWS Marketplace will automatically generate leads and drive success. However, building sustainable growth on this platform requires more than just listing your product. It demands a strategic approach that showcases your commitment and momentum within the AWS ecosystem. To achieve this, follow these two essential steps:

1. Start with a Self-Service Marketplace Listing

Begin your growth journey on the AWS Marketplace by creating a self-service Marketplace listing for your product, utilizing the SaaS deployment method. This initial phase is crucial as it allows you to gain valuable insights into the pain points associated with listing creation and management. By running this listing for two to six months, you can identify and address any challenges effectively. Simultaneously, plan for the next phase: incorporating private offers into your sales strategy.

2. Steadily switch focus to Private Offers

Private offers are custom-tailored solutions that enable you to provide a personalized experience to your customers. While it’s commendable to have a self-service solution that gains traction on the Marketplace, it is through private offers that you can truly unlock improved returns, as highlighted at the start of this article. Embracing private offers is vital for long-term growth on the AWS Marketplace, and here are four compelling reasons why:

• Targeted Solutions: Private offers allow you to align your offerings precisely with the pain points and business requirements of your prospects. By tailoring your solutions, you can demonstrate a deep understanding of their needs, significantly increasing the likelihood of conversion.
• Enhanced Conversion Rates: With private offers, you have the flexibility to incorporate additional discounts, making your proposition even more enticing. By providing cost savings, you can improve the conversion rate and accelerate customer acquisition.
• Comprehensive Service Packages: Private offers enable you to bundle additional professional services along with your core product. This empowers you to offer a complete solution that addresses all aspects of your customers’ requirements, establishing you as a trusted and reliable partner.
• Building Reputation and Visibility: Demonstrating your commitment and dedication to the AWS ecosystem is crucial for long-term success, which is something we have highlighted in our article explaining AWS co-selling. Logging all warm opportunities in the ACE portal, including private offers received through the Marketplace, helps build your reputation with the AWS teams. It showcases your active involvement, strengthens relationships, and increases your visibility among key stakeholders.

Maximizing revenue generation in the AWS Marketplace requires a strategic approach by implementing the AWS Build->Market->Sell Model. By defining a customer value proposition & a robust brand strategy, and utilizing features such as Vendor Insights & Private Offers that targets your customers better, SaaS partners can unlock the full potential of the AWS Marketplace, achieving better sales cycles, higher win rates, and substantial revenue growth.

Discover VeUP’s GTM Enablement services for effective implementation of the AWS Build -> Market -> Sell Model. With expertise in AWS Marketplace, we provide tailored solutions, brand strategy development, and utilization of Vendor Insights. Unlock your SaaS revenue potential in the AWS Marketplace with VeUP.