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Dec 1, 2021 · 25m · saastr

The State of Software Buying From SMB to Enterprise with G2's CMO, Amanda Malko

Amanda Malko · 19m spoken
0:00 / 0:00
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gold bands on the timeline = statements, start to end. Hover to read, click to jump. CC turns on captions

Amanda Malko, CMO at G2, presents data-driven insights from millions of B2B buyers, outlining three critical go-to-market shifts: embracing product-led growth for frictionless purchasing, building trust through customer advocacy, and prioritizing customer retention as the foundation for sustainable revenue.

How this conversation actually went

Every chapter scored 0–10 on four independent dynamics. Hover any point for the reasoning behind the score. How this is scored →

Jason as informed peer 0.0 Guest teaching 0.0 Guest disagreement 0.0 Jason pushing back 0.0
05100:0010:0020:001:21–11:10 · Jason as informed peer 0/10 Macro Trends in Software Spend and Product Adoption This is a solo keynote presentation delivered by Amanda Malko without host participation. She presents G2 benchmark data detailing shortening sales cycles and product-led growth strategies.11:11–18:50 · Jason as informed peer 0/10 Trend Two: Building Trust Through Customer Advocacy and Communities Malko delivers a solo address on how traditional analyst influence is fragmenting in favor of peer review advocacy and community marketing. No host is present or interacting.18:52–23:50 · Jason as informed peer 0/10 Trend Three: Prioritizing Customer Retention as the Growth Foundation Malko covers the necessity of budgeting for customer retention marketing and demanding rapid time-to-value metrics. The segment remains an uninterrupted solo keynote.1:21–11:10 · Guest teaching 0/10 Macro Trends in Software Spend and Product Adoption This is a solo keynote presentation delivered by Amanda Malko without host participation. She presents G2 benchmark data detailing shortening sales cycles and product-led growth strategies.11:11–18:50 · Guest teaching 0/10 Trend Two: Building Trust Through Customer Advocacy and Communities Malko delivers a solo address on how traditional analyst influence is fragmenting in favor of peer review advocacy and community marketing. No host is present or interacting.18:52–23:50 · Guest teaching 0/10 Trend Three: Prioritizing Customer Retention as the Growth Foundation Malko covers the necessity of budgeting for customer retention marketing and demanding rapid time-to-value metrics. The segment remains an uninterrupted solo keynote.1:21–11:10 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Macro Trends in Software Spend and Product Adoption This is a solo keynote presentation delivered by Amanda Malko without host participation. She presents G2 benchmark data detailing shortening sales cycles and product-led growth strategies.11:11–18:50 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Trend Two: Building Trust Through Customer Advocacy and Communities Malko delivers a solo address on how traditional analyst influence is fragmenting in favor of peer review advocacy and community marketing. No host is present or interacting.18:52–23:50 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Trend Three: Prioritizing Customer Retention as the Growth Foundation Malko covers the necessity of budgeting for customer retention marketing and demanding rapid time-to-value metrics. The segment remains an uninterrupted solo keynote.1:21–11:10 · Jason pushing back 0/10 Macro Trends in Software Spend and Product Adoption This is a solo keynote presentation delivered by Amanda Malko without host participation. She presents G2 benchmark data detailing shortening sales cycles and product-led growth strategies.11:11–18:50 · Jason pushing back 0/10 Trend Two: Building Trust Through Customer Advocacy and Communities Malko delivers a solo address on how traditional analyst influence is fragmenting in favor of peer review advocacy and community marketing. No host is present or interacting.18:52–23:50 · Jason pushing back 0/10 Trend Three: Prioritizing Customer Retention as the Growth Foundation Malko covers the necessity of budgeting for customer retention marketing and demanding rapid time-to-value metrics. The segment remains an uninterrupted solo keynote.

speaking balance: gold is Jason, purple is the guest (3 minute bins)

0:00 · Jason 0% · guest 100%0:00 · Jason 0% · guest 100%3:00 · Jason 0% · guest 100%3:00 · Jason 0% · guest 100%6:00 · Jason 0% · guest 100%6:00 · Jason 0% · guest 100%9:00 · Jason 0% · guest 100%9:00 · Jason 0% · guest 100%12:00 · Jason 0% · guest 100%12:00 · Jason 0% · guest 100%15:00 · Jason 0% · guest 100%15:00 · Jason 0% · guest 100%18:00 · Jason 0% · guest 100%18:00 · Jason 0% · guest 100%21:00 · Jason 0% · guest 100%21:00 · Jason 0% · guest 100%24:00 · Jason 0% · guest 100%24:00 · Jason 0% · guest 100%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 3:35 Challenging conventional enterprise sales cycle wisdom

In a non-combative solo presentation, this represents the strongest contrarian point as Malko dispels the common belief that enterprise sales invariably take 12 to 18 months.

 Hardest push from Jason ▶ 13:30 Audience agreement check

There is no host pushback in this keynote presentation; audience members briefly respond in affirmation to rhetorical questions.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 11:30 Educating the audience on analyst report trust

Malko presents survey data showing only 4% of software buyers trust traditional research analysts the most when making buying decisions.

 Jason holds their own ▶ 23:00 Concluding keynote synthesis

Because no host participates in the recording, this moment captures Malko summarizing the core takeaways of her research presentation.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicJason as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementJason pushing backWhy
Macro Trends in Software Spend and Product Adoption 0000 This is a solo keynote presentation delivered by Amanda Malko without host participation. She presents G2 benchmark data detailing shortening sales cycles and product-led growth strategies.
Trend Two: Building Trust Through Customer Advocacy and Communities 0000 Malko delivers a solo address on how traditional analyst influence is fragmenting in favor of peer review advocacy and community marketing. No host is present or interacting.
Trend Three: Prioritizing Customer Retention as the Growth Foundation 0000 Malko covers the necessity of budgeting for customer retention marketing and demanding rapid time-to-value metrics. The segment remains an uninterrupted solo keynote.

Statements from this episode (17)

Assertion Not checkable as stated
G2 attracts 60 million software buyers to its platform annually
“There are tremendous learnings and insights from sixty million software buyers on gto.com every year, and so that's what I'm going to talk about today, is sharing some of those key takeaways and what they mean for you, whether you sell to small business or ent…”
Amanda Malko Dec 1, 2021 ▶ 0:33
Assertion Not publicly verifiable
Software spend per employee hit an all-time high in Q2 2021
“We saw dips in software spend immediately following COVID, and now in Q two, we just surpassed the highest software spend per employee that we've seen at G two to date.”
Amanda Malko Dec 1, 2021 ▶ 1:28
Assertion Supported
55% of surveyed software buyers plan to increase spend next year
“Even better, in our survey, 55% of buyers said they're going to spend more next year as well.”
Amanda Malko Dec 1, 2021 ▶ 1:44
Assertion Supported
Companies bought an average of 124 software products in early 2021
“Just in the first half of this year, it's higher than we've ever seen. On average, a 124 software products per company.”
Amanda Malko Dec 1, 2021 ▶ 2:01
Assertion Supported
55% of buyers decide on $20K+ software in under three months
“55% of buyers say that they need less than three months to make a decision of 20,000 dollars or more.”
Amanda Malko Dec 1, 2021 ▶ 3:46
Assertion Supported
82% of enterprises decide on software in six months or less
“82% of enterprises, a thousand employees or more, are saying, I don't need more than six months to make a decision.”
Amanda Malko Dec 1, 2021 ▶ 4:07
Assertion Partly supported
20% of B2B buyers prefer purchasing via third-party marketplaces or VARs
“One in five buyers prefers to buy from someone other than you. A third party marketplace, a bar, a value added reseller.”
Amanda Malko Dec 1, 2021 ▶ 4:43
Assertion Supported
67% of buyers only engage sales after making a purchase decision
“Perhaps more startling, 67% of companies usually engage a salesperson after they've already made a decision.”
Amanda Malko Dec 1, 2021 ▶ 5:10
Assertion Supported
Only 4% of software buyers trust traditional analyst firms the most
“Only four percent of buyers trust traditional analysts and market research firms the most when they're making decisions.”
Amanda Malko Dec 1, 2021 ▶ 11:46
Assertion Supported
86% of software buyers rely on peer reviews for purchasing decisions
“What they do unanimously say, 86% of the people we surveyed look to peers and peer reviews to inform their decisions.”
Amanda Malko Dec 1, 2021 ▶ 12:26
Assertion Supported
Shopify partners generated $12B in 2020 versus Shopify's $3B in revenue
“Shopify had almost three billion in revenue in 2020. And over twelve billion is what Shopify partners generated for themselves through the Shopify partner program that same year.”
Amanda Malko Dec 1, 2021 ▶ 16:26
Assertion Supported
42,000 Shopify partners referred at least one new customer in 2020
“42,000 partners in their community referred at least one new customer to Shopify that same year.”
Amanda Malko Dec 1, 2021 ▶ 16:40
Assertion Supported
81% of B2B software buyers expect to see ROI within six months
“And 81% of respondents said, I need to see an ROI in six months or less.”
Amanda Malko Dec 1, 2021 ▶ 20:02
Assertion Supported
60% of software buyers evaluate competitors before contract renewal
“At some point, when your contract is about to expire, or the customer is saying, I've been working with your product for a while, renewal is coming up, 60% are going to be watching other companies and checking to see if they should stay with you.”
Amanda Malko Dec 1, 2021 ▶ 20:36
Assertion Supported
One in three software buyers prefers complementary products from same vendor
“One in three buyers prefers to buy complimentary products from the same company.”
Amanda Malko Dec 1, 2021 ▶ 21:01
Assertion Supported
Asana maintained a 115% net retention rate at IPO despite SMB focus
“Asana has a number of small business customers, and yet, even with their blended NRR, it's still at a 115% at the time of their IPO.”
Amanda Malko Dec 1, 2021 ▶ 23:17
Assertion Partly supported
Snowflake set the SaaS benchmark with a 168% NRR at IPO
“Snowflake, I mean, really setting the bar for all of us, I don't, I'm, I don't know. I feel like this bar is incredibly high, but, you know, very aspirational at a 168%.”
Amanda Malko Dec 1, 2021 ▶ 23:36
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