Software as a Service is no longer the niche industry that it once was. Today, it provides countless industries with solutions that work right out of the box. It was only a matter of time until the value of this model was recognized.
According to data from Fortune Business Insights, the SaaS market was worth over $266.23 billion in 2024. By 2032, the industry is expected to grow at a CAGR of 20% to a valuation of over $1.13 trillion.
White label SaaS, or the idea of using your own brand name over a pre-made SaaS product, holds immense potential. However, getting leadership in your company to consider the idea can be a little challenging.
In this article, let’s explore how you can pitch white label SaaS strategies to your management and prove that it can align with the company’s goals.
There are many companies that can benefit from a white label SaaS model. These include marketing agencies, which can use a pre-made CRM under their own brand or a fintech startup with budgeting apps. Likewise, there are many smaller businesses out there that want to earn from a product, but don’t have the budget to hire a development team.
With a white label SaaS model, these companies get the opportunity to become semi SaaS providers themselves without being a SaaS company. That said, you may fear that it’s an idea that’s not going to be appreciated by your leadership. However, don’t close the door on yourself for no reason. Good leaders today are increasingly aware of the need to be open-minded when it comes to technology and how it can help the company.
According to data from Gartner’s 2023 Board of Directors survey, 64% of boards expected their risk appetite to increase last year. Compared to 2022, that’s a 7% increase. Likewise, 89% of boards agree that we’re in a post-digital world, where the digital element is naturally a part of growth strategies. Thus, the first step is to simply approach your leadership with an open mind.
Even if your fears are warranted and management doesn’t value your input, there’s one thing they do respect. Customer impact. If you can find hard data that backs you up, you will have a better chance of convincing them of this model. What does that look like? Well, start by showing them they wouldn’t be the first ones to do this.
Point out how banks, healthcare providers, and other institutions are all acquiring white label SaaS products to market as their own. You could point out how this is no different than businesses that use AI website builders, which, as Hocoos explains, allows companies to launch branded websites instantly.
All you do is answer a few questions, and the AI does the rest to produce a fully functional platform within minutes. People who use such services effectively skip the building phase and, as a result, save considerable money. These saved resources can then be used elsewhere.
Once you finish your pitch successfully, you might have swayed a good number of decision makers. However, some might still have doubts about the governance and risk of using a white label model. It’s imperative that you are educated on this so that you don’t come off as overly excited but ignorant.
Validate their concerns by showing them relevant information. For instance, in 2024, the World Economic Forum highlighted data about how, over the previous 2 years, SaaS application adoption increased by 41%. The WEF had pointed out that the distributed nature of SaaS procurement means that increased awareness of SaaS assets and data security risk was essential.
Show that you recognize these realities and that you understand the implications. These include knowing what to say to questions like “What if the program fails?” or “Who is responsible for a data breach?”
This is why you need to come prepared with due diligence frameworks and uptime guarantees you can find from typical white label SaaS companies. You’re going to have to think on your feet, but if you can highlight the value and potential, you should be good.
All things considered, it’s natural to be nervous about pitching niche ideas to leadership. While there’s cause for optimism given the increasing risk appetite of board members, it can still be a hard sell sometimes.
If you still get turned down, don’t take it personally. Thank them for their time, but make sure you find out why they aren’t interested. This gives you time to work on addressing that pain point if you get the chance to pitch the idea again.