4 steps to cult leader SaaS status

Hi, hello, it’s been a minute! 👋🏽
Let’s get to it.

—

Most SaaS brands sound the same, but a few are loveable, huggable, and have cheering squadrons of rabid fans. 🙌🏽

The difference? Plenty of ho-hum brands have great products, but the ones that stick in the mind are those with ✨personality✨.

I wholeheartedly believe that ANY brand has the potential to have a cult-like, dearly beloved brand.

Even a B2B SaaS co.

So here’s how to create a brand personality that

• customers love and feel seen in,

• you and the founder can comfortably get behind

• and that communicates the value prop better than a perfectly worded headline.

Because like your email list, your brand is one of the few things no platform or channel can take away from you.

It’s a direct line to customers’ hearts.

Your brand is a 3-flavor milkshake

Your brand should be:

• 1 part what you want

• 1 part what your customers want

• 1 part of inspiration (what the market needs)

Build your brand around and for your power users. period.

The 1,000 true fans concept applies to companies too, not just creators.

Step 1: Define your company value in your customers eyes

There’s already an idea in your customer’s minds of what your brand is, even if you haven’t defined it.

Look at 12-30 reviews from your power users.

From their POV

• What does the brand stand for? (mission)

• What does the brand excel at doing? (results)

• What is the emotional appeal to use the product? (emotion)

after you look through those, you should be able to fill this out:

Step 2: Decide what facets of the brand are “you” (the founder)

Here’s where you add in what you want - it’s your company, and you want to be able to love living in its shadow, so it should have parts of your traits as the founder.

Write down:

• Your most-noticeable personality traits (When people meet you for the first time, how would they describe you? )

• If you're an extrovert (energized by people), introvert (energized by being alone), or ambivert (energy from both!)

• When you talk about your co, what do you most enjoy discussing? (the strategy, the industry, the future, the product mechanics?)

• Who you most enjoy talking to about the co (and why)? (Do you prefer to speak to your internal staff, customers, potential customers, random strangers, peers? all of that comes through in your TOV, so write it down!)

After you look through those, you should be able to fill this out:

Step #3: Choose your archetype umbrella

Archetypes have been used ad-nauseam, so i won’t bore you with a full recap.
This is my go-to link when someone asks.

But i’ve never seen any SaaS brands on the archetypes wheel, so i built my own.

Here's what those archetypes look like with some familiar SaaS faces.

You'll notice some don't have examples.

That’s because some are really, really hard to use well, especially as a B2B SaaS company

Bottom line: there are 4 archetypes that work best for SaaS co’s

• 🔫 Outlaw - Has an unconventional approach to solving the pain point beyond 1% better iteration

• 🎨 Creator - Inspires and provides the tools for builders to imagine their wildest dreams

• 💪 Hero - Confidently solving a dilemma for today - and in the future

• 🧠 Sage - Providing the information and tools to make informed decisions

Choose an archetype based on:

• Emotional appeal of your company (in customers' POV)

• What the brand excels at (in customers' POV)

• What the brand stands for (in customers' POV)

• How you want the brand to sound

• What parts of your/the founders personality you want in the brand

If your brand really feels like a mix of 2 archetypes, roll with it!

Take a(nother) peek at some of the most recognizable brands in SaaS.
They’re all a mix of one of the top 4 archetypes as their backbone, with a second one for flair and nuance.

Archetype combos are a great way to add depth, without diluting or confusing the brand

after you look through those, you should be able to fill this out:

Step #4: Flesh your personality from boilerplate to built-for-your-audience

Give your brand the “Tinder treatment”
so it can live IRL and your future raving fans will swipe right on ‘em.

Here are some guiding questions to flesh it out.

• Is your brand and introvert, extrovert, or ambivert version of the archetype?

• How does your brand greet you?

• How does your brand act in public?

• What is your brand’s fashion style?

If moodboards are your thing, this is an excuse to use Pinterest at work 😉 

After you look through those, you should be able to fill this out:

Whew, you did it.

You gave your brand a personality that is true to what customers expect to see, what the industry needs, and who you (or your founders) are.

In other words, a brand that is authentic and not cringey try-hard.

—

Next week we’re going to talk about brand-marketing fit (and how to scale it).

Because while product-market fit is a no-brainer need for any company, if your brand doesn’t match your product as you scale -

You’re gonna look like an 80’s girl…who’s still trying to rock 80’s curls.

Not a good look.

Cheers!

Sophia ⚡️ 👩🏽‍💻 with help from Aelia ✨🧕 

Powered by a 40* F/ 4*C tidal pool dip with Cape Town coastline & Eid shenanigans