How to build an international service system when SaaS goes global? (one)

From data to large model application, on November 25th, Hangzhou Yuanchuang Conference was held to share development tips.

Anti-choking guide: This may be the SaaS experience sharing with the highest dry content you have seen. Please prepare a water cup and eat as much as you like (XD.

As more and more Chinese SaaS companies choose to open "international" copies, going overseas has become a new arena for domestic SaaS.

LigaAI has observed that the wave of going global has given birth to many products and teams that “go international on Day One”, and there are also familiar faces in the overseas army who have completed PMF in China. What difficulties might a team composed mainly of Chinese people encounter in promoting the launch of overseas products? Can we use an effective "lightning protection plan" to speed up the march and overcome obstacles along the way?

In order to answer the doubts in our hearts, the ninth issue of #Liga伟talk# specially invites Sean Liu, Vice President of Global Customer Success of Aftership, to discuss the "road and practice" of Chinese SaaS companies going global, and to provide everyone with replicable, practical, and Practical skills for going to sea that can be implemented.

Mr. Liu Hui has 12 years of senior experience in the To B field. He is the author of the industry's best-selling book "Customer Success: The Cornerstone for Continuous Repurchases and Soaring Profits"; he has worked in Sales.com, Moka, ByteDance (Feishu) Product) served as the head of customer success and has a deep understanding of the enterprise service field and SaaS model that are currently at the forefront of the Internet.

The whole series of content is divided into three articles. This article is the first one: a discussion on common problems in SaaS overseas expansion and team characteristics.

What common problems will Chinese SaaS companies encounter when going overseas?
Which SaaS products or teams are more suitable for developing overseas business?
How do large/medium/small enterprises implement an international service system?
How can asynchronous teams collaborate more efficiently across time zones?

01 Two major problems for China’s SaaS overseas expansion

LigaAI: From the perspective of the differences between domestic and international markets, what problems may Chinese SaaS companies encounter when going overseas?

Liu Hui: The main problem that overseas companies may encounter is " compliance ." Foreign countries attach far greater importance to data security and personal privacy and impose related penalties than domestic ones. Once a company violates the red line of violation, it is likely to be burdened with huge fines. Therefore, before putting it on the market, it is necessary to have an in-depth understanding of the relevant local policies and laws. Regulations cannot copy the old formula of "grow first, comply later".

When it comes to data security and privacy issues, it is inevitable to consider infrastructure construction . The layout and selection of cloud servers, service centers and data centers for overseas enterprises must also comply with relevant local requirements.

In addition, overseas companies should apply for some authoritative certifications , such as ISO, SOC 2, GDPR, etc., to demonstrate their compliance and security.

In addition to compliance, overseas companies also attach great importance to customer reviews . There are specialized user evaluation websites abroad, such as G2 and Trustpilot; overseas companies should pay attention to and actively obtain real customer reviews, and avoid "brushing off positive reviews" .

LigaAI: How can SaaS companies obtain high-quality, high-quality real reviews and accumulate word-of-mouth in the early stages of going overseas?

Liu Hui: My experience is to interact with as many customers as possible (rather than just focusing on a small group of customers), help them solve their problems, and then make a request to leave a review.

For example, we have a dedicated team to provide services and assistance to free users. Before the conversation ends, the service staff will send a link to the other party and ask if they can write a review for us; at the same time, the team will also track the conversion rate of Chat-to-Review, that is, how many users in the conversation who enter the line every day end up in Successfully leave reviews on other user review sites. Although this sacrifices cost and efficiency, it also maximizes our opportunities to interact with customers, thereby gaining more reviews.

In terms of product design, users can be guided to contact us proactively through "rights upgrades." For example, design some small function points that need to be activated/upgraded by the service team. After the rights are issued (that is, the problem is successfully solved), a review request is initiated to the customer.

Customer Success (CSM) will end with the important customer Onboard and when they can use the product relatively smoothly, invite them to go to websites such as G2 to leave real reviews.

In addition, there is a very strict requirement for inviting reviews: customers must not be forced to leave positive reviews . On the one hand, overseas customers attach great importance to "integrity", and forcing/inducing them to leave positive reviews is likely to cause resentment and be counterproductive; on the other hand, the main purpose of inviting reviews is to obtain more real customer reviews and increase the number, rather than to increase ratings. Therefore, in terms of speech, we should avoid terms such as "five-star praise" and "positive".

02 There is no SaaS company that is not suitable for going overseas

LigaAI: Based on your understanding and observation of the SaaS industry, do you think all B-side SaaS companies are suitable for going overseas?

Liu Hui: I don’t think any product is not suitable for going overseas. Frankly speaking, I have not been exposed to SaaS products that were born in China and then extended overseas; most companies are still "followers" of overseas unicorns. They expand overseas only after a combination of innovation and extension.

However, from the perspective of product functions, overseas does have some special characteristics. For example, functions such as "message read/unread" and "red envelope sending" that are applicable in China are not suitable for transfer to overseas products - this is affected by cultural differences. Therefore, even if the product itself is suitable for overseas use, it must be combined with local culture and habits and make corresponding adjustments or changes in functionality.

LigaAI: Which genes make a team more suitable for overseas business?

Liu Hui: I personally think that teams with an overseas perspective —for example, the company’s founders, product leaders, or core members have experience studying or working overseas, and have lived overseas for a long time—will be better at handling overseas business. have more advantages.

For To B product design, it is important to understand the working style and working habits of target customers. If all the team's experiences take place at home, it will be difficult to gain a deep understanding of overseas culture and working methods through customer interviews alone.

LigaAI: If neither the founder nor the core team has the blessing of an overseas background, in what other ways can the team understand the local culture and working habits?

Liu Hui: To be honest, this situation is quite difficult. It is recommended to recruit at least 1-2 people with overseas work and life experience. If you really can't recruit, use more traditional methods, such as customer interviews, overseas competitive product analysis, etc. to understand, learn and imitate product design ideas.

It is more difficult and risky for domestic products that are relatively mature or are about to take shape to go overseas directly. Because it is more difficult to adjust the product based on market feedback at this time, it is best to go overseas to test the water and verify the product in its prototype stage .

Another possibility is that like Feishu and Lark, they plan from the beginning to have two systems for domestic and foreign products , and those with overseas logic will develop overseas.

LigaAI: Small and medium-sized enterprises may not be able to "walk on two legs." Younger entrepreneurial teams may have made it clear from Day One that they want to do global and international business, so the products are designed according to overseas logic from the beginning, and the team formation also tries to find people with overseas backgrounds and overseas service experience as much as possible. .

However, for small and medium-sized enterprises that already have mature products in China, if they want to explore overseas markets, is it recommended to form a separate team to be responsible for the planning of overseas products, such as the implementation of integration from products to services, or even the entire Reshaping product form?

Liu Hui: Yes. If the original domestic team continues to work overseas, problems such as fixed thinking and cognitive limitations are likely to occur, making it difficult to generate new thinking breakthroughs. Therefore, I recommend forming a single team to focus on overseas business with a new perspective.

(Unfinished, to be continued.)

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