#SaaS #MM Research #Business Terms

Understanding Business Terms in the SaaS Industry

The marketing company MM Research Institute, based in Shinjuku, Tokyo, has made strides in supporting digital transitions in sales and marketing. With their dedicated job placement service, "Markari NEXT CAREER," they conducted a survey focused on the business terms often encountered by professionals who have transitioned from diverse industries into the SaaS sector. The survey targeted sales personnel in their 20s and 30s, who made this significant career shift.

The Challenge of Adapting to New Terminology

For those entering the SaaS industry, the multitude of specialized terms can be overwhelming. Phrases like "commitment" and "scope" may seem foreign, leading to confusion for newcomers. Keeping pace with the speed of conversations and truly understanding the nuances can make the transition even more challenging, resulting in awkward usages of these terms in discourse.

To explore this, MM Research Institute commissioned an online study to gauge how these new entrants from different industries are picking up the commonly used business vernacular of SaaS.

Survey Insights

Top Three Frequently Used Business Terms in SaaS

1. KPI (Key Performance Indicator) - 37.0%
2. Agenda - 34.3%
3. Feedback - 27.9%

The Role of Business Terminology

The survey indicated that commonly used terms serve both as identifiers of professionalism within SaaS roles and as symbols of speed and efficiency. The repeated usage of these terms in professional settings emphasizes their significance.

• - KPI: This term represents a quantitative metric used to assess how well key objectives are being met. It’s a vital tool for progress tracking in projects and teams, especially crucial in a SaaS environment where Marketing and Sales roles may be highly specialized.

• - Agenda: This refers to the list of topics to be discussed in meetings. It facilitates smooth communication, often shared before sessions for better preparedness. This term has become second nature in SaaS organizations where webinars are commonplace for lead generation.

• - Feedback: This is the process of providing evaluations or comments about someone’s performance or product. In the SaaS space, products are continuously improving, making feedback critical to product development and service enhancement.

Personal Usage of Business Terms

Interestingly, survey results also revealed which terms are often mistakenly used in personal conversations. The top three include:
1. Feedback - 17.8%
2. KPI - 14.9%
3. Agenda - 14.5%

In personal scenarios, individuals reported using the word