83% of Nordic SaaS companies believe in accelerated or maintained growth rate in 2023, but shift focus to existing customers.

Monterro recently conducted its second growth study among Nordic B2B software companies. This year's study shows that over half of the companies (52%) believe in an accelerated growth rate in 2023, and about one in three (31%) in maintaining growth rates compared to 2022.At the same time, the companies' focus on profitability is increasing and they plan to grow on their existing customer base.

There is optimism among B2B software companies in the Nordic region. Monterro's growth study conducted in November 2022 among 166 B2B software companies, shows that 83% predict an accelerated or maintained growth rate as compared to last year. The greatest optimism is found among the Finnish software companies. This is also in line with Gartner's forecast, which recently predicted a growth in software of just over 9% this year.

"The Nordic B2B software companies' market remains strong," says Gustav Lagercrantz, CEO of Monterro. "At the same time, we see that the companies are shifting their focus. In light of global uncertainty and increased inflation, companies are putting more effort into growing on existing customers, gaining better cost control and reviewing pricing. In 2020/2021, they prioritized more expansive activities with investments in marketing and sales."

The Nordic Software Growth Benchmark growth study was conducted amongst founders and management of 166 B2B Nordic software companies at the end of 2022. The purpose of the study has been to pinpoint the SaaS companies' priorities, challenges and important KPIs linked to growth. The results have been compiled in a report where the companies can compare themselves with other Nordic SaaS companies and also get practical tips.

Despite optimism, it is clear that many companies have changed their priorities and are adapting their operations to more challenging times:

• 20% more people have 'grow on existing customer base' as a top priority in 2023 as compared to 2022

• 2022's priorities, such as hiring more salespeople, increasing investment in marketing and expanding the offering have all landed further down the priority list.

• Most companies have adjusted their prices upwards, averaging 8.4% on new customers and 6.5% on existing ones. The study also shows that the size of the price increase did not affect the churn rate.

"Many people are afraid that price increases will lead to customer churn," Gustav continues. "But our study shows that the size of the price increase did not affect the churn among the respondents. Pricing is an area that is often overlooked, and it's important to set up a clear, long-term pricing strategy to understand what value your product brings to your customers. With the right strategy, you can quickly increase your revenue by 15-20%, but if you are careless with the background work, it can have completely the opposite effect. We support many of our portfolio companies in this matter, but also in other strategic and operational matters such as customer success, sales efficiency, internationalization and product development," he says.

Monterro was formed just over ten years ago with a mission to help B2B software companies grow, both through capital and expertise. The founders and employees have extensive experience of starting, building and developing software companies themselves, and they always work closely with their portfolio companies.

"Apart from the fact that the study has confirmed what we see and hear from our portfolio companies and other software companies we meet in the Nordic region, we also hope that the report will be able to support and be a good tool for all entrepreneurs who want to compare their businesses and their SaaS KPIs with others in the industry," concludes Gustav.

Access the full report.