5 Go-To-Market Insights Every SaaS Marketer Should Know (Especially If You're Between $1M and $10M ARR)
This month, the subscription analytics platform ChartMogul released their annual Go-To-Market Report, which analyzed how 2,500 SaaS companies acquire and convert customers. If you're leading marketing for a SaaS company doing between $1M and $10M in ARR, you’re likely at a critical growth stage. The product has traction, but growth isn’t as easy as it used to be. Customer acquisition costs are rising, and every GTM decision carries more weight.
The report offers several key benchmarks and lessons that can help guide your strategy. Below are five of the most valuable insights, along with what they mean for your marketing approach.
1. Speed is important, but it only works when your pricing matches your strategy
"Top-performing B2B companies reach 1,000 subscribers in just 11 months. The median takes 2 years."
– ChartMogul GTM Report
Speed matters in SaaS, but not if your pricing structure doesn't match your go-to-market motion. One of the biggest mistakes companies make is trying to sell low-price deals to enterprise buyers or high-price deals to SMBs. That disconnect slows everything down.
What this means for marketing: Make sure your campaigns and funnel are built for the customer you're targeting and the price point you're offering. If you're at a lower price point, lean into self-serve and volume. If you're moving upmarket, invest in supporting longer decision cycles and higher-touch engagement.
2. Product-led growth works best at low price points, but sales still plays a role
"Below $25 average selling price (ASP), median new business ARR growth is 20% for B2B product-led-growth (PLG) companies, compared to 0% for those layering sales too early."
– ChartMogul GTM Report
At lower price points, full product-led growth (PLG) tends to perform better than hybrid or sales-led models. But as your product and pricing become more complex, your buyers are going to need more help. That’s where layering in a sales-assist becomes valuable.
What this means for marketing: If you're operating at a lower ASP, focus on onboarding, activation, and getting users to value as quickly as possible. There are plenty of digital tools for this, like User flow or Product Fruits, where you can create product tours. Once your ASP climbs above $100, start supporting your sales team with better enablement content, case studies, and lead nurture that helps buyers make confident decisions.
3. Most conversions happen around Day 7, so delivering value quickly is critical
"Most users convert around day 7. If the user didn’t convert in the first week, the chances drop off fast."
– ChartMogul GTM Report
That window between signup and Day 7 is the most important part of the trial. And according to Wes Bush, founder of ProductLed, the real decision point often happens in the first few minutes.
What this means for marketing: Work closely with product and growth teams to make sure onboarding is guiding users to value quickly. Use timely emails, in-app prompts, and helpful content to move users toward value as early as possible. The sooner that happens, the better your conversion rates.
4. Growth is slowing for early-stage SaaS, so testing and agility matter more than ever
"New business ARR growth dropped 34 percentage points for companies below $1M ARR since 2022."
– ChartMogul GTM Report
Early-stage SaaS companies are facing more challenges than ever when it comes to new business. While larger companies have stabilized, smaller ones are seeing a meaningful slowdown in growth.
What this means for marketing: Don’t rely on what's always worked. Be proactive about testing new channels, offers, messaging, and even pricing strategies. Use AI tools to speed up content creation and personalize at scale. The companies that test and learn fastest will be the ones that find new pockets of growth.
5. Discounts don’t usually speed up sales cycles, and can even backfire
"Only 17% of <$100 ASP companies saw faster sales cycles with discounts. 34% actually saw slower ones."
– ChartMogul GTM Report
Many teams assume that offering a discount will help close a deal faster, but the data suggests otherwise. In many cases, discounts signal desperation or come too late in the process to make a difference. They also can hurt retention in the long term.
What this means for marketing: Use discounts intentionally, not reactively. Tie them to a strategic exchange, like a customer testimonial or a multi-year commitment. Focus your messaging on value, not price, and work with sales to build urgency earlier in the process.
Final thought
As more companies enter the market, growth gets harder and buyers become more selective, marketers play a bigger role in shaping successful go-to-market strategies. The insights in this report show just how important it is to align your efforts with pricing, buyer expectations, and product complexity.
Here is a link to download the full report from ChartMogul.
