One of the more important concepts to understand from a customer behavior perspective relative to SaaS is that of web-centric versus web-agnostic behavior. Web-centric behavior describes individuals whose have fully integrated the Internet into their daily routine. For these web-centric users the Internet is central to how they consume information, interact with others, find and buy products and services, and solve problems. They recognize the increased efficiency that the Internet provides relative to these activities and have embraced it. They have integrated the Internet into both their personal and professional lives – at home, at the office, even when mobile.

By contrast web-agnostic users do not rely on the Internet as a central component of how they live. They may make use of the Internet for email, or occasional online shopping – but when they have a problem to solve, their instincts to not drive them to a web browser to find a solution.

Just as individuals can be web-centric or web-agnostic, so also can businesses be web-centric versus web-agnostic. Web-centric business (no matter what kind of business they are), recognize that the Internet can be a place to advertise, generate and qualify leads, transact sales, provide support, and interact with their customers. Web-centric businesses embrace the Internet as a core part of their business strategies.

Web-agnostic businesses, like web-agnostic users, have a limited perspective on the value that the Internet offers to their business. Web-agnostic businesses, by comparison, do not attract web-centric customers. Further, there are many, many, businesses today that are (in theory) selling products and services online that are web-agnostic! How is this possible? Simply stated, they do not the right things to allow prospective customers to search, find, self-qualify, and make the buying decision. Web-agnostic businesses do not attract web-centric buyers, even when they have the ability to purchase online, because they fail to recognize the behavior of the web-centric buyer.

 Why is this important to SaaS? The spectrum from web-agnostic to web-centric behavior is not easily quantified, but one thing is clear and universally recognized – the percentage of web-centric individuals and businesses is growing, and as a result the opportunity for SaaS is steadily increasing. At the same time SaaS providers must recognize these fundamental behavioral characteristics and integrate it into their go-to-market strategies, making a conscious decision with respect to how, and if, they will market and sell to both consituencies.