Too often, startups treat design as the goal rather than a means to a more meaningful end. Design isn’t just decoration; it’s a tool to amplify emotion. Absent emotion it's an empty vessel, the proverbial lipstick on a pig. And now that design is table stakes for startups, its commodified. If your brand and product don't stir emotion, you risk being forgotten as soon as the next better-looking competitor shows up.
In the spirit of the season, let’s talk turkey—or more specifically, what makes one memorable. Some turkeys ooze meaty, juicy goodness that lingers in your mind long after the meal. Others/mine? Dry, tough, and flavorless, requiring a deluge of gravy or cranberry sauce to become remotely palatable.
This is where many B2B SaaS startups find themselves: dry turkeys trying to mask their lack of flavor with decorative gravy—design flourishes, bright colors, and playful illustrations. While investing in a new logo and a brand style guide is a welcome evolution in the startup world, these surface-level fixes don’t fully address the core issue you are trying to solve for: a lack of emotional resonance.
Too often, startups treat design as the goal rather than a means to a more meaningful end. Design isn’t just decoration; it’s a tool to amplify emotion. Absent emotion it's an empty vessel, the proverbial lipstick on a pig. And now that design is table stakes for startups, its commodified. If your brand and product don't stir emotion, you risk being forgotten as soon as the next better-looking competitor shows up.
Why Emotion is the Secret Sauce
The late neuroscientist Donald Calne said, “The essential difference between emotion and reason is that emotion leads to action while reason leads to conclusions.” Without emotional, your product is little more than a delivery mechanism for information—a dry turkey of the SaaS world.
This is where category-defining companies like Slack and Figma shine. Slack didn’t just build a messaging platform; they reimagined workplace communication as human connection—liberating teams from the sterile conventions of corporate email. Figma didn’t stop at creating a design tool; they fostered a creative ecosystem where collaboration validates human potential. These companies didn’t succeed because they had better utility; they succeeded because they made people feel something.
Building Emotional Intelligence into SaaS
Category strategy goes beyond aesthetic intervention and confronts the fundamental human challenge that gives a business its purpose. It's about discovering the emotional substrate—the unspoken human struggle that your solution addresses.
The good news is that unless you’re a gambling startup (where the emotional connection hinges on losing money), most businesses already have the ingredients for emotional intelligence. Your customers' pain points, desires, and aspirations are sitting in your data, customer feedback, and the everyday interactions your team handles. The challenge isn’t finding these insights—it’s recognizing their emotional weight and integrating them into your strategy.
The systemic challenge and barrier is a corporate immune system that reflexively resists emotion. Traditional business paradigms view emotion as antithetical to rational decision-making, when in fact, emotion is the very mechanism through which rational decisions are processed and executed, as Calne notes.
Companies that prioritize emotional connection aren't just feel-good storytellers—they're strategic performers. According to the Harvard Business Review, emotionally connected customers have a 306% higher lifetime value. They're less price-sensitive, more likely to recommend, and fundamentally more loyal.
To move beyond dry-turkey solutions, startups must bake emotional resonance into their category strategy. Here’s how:
- Start with Empathy:
Ask hard questions: Who are we here to serve? What daily friction are we easing. What emotion do we want customers to feel after engaging with our product? Emotion isn’t incidental—it’s the core of a startup’s value.
- Design for Transformation, Not Transactions:
Your product should change how people feel, not just what they do. Slack isn’t about sending messages; it’s about making teams feel connected. Figma doesn’t just speed up workflows; it makes designers feel seen and supported.
- Build a Narrative:
Humans are hardwired for stories. What’s your product’s role in your customer’s journey? Position your SaaS as the hero of their story, solving problems in ways that feel personal and empowering.
- Measure the Intangibles:
Success isn’t just ARR or churn rates; it’s customer loyalty, Net Promoter Scores, and advocacy. These are proxies for the emotional connection your brand inspires.
Like a perfectly cooked turkey, SaaS that connects emotionally doesn’t need gravy. It stands out because it nourishes something deeper: the human desire to feel seen, understood, inspired, and empowered.
Emotion isn’t a “nice-to-have” for startups—it’s your category’s secret weapon. Use it wisely, and your product won’t just be functional; it’ll be unforgettable.
-DRMG
Discover key lessons B2B SaaS CMOs can learn from Backcountry.com’s success and failure, from staying focused on core values to driving sustainable growth.
Read More →In the world of B2B SaaS, the excitement of creating a new category must be tempered with the reality of clients' immediate needs. By balancing long-term vision with short-term solutions, companies can ensure their category strategy supports, rather than hinders, their sales efforts. This approach not only helps in closing deals but also builds a foundation for sustained success in the new category, enhancing SaaS positioning effectively.
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