Sortlist is a B2B SaaS marketplace that helps clients find digital agencies, using a matching algorithm. Due to an imbalance between the cost of Sortlist's services and the value received, the business changed its subscription-based pricing strategy to a pay-for-what-you-get model (Value-based pricing).
We introduced two new modules that agencies can configure to benefit from our new pricing strategy and ensure a fair return on their investments. This project created the onboarding and maintenance flows for the two modules.
Converted over 1,000 paying members to the new pricing model in less than three months. Within the first month of the release, users' spending on the modules increased from €832 to €5,076 per day. This translates to a 510% increase in daily revenue.
Agencies (supply side) register and maintain their profiles on Sortlist, and they are the paying members of the business. Clients and companies (demand side) complete a briefing based on the ideal type of agency with which they want to collaborate. During the briefing, the clients have to specify the service, location, budget, etc that the agency should provide.
Using the client's briefing responses, Sortlist's matching algorithm generates a list of the most appropriate digital, creative, or marketing agencies for the client.
Sortlist had 4 different plans with fixed prices for agencies, offering the option of paying monthly or annually at a discounted rate. Each plan would offer different features and benefits depending on its cost.
The old subscription-based strategy
Because the marketplace was so complex and dependent on so many factors, Sortlist was limited by the volume of demand it can capture, therefore it was hard to satisfy everyone. Every client is different and not every opportunity is suitable for every client. This is because each client has diverse needs, budgets, requirements, etc.
This meant that agencies were getting vastly different ROIs for the same cost. For example, two agencies with the same €1,400 plan would receive very different amounts of opportunities and visibility on Sortlist.
<aside> ⚠️ This discrepancy led to high churn rates and unsatisfied customers.
</aside>