This is a huge factor in uptake of SaaS at smaller firms. Project management software existed before Basecamp, for example, but Basecamp is one of the first packages which put it within the reach of e.g. firms with size 1 ~ 10. It is quantitatively and qualitatively a different experience than the bespoke consultingware monster PM solutions that e.g. a division of Toyota might use, but Basecamp customers can still have LTVs in the four figures very easily.
That is a very nice place to be as a startup -- you can potentially acquire and service customers at a place in the solution space where competitor's cost structures make it impossible to enter. (e.g. if a large competitor needs a sales rep or custom programming, forget it, $2k of LTV is impossible for them to address -- but break that into $50 ~ $80 per month and it is within the authority of a single decisionmaker at the client firm in response to a low- or no-touch sales process.)
Also, when the competition is non-consumption, sometimes your value proposition can get just amazing, because the delta in experience on even a minimally featured software solution versus paper or "we'll just deal without" is substantial. (I've got a client who says AR practically pays for his mortgage. He's, understandably, quite happy.)
That is a very nice place to be as a startup -- you can potentially acquire and service customers at a place in the solution space where competitor's cost structures make it impossible to enter. (e.g. if a large competitor needs a sales rep or custom programming, forget it, $2k of LTV is impossible for them to address -- but break that into $50 ~ $80 per month and it is within the authority of a single decisionmaker at the client firm in response to a low- or no-touch sales process.)
Also, when the competition is non-consumption, sometimes your value proposition can get just amazing, because the delta in experience on even a minimally featured software solution versus paper or "we'll just deal without" is substantial. (I've got a client who says AR practically pays for his mortgage. He's, understandably, quite happy.)