An ROI framework based on hard data, not vibes

Investopedia defines “due diligence” as “the thorough research and evaluation carried out to confirm the accuracy of information and assess any potential risks before committing to a transaction, agreement, or important decision.” The term, a cornerstone of the private equity and mining industries, is also used in another industry segment: B2B buying. However, the process is being more rigorously implemented because of various factors listed below. And the added rigor is essentially shifting the companies’ traditional reliance on vendor-furnished data, case studies, and/or success stories to hard, quantitative data. “Trust me” is not enough anymore. To put it in numbers, a recent survey by MarTech company UserEvidence uncovered that 51 per cent buyers put trust in statistical data for customer evidence.

What is QKS ROI Benchmark Framework™?

QKS ROI Benchmark Framework™ is an analyst-led economic justification framework designed to model, validate, and communicate the true financial impact of your SaaS solution.

Unlike generic ROI calculators:

• Assumptions are benchmarked against real-world industry data
• Models are aligned to specific use cases
• Outputs are validated by independent analysts
• Results are built for executive and financial scrutiny

Why have the preferences shifted?

B2B SaaS purchasing is under pressure because of various factors, including finance, security concerns, and increasingly complex software (now even more complex because of emerging technologies like AI).  Features are no longer sufficient to close the deals, financial impact is the key word. CXOs are wary of spending money based on empirical data, and for a reason.  What would you do if you are in the market for your own product? If things go wrong, it can lead to consequences like job and financial losses. The economic assumptions drawn from such data also lack third-party validation. Sellers also struggle to defend value during late-stage scrutiny from CXOs and procurement teams, as defending purchases based upon a case study or success story is way harder compared to validated data, and procurement demands benchmark-backed justification, which is simply not there. All these events end up delaying deals, which means lost momentum, forecast risk, and further pressure on revenue leadership. The only silver bullet in the present situation is an analyst-led economic justification framework designed to model, validate, and communicate the true financial impact of your SaaS solution.

The Solution?

The solution is very simple. Using third-party analyst-validated data compliant with all data privacy laws is key to solving challenges such as no trust by CXOs in vendor-built ROI models, the struggle to defend value during late-stage scrutiny, and forecasts slipping due to value skepticism. QKS Group’s ROI Benchmark Framework takes care of the third-party validated, compliant data part. Along with analyst-validated data, the framework also delivers Industry-specific ROI benchmarks​​, cross-industry performance benchmarks​​, ROI in percentage, payback period, benefit-to-cost ratio​​, and productivity and risk reduction.

The framework also does not use any unverified or marketing-driven claims, making the numbers easy to defend during late-stage sparring with skeptical CXOs.  Other benefits include industry or cross-industry ROI benchmarks​​, ROI %, payback period, benefit-to-cost ratio​​, tangible and strategic impact analysis​​, aggregated, anonymized benchmark outputs​​, a publish-ready executive report​​, and a sales enablement summary asset.​​ And if you want your prospects to figure out their own ROI situations, an interactive estimator is also available as an add-on product. The estimator will allow you to extend the ROI calculation capabilities to your clients. The estimator will provide them with downloadable reports ready for CFO scrutiny, ongoing benchmark updates​​, annual access for sales teams​​, and quarterly business reviews. ​

It is an analyst-led framework built on validated benchmarks and executive-ready outputs, not a self-serve spreadsheet tool. In addition, the tool is backed by QKS Group’s vast and deep expertise across enterprise technology markets. The group’s popular offerings include SPARK Matrix™ (Strategic Performance Assessment and Ranking), a proprietary evaluation framework designed to analyze and rank technology vendors, and SPARK Plus^TM, a platform that evaluates vendors through an industry lens, to provide users full visibility into parameter-level ratings across all vendors, enabling clear, contextual, and relevant comparisons.