Did you notice that G2 removed the link to your product on your product page (if you have a free plan there)?
This is just one part of the big update. G2 sent a letter to SaaS owners with free plans that:
Let me remind you that the cost of the paid version of G2 starts from $10k-15k per year.
This automatically means that this package is not available to most startups, given that G2 rarely gives you quality leads and this investment will never pay off for you.
In my opinion, G2 as a lead generator works great for 2 types of companies:
1️⃣ Niche leaders, since they rank in first positions in the lists for valuable category keywords by which G2 gets good traffic from Google;
2️⃣ Enterprise SaaS, since their clients invest more time and effort in choosing the best vendor and are ready to seek meetings with software providers themselves since they have a high cost of error.
G2 has completed building a large moat in the form of UGC content and branding and can now set its terms for the game.
What consequences will this have:
1️⃣ Fewer and fewer startups will be able to increase their conversion rates using G2 badges.
2️⃣ Startups will continue to register on G2 as they need to show reviews on established platforms and get listed as alternatives for their competitors.
3️⃣ G2 will indeed increase conversion from free to paid plans, but only slightly.
4️⃣ G2 can greatly increase profits if some of the closed functions are included in a separate paid package, which will cost $1k-2k per year.
Do you agree with my forecasts?