Customers in Over 60 Countries, International Revenue Up Over 1000%
As 2023 comes to an end, Johannes Karjula, CEO and founder of Trustmary, shares the company’s recent journey to the top of the SaaS market.
Here’s how Johannes described the company’s situation one year ago in December 2022:
– Today, we are in an interesting place. Trustmary gets hundreds of interested users from every corner of the world every month. Many start using the software independently and manage to publish reviews online. Trustmary has the potential to become a leading solution for traditional businesses that want to establish trust on their website. The product already has all the required functionalities.
A year later, Trustmary has made significant strides: Today, it boasts active paying users in 64 countries, with trial users in more than 170 countries. International revenue has grown by over 1000% during the year.
In this article, Johannes offers a unique perspective on the company’s growth so far and its future plans.
A Brief Recap: From Video Production to Software Business
Founded in 2015, Trustmary initially responded to businesses’ need to integrate customer stories into marketing, especially on websites. The work began with creating recommendation videos, writing customer stories, and identifying customers willing to recommend through satisfaction surveys.
Over time, it became clear that scaling the service required establishing a web service for client companies to request feedback and recommendations from their customers and display them on their websites. Development of the first version of the Trustmary application began in 2019 and has since been refined to better meet customer needs.
Sustainable International Growth
– In recent years, we have been transitioning towards SaaS services, and last year we achieved that goal, Johannes Karjula says.
Trustmary has become a 100% SaaS company and is focusing more on international markets. In spring 2022, the company launched its official self-service SaaS product, which soon began to attract new users worldwide.
This year’s goals included finding a good international product-market fit and increasing predictability in international customer acquisition.
Consistent Growth in New Users
Karjula is pleased with the achievements of 2023.
Early in the year, product development focused on improving the user onboarding experience and existing features. This effort enhanced the initial user experience with the tool.
– We have seen steady growth in the number of new users, and our revenue continues to grow. Trustmary now has users in 170 countries, with paying customers across 64 different countries. Moreover, the share of international revenue has grown by over 1000%, and our customer service has received praise and positive reviews. We can now confidently say that users worldwide find, explore, and independently adopt Trustmary. Our product solves a global problem, Karjula states.
During 2023, Trustmary app got 26,570 new users; 16,880 widgets were created; and users received 93,910 survey responses.
Developing Customer Service and Localization
Karjula emphasizes the importance of customer service and localization.
– We have succeeded in providing customer service across different time zones and have focused on content production in multiple languages, including French, German, and Spanish.
This strategy has proven successful, attracting more active users from non-English-speaking countries.
The Importance of Product Development
– Trustmary has found its place in the product category, and we are now a very competitive solution for businesses, says Karjula.
Product development focuses on understanding customer needs and continually improving the product.
Trustmary has long been an excellent solution for displaying reviews, and in recent months, there has been a greater focus on enhancing collection features and bringing them to the same level as display features.
Building Partner Networks
Karjula also highlights the importance of partner networks and affiliate programs in business growth.
– We have entered into partnerships with several marketing agencies that want to offer their clients the benefits enabled by Trustmary. We also receive valuable feedback for product development from our partners.
Partners are already present in countries like Finland, France, the Netherlands, Spain, and Sweden.
Planning the Upcoming Year
Global and economic fluctuations have also affected Trustmary’s operations, but the financial outlook for next year looks promising and stable.
– The B2B SaaS funding has become more challenging, and it is not taken for granted that the same willingness to invest will continue. We have taken this into account and created a course of action on how we can move forward sustainably without dependence on new investors, Karjula summarizes.
He comments on future plans as follows:
– We have enhanced our expertise and defined our roles. We have a skilled team, and at its core is the product itself, which first quickly and then more broadly solves the customer’s problem.
Karjula mentions four key themes for 2024:
- We will add more international customer acquisition channels, strengthening existing ones and introducing new ones.
- We ensure that trial users quickly see the product’s value and want to continue using it.
- We aim to lead the product category in comparison to our competitors. Our customers will receive even better reviews faster, maximizing their website results.
- We use our resources wisely and strive to build a more independent and sustainable financial foundation despite the current circumstances.
– We know that we can become a leading solution in collecting reviews and displaying them online. We know what we have to do to obtain that goal, and how the product needs to be developed.
Concluding Words
Trustmary’s journey has been one full of innovation and growth. The company has established itself in the SaaS market and the future looks promising.
Trustmary has proven its adaptability and growth potential in a global market while offering a valuable solution to its customers’ problems.
