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Demand Generation and the Importance of Branding in B2B Saas - An Interview with Riikka Söderlund

Picture of Nicholas Page   Nicholas Page  ·  2 minute read

 

In this episode of Tech Marketing Trends, Brightvision CEO Jakob Löwenbrand sits down with Riikka Söderlund, COO at Katana, to explore the critical role of demand generation and branding in today’s B2B SaaS landscape. Riikka shares her journey from traditional marketing to scaling fast-growing SaaS companies, and she brings practical, real-world lessons on how strategy, experimentation, and investment in brand can drive sustainable growth.

 

Building demand generation strategies around company strategy and customer behavior

Riikka emphasizes that effective demand generation must start with a company’s overall growth strategy and the buying behavior of its target customers. At Smartly, she built an SDR function and demand generation motion that worked well for enterprise-level deals. At Katana, however, with lower ACVs and SMB customers, she shifted to faster, high-volume inbound marketing approaches.

“It really starts with understanding what the company strategy is, then understanding the buying behavior of the customers and only then going into the marketing specifics of what type of demand generation will work.” - Riikka Söderlund

 

 

Inbound, outbound, and product-led growth must evolve as the company scales

Riikka describes how Katana began with a product-led, SEO-driven inbound approach, then gradually introduced paid inbound marketing and outbound sales as the company grew. Over time, the sales team’s role increased, supported by sales engineers, while marketing remained central in building scalable demand.

“We started as very product led, inbound and organic. But as we’ve grown, we’ve had to introduce paid inbound and bring in sales engineers to support larger deals. Today, it’s more of a sales-assisted motion than purely sales led.”

 

 

Content marketing remains the cornerstone of SaaS demand generation

For Riikka, content is at the heart of demand generation. She stresses that content marketing is not optional but essential, whether delivered through SEO, webinars, podcasts, or other formats. She encourages SaaS companies to leverage their proprietary data to create unique, valuable content that builds thought leadership and credibility.

“I couldn’t imagine a world where content marketing isn’t important. Storytelling has always been the method of marketers. It’s not about whether you need content, but how you deliver it to your audience.”

 

 

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Branding and demand generation must work together, not in silos

Riikka rejects the notion of choosing between brand and demand generation. Instead, she argues that branding is a prerequisite for effective demand gen. Companies must clearly define their brand, differentiation, and unique value, then deliver it through demand generation tactics.

“I don’t think it’s brand versus demand gen. I don’t think you can do effective demand generation if you don’t have a brand. Both need to be in place and work together.”

 

 

Experimentation is critical for continuous growth and scalability

Riikka highlights the importance of experimentation, especially for SaaS companies with aggressive growth goals. She recommends allocating a fixed portion of budget and time to experiments, accepting that some will fail but that big wins require risk-taking. She shares how Smartly pivoted during COVID by pioneering virtual events, a gamble that paid off massively.

“You need experimentation for continuous growth. Everything has a lifespan in marketing, so you need to change things up. The smaller the company and the more aggressive the growth targets, the more experiments you need.”

 

 

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