The Importance of Human Interactions in SaaS Offerings

Introduction

Buying habits are evolving, and sales processes are becoming increasingly automated. Yet, human interaction is emerging as a true differentiator. Chatbots, dynamic FAQs, automated emails… digital tools offer smooth and scalable experiences. However, 86% of customers are willing to pay more for a better customer experience — one that includes quality human interactions (Source: PwC).

In the complex B2B environment, where purchasing decisions involve multiple stakeholders and significant investments, interpersonal relationships play a decisive role. Active listening and genuine human engagement help uncover real needs, identify hidden objections, and build lasting trust.

SaaS (Software as a Service) is designed to deliver online services at scale. But in the B2B space, finding the right balance between automation and human touch has become a strategic challenge.

How can you ensure that customers benefit from the scalability and efficiency of technology, without losing the proximity and personalization essential to building trust? What levers can you activate to make automation enhance — rather than erode — the customer experience?

This article explores the key reasons why the human element remains essential in SaaS offerings — and how businesses can integrate it strategically.

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The Human Touch in the Sales Cycle: A Post-Interaction Engagement Lever

In a B2B sales cycle, prospects have often already interacted with sales teams. The real challenge is not to multiply human interactions, but to make them more relevant and impactful.

Why does the human element remain essential after the initial contact with sales?

• Validating and refining needs: B2B buying decisions are complex and involve multiple stakeholders. Human support ensures the SaaS solution meets specific expectations beyond the initial sales demo.
• Overcoming final strategic objections: Even after several discussions with sales, doubts may remain — such as concerns about integration, internal adoption, or ROI. An account manager, customer success expert, or product specialist can play a critical role in addressing these barriers.
• Facilitating internal buy-in: When the decision is nearly made, well-placed human support can help internal champions convince business and technical teams of the solution’s value.

Best practices:

• Announce a personalized post-sales follow-up to preempt objections and reassure decision-makers as they reach the final stage of their reflection.
• Integrate expert sessions — whether technical or customer success — to secure the buying decision.
• Offer co-creation sessions (workshops, guided trials) to help prospects better visualize themselves using the solution.

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The Human Element Is Essential for Capturing High-Quality Insights

SaaS platforms today collect a wealth of data — conversion rates, usage time, feature adoption... But numbers alone are not enough.

70% of companies that conducted human interviews as part of their customer analysis uncovered insights they would have never detected through quantitative data alone (Source: Gartner).

Human conversations help you:

• Understand deeper motivations: A prospect mentioning a "lack of features" may actually be expressing concerns about onboarding or support.
• Identify unspoken pain points: Certain UX issues only emerge through direct, qualitative feedback.
• Refine your positioning: Win-Loss interviews, for instance, often reveal perceptions that differ from what marketing teams had assumed.

Concrete example:

A B2B SaaS company discovered through post-mortem interviews that 30% of lost deals were due to overly impersonal customer support. By assigning dedicated Customer Success Managers (CSMs) and organizing regular check-ins, they increased their conversion rate by 15% in six months.

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Human Support Increases Retention and Reduces Churn

Onboarding and customer follow-up are critical stages for retention. A Harvard Business Review study shows that companies offering human support during onboarding reduce churn by 20%.

Why does it work?

• Reassure and guide: A dedicated point of contact helps clients better understand the platform and avoid early frustrations.
• Personalize the experience: Tailor advice and demos to the customer’s specific needs.
• Detect early warning signs: A well-trained CSM can identify signs of disengagement and step in before the client decides to leave.

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“We’re investing in anti-churn efforts, and now people prepare their executive previews using the Diffly interview, which is super detailed — especially with a focus on key accounts, where we’re actually able to secure renewals and even drive up-sell.”

Anaïs de Lalande

PMO @MyTraffic

“From a customer experience perspective, that’s amazing. The client sees that we’re committed to understanding their needs, to continuous improvement, and most importantly, that concrete actions follow quickly.”

Elise Le Chatelier

Responsable Grand Compte @Morning

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Best Practices:

• Adopt a hybrid approach: Automate simple processes, but maintain human contact at critical touchpoints.
• Train teams in active listening: The quality of interactions depends primarily on interpersonal skills.
• Use insights to personalize support: Leverage data from Win-Loss interviews to fine-tune your approach.

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Conclusion: Removing Biases for a Better Understanding of Your Customers

In the SaaS industry, technology is a performance driver, but without meaningful human interactions, there’s a real risk of creating cold and impersonal experiences. Relying solely on internal sales conversations to understand your customers presents another issue: those interactions are often biased.

Buyers don’t always share their true motivations with sales teams. They filter their answers, avoid sensitive topics, or provide an incomplete version of their decision-making process. As a result, strategic decisions are often based on partial signals, without a clear view of what really influences deals.

A neutral third party with a proven methodology helps remove these biases and uncover more reliable insights. Through in-depth interviews and structured feedback analysis, you can identify the real reasons behind wins and losses—and adjust your strategy accordingly.

Discover how an objective Win-Loss Analysis approach can help you improve both sales performance and customer retention. Book a demo today.