Why the Best SaaS Growth in 2025 Is Boring (and Not About AI)

TL;DR

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• SaaS buyers in 2025 rank integrations and ease-of-use above AI features (G2 SaaS Buyer Survey).
• Churn, onboarding, and billing processes drive more revenue than flashy features.
• Boring fixes compound over time: reduce churn → more revenue → stronger growth loops.
• Most founders ignore these levers because they don’t sound exciting.
• The real SaaS revenue engine is Capture → Convert → Compound, not ChatGPT-in-your-product.

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Everyone wants the AI shortcut

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We're human. Every human is wired to want shortcuts. We'll the same is true for SaaS. You walk into any SaaS pitch room and you'll hear the same line: "We're adding AI to our product."

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It sounds good. Investors nod. Your team feels like you are keeping up with the status quo.

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But here's the reality: buyers don't care about your AI roadmap as much as you think. Hard stop.

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AI hype is everywhere. We've become numb to it and most of the AI hype doesn't actually solve problems.

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According to the 2025 G2 SaaS Buyer Survey: 69% of buyers still make purchase decisions based on integrations and ease of use, while fewer than 20% list AI features as a top three factor.

Where's the disconnect? Because it's there. Founders chase hype. Customers pay for boring.

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SaaS buyers have hit hype fatigue

AI is table stakes now. Everyone uses it. Everyone has some AI tool.

Go browse any software tool and you'll see the phrase: "AI powered" somewhere listed out. What buyers are actually doing is cutting spend on tools that don't integrate, create duplicate workflows, or frustrate teams.

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39% of CFOs cut SaaS contracts in the last 12 months because of poor integration. (Vena Solutions)

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Contracts weren't cut because the product lacked AI. Not because it wasn't innovative enough. It wasn't productive enough.

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It was cut because it didn't fit the tech stack.

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That's the reality. The boring stuff makes or breaks retention.

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Founders ignore the compounding levers

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If you look at most early-stage growth playbooks, they all focus on:

• paid media
• outbound SDRs
• Feature releases

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But, they are skipping the "boring" levers:

• reducing customer churn
• seamless onboarding
• billing and usage clarity
• better UX

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Here's the catch: boring levers compound. Ads don't.

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Framework: the 3 layer growth engine

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My process is simple:

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1. Capture: How do you attract the right customers?

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This is about being easy to find, easy to understand, and easy to buy. Capture doesn't equal ads.

• integrations in marketplace listings
  
  • show up where buyers already shop
  • visibility adds credibility
• clear pricing
  
  • prospects compare pricing in separate tabs
  • pricing in 30 seconds or their gone
• proof of fit
  
  • highlight case studies with similar companies
  • before booking a demo how can it help me?

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2. Convert: How do you get them to act quickly?

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This is where most processes die. Buyers sign up, navigate around, and leave. Conversion isn't about selling harder. It's about removing friction.

• frictionless onboarding
  
  • no 17 field signup forms
  • get me to the product
• in-app education
  
  • guided walkthroughs
  • video tutorials
  • tool tips
  • the faster a user succeeds the higher the retention
• human touch where it counts
  
  • a 10-minute onboarding call does wonders for retention (better than 10 emails)
  • use if more for high-value accounts

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Compound: How do you grow revenue over time?

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This is the real growth engine. You don't just close customers. You grow with them.

• expansion
  
  • design pricing that adapts as they grow
  • think slack or notion (more users = more $$)
  • one champion becomes a department then an org-wide rollout
• billing transparency = reduced churn
  
  • hidden fees and confusing invoices kill trust
  • reduce cancellations and complaints
• usage based nudges
  
  • prompt upgrades when a customer hits a limit
  • you've reached 80% of usage will convert better than a random upsell email
• community & ecosystem
  
  • build user groups, slack channels, resource hubs
  • a community makes customer feel part of something (expand faster)

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Where to start

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1. Fix your onboarding

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Map your activation funnel (trial → first key action → repeat use). Then track time to value for users. Your goal is to get less than 7 days for first key action.

Example: slack measures onboarding success by how quickly a team sends 2,000+ messages

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2. Audit integrations

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List your top 5 customer requested integrations. Then try and prioritize the top ones and release 2 per quarter. Your goal here is to get less deals mentioning new integrations.

Example: HubSpot found that adding Salesforce integrations unlocked a massive chunk of mid-market customers who wouldn't consider them otherwise.

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3. Simplify billing

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Review your checkout flow. Then reduce that to less than 3 steps if possible. Your goal here is to reduce the number of failed transactions or billing support tickets.

Example: Notion's self-serve checkout lets a single user upgrade to a team plan in under 90 seconds.

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4. Run pricing experiments

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Test your solutions (per seat, usage-based, hybrid). Then you'll see your average revenue per user. Your goal here is to see a 10-20% increase ore more per customer.

Example: Canva introduced seat-based pro plan after testing which increased expansion revenue as team naturally added more users.

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5. Build expansion paths

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Test and add in-app notifications and nudges for upgrades. Then you compare your upsell percentages. Your goal here is to see more than 25% expansion revenue in 2 years.

Example: Zoom used usage-based nudges (you've hit your 40-minute limit, upgrade to pro for unlimited meetings) to convert millions of free users to paying customers.

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Common failure modes

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• Chasing “AI” instead of fixing core UX.
• Shipping too many features with no usage.
• Treating pricing as one-time instead of iterative.
• Ignoring billing complexity until churn spikes.

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Your next experiment

Forget that new AI feature. Instead:

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• run an onboarding sprint
• kill 3 friction points in billing
• ship one integration

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Then watch what happens.

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If your SaaS growth feels stuck, it might not be your ads. It might be the boring stuff you’ve ignored. At Dad’s Growth Lab, we help founders build the growth systems that compound.

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Schedule your free consultation today!

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