Company Context
Aster Mobile is a mid-market B2B SaaS company that provides customer engagement software to retail and subscription brands. Its core product today is email automation, generating $42M ARR with 8% YoY growth, but growth has slowed as larger competitors bundle more channels into broader marketing suites. The CEO is considering whether Aster should expand into mobile marketing technologies—specifically push notifications, in-app messaging, SMS orchestration, deep linking, attribution integrations, and mobile audience segmentation—to defend existing accounts and unlock a new growth vector.
Strategic Situation
You are the Head of Strategy. The board wants a recommendation on whether Aster should enter the mobile marketing technology space over the next 12 months, and if so, how. The company has three options: (A) build a native mobile marketing product, (B) acquire a small mobile engagement vendor, or (C) partner with existing mobile platforms and remain email-first. The decision is urgent because churn among larger customers has increased, and several prospects now require cross-channel orchestration including mobile.
Data Points
| Metric | Value |
|---|
| Current ARR | $42M |
| Gross margin | 78% |
| Net revenue retention | 101% |
| Enterprise customer churn (>$100K ACV) | Increased from 7% to 11% in 12 months |
| Available investment budget | $18M over 18 months |
Additional market and operating facts:
- North American mobile marketing software market estimated at $3.4B, growing 14% CAGR.
- Aster serves 1,200 customers; 320 have mobile apps, and 140 generate more than 25% of revenue through their apps.
- Internal survey of top 100 customers: 58% say mobile messaging is a “high priority” in the next year; 31% would consider consolidating vendors if Aster offered mobile capabilities.
- Building in-house is estimated to take 12 months, require 25 engineers + 6 GTM hires, and cost $11M before meaningful revenue.
- A potential acquisition target, PulseReach, has $6M ARR, 82% gross margin, 90 customers, and is available for roughly 4.5x ARR.
Deliverables
- Assess the attractiveness of the mobile marketing technology market for Aster.
- Compare the three strategic options: build, buy, or partner.
- Estimate the revenue impact and strategic value of entering mobile marketing.
- Recommend a go-to-market approach, target customer segment, and sequencing.
- Identify key risks, constraints, and success metrics for the first 12-18 months.
Constraints
- Aster must preserve at least 9 months of cash runway.
- The product team cannot support more than two major platform initiatives simultaneously.
- The board expects a plan that can show measurable commercial traction within 12 months.
- Any strategy must minimize disruption to the existing email business and sales organization.
