At Vertex, leaders from Heard, Archy, and Jane discussed why community is becoming one of the most valuable investments in vertical software. We came away thinking about what it means to truly understand your customers—and help their businesses grow.
AI has made it easier than ever to launch products, create content, and reach potential customers. For vertical software companies, that presents an opportunity. It also creates a challenge: When everyone has access to similar technology and marketing tools, standing out becomes considerably harder.
That was one of the central themes of a panel we attended at
Vertex, featuring leaders from Heard, Archy, and Jane Software, moderated by Chris Kuehn, Director of Growth Marketing at Rainforest. The conversation explored how community-led marketing can drive growth, build customer loyalty, and create a competitive advantage that lasts.
What stood out to us was how closely the discussion connected marketing with a much broader business principle. The more deeply you understand your customers and invest in their success, the more valuable your relationship with them becomes.
For vertical software companies, that principle has implications well beyond customer acquisition. It can influence everything from product development and retention to the additional services they offer the SMBs they serve.
Vertical software companies work because they inherently understand the industries that they serve. Knowing how a dental practice operates, what mental health professionals need from their financial tools, or how a chiropractor manages appointments helps these companies build better products.
But understanding an industry and being part of its community are two different things.
Andrew Riesen, Co-founder and CEO of Heard, described how the company built its early growth strategy around educating mental health professionals about the financial side of running a practice. Recognizing that many clinicians receive little formal training in bookkeeping, taxes, or business management, Heard's founders invested their time in workshops, conferences, online communities, and direct relationships with practitioners.
Rather than approaching every interaction as an opportunity to sell software, they focused on helping clinicians become more successful business owners. That commitment helped Heard develop credibility within the community it serves, creating relationships that extend beyond the product itself.
Dan Davidow, who leads marketing at Jane Software, shared how that approach can scale. Jane serves approximately 245,000 practitioners, according to Dan, and the community continues to contribute substantially to its growth. He described educational partnerships that began more than a decade ago and have since expanded into a network of more than 100 institutions.
Those relationships now contribute to referrals, brand recognition, and customer trust. More importantly, they represent something a new competitor can't easily reproduce. A competing platform might build similar features or spend more on advertising, but it can't instantly replicate years of meaningful relationships with practitioners, educators, and professional communities.
That distinction matters as AI lowers the barriers to developing and marketing software. Technology is becoming easier to replicate. Genuine relationships, built through years of consistently delivering value, remain much harder to reproduce.
One of the most revealing moments in the discussion came when the panelists compared their approaches to customer events.
Andrew Bernstein, head of marketing at Archy, shared the experience of hosting the company's first customer conference. Around 200 people attended, and the company reported a 40% increase in inbound activity during the following two weeks. Beyond the immediate business results, the event gave dental professionals opportunities to connect with peers, exchange advice, and develop relationships around shared experiences.
For Archy, the event was a success. Andrew's biggest regret was that they hadn't organized one sooner.
Dan offered a different perspective. Jane serves healthcare practitioners whose schedules revolve around appointments and billable hours. Asking those customers to travel to a large conference means taking time away from their practices, often at a direct financial cost.
Jane's solution has been to bring events to its customers through regional gatherings that combine education, product information, and opportunities to connect.
Both approaches reflect the same commitment to customer outcomes. Archy created an experience that brought its community together. Jane adapted its strategy to the practical realities of the professionals it serves.
This is an important lesson for vertical software companies. Customer-centricity requires more than understanding what features customers want. It means understanding how they work, what pressures they face, and what success looks like for their businesses.
A dental practice manager, a mental health professional, and a home services contractor might all benefit from professional communities, but the ways they participate will differ. The strongest software companies recognize those differences and build their customer experiences accordingly.
The panelists also discussed how AI is reshaping customer acquisition.
As AI makes it easier to produce content, launch campaigns, and automate outreach, businesses face growing competition for attention. Channels that once delivered predictable results are
becoming more crowded, and increasing the volume of marketing activity doesn't necessarily translate into better outcomes.
The panelists argued that this makes authentic experiences and relationships more valuable. Customers can ignore another automated email. They're less likely to forget a helpful conversation, an educational workshop, or a support specialist who understands their business.
This raises an interesting question about the businesses these platforms serve. If marketing is becoming more challenging for software companies, what does that mean for their SMB customers?
Many small businesses face the same pressures, often with far fewer resources. They need to attract new customers, maintain visibility in increasingly competitive digital environments, and build trust with people who have more choices than ever.
A healthcare practitioner may be an expert in patient care but have limited time to manage their website, improve their search visibility, or develop marketing campaigns. A home services business might deliver excellent work but struggle to turn that reputation into a consistent source of new leads.
These challenges create an opening for vertical software companies to deliver value beyond their core software.
A platform that already helps an SMB manage its daily operations is well positioned to understand its business needs. By extending that relationship into areas such as web presence, discoverability, and marketing, software providers can help their customers address another essential part of running a successful business: finding and winning customers of their own.
At Duda, we see this as a natural extension of the role vertical software companies already play. Our
embeddable martech for vertical software enables partners to offer websites and digital marketing capabilities under their own brands, helping them expand the value they deliver to SMB customers.
Another memorable part of the discussion focused on customer support.
Andrew from Archy described watching customers enthusiastically greet members of the company's support team at its conference. Some of those employees had previously worked in dental offices themselves, giving them firsthand knowledge of the challenges customers face.
These relationships were built through repeated experiences of getting meaningful help from people who understood the work.
Dan reinforced this point by describing how Jane's support culture contributes to the company's reputation within its community. Every customer interaction, whether at a conference, through support, or during an educational event, creates an impression that can strengthen or weaken trust.
This perspective challenges the idea that marketing is solely responsible for building a brand. Product, support, customer success, and marketing all influence how customers experience a company.
A customer might initially choose a platform because it solves a specific operational problem, but their decision to stay, recommend the product, or adopt additional services often depends on the broader relationship. That relationship becomes even more valuable when the platform consistently helps the customer achieve better business outcomes.
It also changes how software companies should think about expansion. Offering additional services is most compelling when those services solve problems customers already have. If a platform helps a business manage appointments, for example, helping that same business attract more appointments through a stronger online presence is a logical extension of its value.
The connection between the two services is the customer's success.
Of course, building community and investing in customer relationships still requires resources. And as the panelists acknowledged, not every investment produces an immediate, easily measurable return.
Marketing leaders have quarterly targets to meet. Founders have boards to answer to. Events, educational partnerships, and community programs all compete for budget with channels that offer more direct attribution.
But evaluating every marketing investment solely on its immediate contribution to new customer acquisition can overlook its longer-term value.
Dan encouraged marketers to consider how community activities contribute across the customer lifecycle. A conference might generate leads, but it can also strengthen relationships with existing customers, introduce potential partners, and help reduce churn. Educational partnerships may take years to develop before becoming meaningful sources of referrals.
These outcomes contribute to growth, even when their value doesn't fit neatly into a single campaign report.
We left the Vertex discussion with a strong appreciation for the role community plays in building durable vertical software businesses.
The panelists demonstrated that customer relationships can become powerful drivers of growth when companies invest in them consistently. They also reinforced a principle we believe in at Duda: Understanding customers means understanding what they're ultimately trying to accomplish.
For a vertical software company, success might mean increasing adoption, reducing churn, or expanding revenue. For the SMBs it serves, success is often more immediate: attracting customers, filling appointments, generating leads, and building a sustainable business.
The trick is to connect those outcomes.
As AI changes how businesses compete for attention, marketing and digital presence will become increasingly important to the SMBs that vertical software companies serve. Platforms that understand those needs and help customers address them can build stronger relationships while expanding the value of their offerings.
Community is an important part of that equation because it creates the understanding and trust that make those relationships possible.
The most durable competitive advantage may ultimately come from something far simpler. Know your customers well enough to help them succeed, then keep finding ways to deliver on that promise.
