The SaaS product companies are tapping into new avenues for product development & business. Here we look at some of the recent trends for SaaS product development.

The post SaaS Product Development: 7 Trends for Building Great SaaS Products appeared first on Kreyon Systems | Blog | Software Company | Software Development | Software Design.

To win your share of the market, you have to ensure product market fit before you can achieve scale. Here’s a look at some of the strategies adopted by to achieve SaaS product market fit.

1. Customer Interactions Precede Development

The best way to build something customers value is by taking their feedback before building it. In most cases, customer inputs, needs and feedback can be taken proactively before product development. It is a sure fire way to identify the core focus area for your SaaS product.

Building the wrong product and then making amends can be hard. It is much easier to interact with the customers before product development and seek their ideas on what they want. Asking simple questions like the following can give you strong feedback, inputs and ideas on building a much better product for your customers:

Would you use something like this?
Do you think this product will add value for you?
How can we make it better for you or what does your ideal product look like?
What do you want to accomplish with this product?

Asking open ended questions with clients gives you valuable insights into the minds of the customers and their needs. It helps you build a product that they would be willing to use.

2. Good Market

According to Marc Andreesen, “Product market fit means being in a good market with a product that can satisfy that market.”

Being in a good market makes a crucial difference to the fortunes of a SaaS product. You can have a great product, but if you have a market that is not willing to pay, you will fail. Great products don’t succeed in bad markets. Building a product for the right market is the first and foremost step to establish product market fit. You cannot win by building the right product for the wrong market.

SaaS product market fit requires a deep understanding of your market after you’ve chosen the right market. The market could be based chosen based on:
By Region
By Type
By Industry
By Users
By Functionality

Is your product built to meet the demand of the market?
Is there sufficient demand for the product in your market?
How does your product differentiate itself from the competitors?

A good market has a large number of paying customers for your product. Typically, large market size is a prerequisite for scaling a SaaS product. SaaS companies can often lose by winning in smaller markets. The market size, paying capacity and quality of customers matter a lot for your SaaS product market fit.

3. Core Problem

Almost all successful SaaS products achieve product market fit by solving a core problem for their customers. The idea is to create compelling differentiation and a strong value proposition by offering a great solution to an existing problem for the customers.

The SaaS product market fit requires companies to solve one problem for their customers. Take for e.g. Zoom built a video conferencing tool and did it better than others. Slack solved the productivity and communication conundrum. Uber solved the taxi problem. SaaS products that try to do everything for everyone are harder to scale and please the customers. Identifying a core problem of your customer is important to nail the product market fit. A few questions to zone into the right problem:

How does the problem impact your client?
What is the cost of not solving this problem?
What are the constraints for the prospect i.e. time, finance & authority?
How do they solve this problem currently?

4. Rapid Prototype

The product development should start once the needs of your customers and the core problem you solve for them is validated. The prototyping phase involves development of the core product with a singular focus. The product can be built and beta tested by early customers.

The early versions of the product can give you a good indicator of the customer’s interest. When the customers take keen interest, provide inputs and use your product, it can help you improve your SaaS product appreciably.

Quick and rapid prototyping involves working on customer feedback. It is an iterative approach for adding value with every new version of the product. But the core focus remains on the problem you want to solve.

5. Sustainable Business Model

A sustainable business model can be an often overlooked aspect for fast growing SaaS companies. But it matters for most of the companies, your product’s value proposition lies in its business model. As long as you can have a steady stream of paying customers and build things for them, you can grow your SaaS company.

A good market is where you can find a sustainable business model for your SaaS product. It has customers who are willing to pay the right price and offer scalable opportunities for your business. SaaS products typically need to provide tangible value on a repeated basis for recurring revenues. Some SaaS products also offer premium services and alternate models like one time revenue, service fees etc. for increasing revenues.

Your SaaS product market fit can be ascertained by offering a great value proposition for your customers. What will customers lose by not having your product? Do customers know the value of your product in tangible terms? A sustainable business model is built when customers can articulate the value proposition they get from your product with clarity.

6. Competition & Existing Solutions

The SaaS product market fit hinges around the options for your customers. Your product must address these aspects:

What options does your customer have if they need to replace your product?
Is your product offering something better than the competition?
What is the price your customer pays if they don’t use your solution?
Is your product value tangible and visible enough for the customer?
Do you offer services and support that helps your customers solve an existing problem?

A careful study of your competitive landscape can help you define a clear differentiation strategy for your product. Identifying the gaps in the existing solutions and the customer needs can help you build a better SaaS product.

Customers are typically reluctant to switch, especially when they need to make efforts to do so. How your product can smoothen their onboarding journey & help them solve their problems swiftly over competitors makes the difference.

7. SaaS Product Market Fit is Dynamic

Your product initiatives are linked to customer problems and needs. But the customer needs are dynamic and changing. So, your SaaS product needs to stay ahead of the curve. It needs to provide state of the art technology solutions to make it easier for customers to use your product.

Typically new technologies cause inflexion points that bring new solutions to the market. A new product or solution can address the needs of the customers more effectively than past solutions. This is an innovator’s dilemma. You need to constantly innovate and build things to advance your product with the latest tools and technologies.

When your long term vision is aligned with customer needs and technologies for the future, your product market fit remains dynamic. The SaaS product market fit has become the lever for expansion, growth and scale for companies today.

The post How to Establish SaaS Product Market Fit the Easy Way appeared first on Kreyon Systems | Blog | Software Company | Software Development | Software Design.

Most of the Unicorns owe their success to creative marketing strategies that helped them build their business from a valuation of 0 to $1billion. Here’s a look at the most effective SaaS product marketing strategies used by Unicorns:

1. Content Development

A sound marketing strategy revolves around its content. The content development strategy outlines what is in it for the customers. A good content strategy provides customers what they’re looking for to solve their problems.
Before you zone into the content development, answer the following to create relevant, focused and valuable content for your users.

Your target customer: Whom are you selling and solving the problem for?
Problem: What is their current problem?
Outcome: What the customer can accomplish using your product?
Risk: Why you believe you can solve this problem better than other alternatives
Long-term gains: What is the long-term impact of solving this problem?

A good content strategy provides thoughtful answers for its customer’s pain points. It captures the essence of their needs and helps them accomplish their goals.

2. Hand Holding for Frictionless Adoption

One of the biggest differences between companies that make it big and others, who don’t, lies in their approach to their product adoption. Take for e.g. the case of Etsy, it is a $2 billion public company which allows artists to sell their creations on its platform.

The company started in 2005 and it created a marketplace where buyers and sellers could transact seamlessly. The founders went to every artisan flea market, understood what the artists were looking for and helped them list their items on their platform. They, like many founders who build scalable companies, worked with the actual users and customers on the platform.

Frictionless support needs careful evaluation of the needs of the users. A platform like eBay wasn’t meeting the needs of the artists. But Etsy worked with the artisans and ensured they covered things end to end to get them registered on the platform. This frictionless support and doing the groundwork is what separates the best SaaS products. Frictionless adoption of a SaaS product by working with the real users is an unbeatable marketing strategy for any business.

3. Location

A SaaS product can be adopted by users and customers around the world. But zoning into a specific location and user
base helps the team solve things end to end for them. Take for e.g. Facebook ads, the product ads are tailored to the user location. The currency, the pricing and the messaging are targeted according to the location of the users.
Most SaaS products that scale up are built with a targeted user base. When a product can dominate in a specific location and solve the problem for the users, it can scale up to serve other locations as well. Etsy solved the problem for its local artisans first, Uber offered its app to nearby conference participants and FB started from a campus.

A specific niche, location and user base can help define marketing precisely for your SaaS product. It will also provide your team the opportunity to gather feedback firsthand and interact with the customers of the product.

4. Leveraging Unfair Competitive Advantage

Companies that make it big often have a secret sauce that they can leverage to their advantage. It gives them a thrust
and opening to a wide market base, which pushes them to great heights. It could be your location, team, unique products, culture or execution. Whatever gives you an edge over your competition must be communicated with clarity in your marketing messages.

What is your main competitive advantage that puts your competitors at a disadvantage?
Why would a customer prefer your business over your competitors?

5. Growth Partners

Breakthrough SaaS products are often built and marketed creatively. The innovative marketing strategies can be used for targeting the customers. Understand the behavioral patterns of your customers, where they hang out. You need to build a strategy to reach out to them with strong partnerships. For e.g. if you’re offering a SaaS product for travelers, you could consider partnerships with travel agencies. If you’re targeting students, you could consider tie-ups with schools and universities.

SaaS products can be marketed through affiliate partners with mutually benefits. Depending on the type of business, industry, locations and your customer profiles, your company can build innovative outreach strategies for customers.

6. Innovative Monetization

Most customers would prefer to use the products for free, whenever they can. Free is a powerful way to get the customers to use your products. However, you can build innovative monetization strategies to build your business.
Government departments have been increasingly adopting the SaaS products for their day to day operations.

However, the traditional users of their systems are prone to legacy approaches for data upkeep. Some companies are experimenting with fees for digitization of documents, this provides an additional services revenue component and also helps the departments get their things done.

Solar energy companies are now offering their products on rental models compared to traditional ownership based models. Many SaaS companies are offering free products and charging for services like accounting, bookkeeping etc.
With innovative monetization models, the customer cost of acquisition is reduced significantly. They can reap the benefits of innovation & even tell others about it.

7. Breakthrough Offerings

The disruptions offer one of the best ways to market your products. When the customers get something unique, they can become your loyal brand advocates. When Spotify launched its online music service, it allowed users to listen to their favorite songs at a low monthly subscription fee. It changed the way music was bought. Earlier, users had to pay for purchasing albums or songs, but with a low monthly fee they could listen to unlimited songs.

The best SaaS products that go on to become Unicorns often change the business models of their industries. The disruptive offerings develop new ways for customers to achieve what they want, increase their engagement and establish a dominant market position.

Kreyon Systems is a global SaaS company. If you have any queries for us or need help in implementation of SaaS products, please reach out to us.

The post The Most Effective SaaS Product Marketing Strategies Used by Unicorns appeared first on Kreyon Systems | Blog | Software Company | Software Development | Software Design.

2. Your Brand

Your brand identity shapes your customer’s behavior and attracts them towards your products & services. In this age of digital tools and technologies, how your brand interacts and establishes connections with customers is more important than ever.

Great brands are using everything in their arsenal to personalise interactions with their customers. They are using technology to learn more about their customers and finding ways to serve them better. Brands that connect, deliver and enhance customer’s lives & care for them are always hard to beat.

3. Network & Distribution 

A company’s network and distribution strategy can influence the adoption of its product significantly. The most successful products are built with a careful outreach strategy. How will you reach your customers? Who can help you reach more customers faster in a cost effective way? What are the new partners and models that can multiply your reach to the customers?

Companies with a strong existing network of partners and distributors can reach more customers faster. When Uber started its marketing, it targeted reaching out to tech conferences and offered free rides to the participants there. The tech savvy audiences immediately took to Uber and started spreading the word about it. The unique strategy to reach your customers is part of the product strategy that every company needs to conceive.

4. Technology Trends & Unique Capabilities

What are the technology trends you’re banking on for your products? Is your product betting on advanced technologies and unique capabilities? For e.g. Netflix developed streaming technologies & a subscription model for DVDs to reach out more customers than its competitors who were using renting out DVDs from physical stores. Facebook developed a unique friend search algorithm that allowed people to build their online networks faster than Myspace and other competitors.

Your product can leverage unique technology trends like use of AI, voice recognition and AR/VR etc. to develop value added features. Over time the efforts spent on research and development are visible with the unique set of features that are difficult to replicate. 

5. End to End Capabilities

Products that dominate their space provide the complete ecosystem for their customers to accomplish their needs. When Salesforce introduced its SaaS based CRM product, it leapfrogged ahead of its competitors. However, Salesforce has been able to innovate and provide a complete ecosystem. It provides useful tools and technologies for teams to build value added apps, it has a complete set of business apps, consultants and technologies to take care of customer’s evolving needs.

When Apple launched the iPod, they not only provided a device which was superior compared to its existing competitors, but also provided a way to buy songs from iTunes. Products that provide a complete ecosystem and take care of customer’s needs are hard to build and copy. Netflix started with a subscription based service for DVDs, but soon started its video streaming, personalisation, anytime anywhere device ecosystem, & original content for its users. 

6. One Thing

Products that beat their competitors do one thing better than others. Take for e.g. when you think of Apple, you think of design. Google is the search engine of the world’s information. Dropbox is the goto solution for storage. 

When your product is focused on providing one essential thing your customers want, it can build a great advantage. Focusing on one thing and doing it well takes great efforts. But it pays off very well. Companies that build products that are hard to develop and copy can leap ahead of their competitors. The market rewards excellence and when products display authority, consistency and value, they’re hard to copy.

7. Growth Engagement & Monetization

Your product strategy shapes and guides your product’s growth, engagement and monetisation. The best products are shaped with a strong roadmap and focus on innovation, growth, customer engagement, margin enhancing features, customer help and support etc.

The product strategy helps your company adopt the right set of features to focus on growth. It helps you create metrics to measure growth.

How do you measure growth for your business?
How do you measure engagement of users with your product? Are customers using your product features?
How is your product going to deliver value for your business?
How do you measure the financial metrics for your product like revenue per customer, lifetime value of customers, & net profit etc.

A strong GEM model will help your business build a better product. It helps you focus on the right metrics to deliver lasting value to the customers as well as your business. SaaS product companies often measure the YOY revenue, retention rate, lifetime value, gross profit & time spent on products etc. to improve their business.

8.  Bottom Up Approach 

Your customers are the reason for your product’s success. When they are satisfied and happy, you have a successful business. A lot of products are built in a silo without real customer interactions and feedback. But the successful products are built inline with what the customer needs are.

When product features are conceptualised in a bottom up approach, it develops a more robots product. Take for e.g. brands like Youtube & facebook etc. use proxy metrics to measure customer interactions with their products. Youtube measures things like the average time spent per user daily watching videos, Facebook tracks the number of daily active users and features on which they spend maximum time.

The SaaS product development is shaped by customer usage patterns and inputs. When brands are directly connected to their customers and figure out ways to address their needs, it gives them a unique advantage that is hard to replicate.

Kreyon Systems is a leading SaaS product development company. If you have any queries for us or need help in implementation of SaaS products, please reach out to us.

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