Cloud computing has taken over the software industry and has become vital to make software products accessible. Software as a Service is a revolutionary cloud model that facilities app/software launches over the internet through a third-party cloud service provider. This model helps enterprises save time and cut costs on developing and maintaining in-house software products. However, developing a SaaS product is not easy and can fail if the right steps are not taken.
Here are 7 things you need to know before developing a SaaS Product:
- Think About your Product Idea: If your organization is planning to develop a SaaS product for the very first time, it is important to come up with robust ideas to make a good impression on your users. You should introduce new features or unique ideas into your software and make sure that it is well thought out. Think about what problems you wish to solve through your software and develop an understanding of what users want. A good idea will help your software thrive in the market and will successfully engage users in the long run. Your product must be simple and convenient to use as well, do not overcomplicate it by adding several features.
- Consider the Market: As mentioned in the above point, you need to make sure your product has a defined target audience as it needs to be a market fit. If your product impressed customers, they will automatically promote it and popularize it in the market. To identify the problems your target customers might be facing you need to invest in market research and create buyer personas. Based on your findings you can prioritize what kind of features need to be included in your SaaS product. You can also go the extra mile and try to identify gaps in your competitor’s products. By adding features your competitors may have missed in your product you can easily engage and attract more users.
- Emphasize on Marketing: Developing a well-research SaaS product is not enough, you need to market the product and promote it as much as possible. Many organizations tend to focus on the development and launch of the product and do not follow up this process with marketing. Simply announcing your product on social media will not help you attract customers. You need to create a proper marketing strategy to create a buzz around your product no matter how efficient or unique your SaaS product is.
- Choose an Appropriate Pricing Model: The popularity of SaaS product depends on the pricing model you choose. It is important to go with a pricing model based on the needs of your potential users. You can go with a pay-as-you-use model and charge users based on their usage. A feature-based pricing model is also great as your users can pay and avail a certain set of features they require. The most common and go-to pricing model is the freemium model, wherein companies offer a free trial or a free version of their product and then give premium options that users can purchase.
- Develop for Scalability: From the beginning of the development process, you need to make sure your SaaS product is scalable. It is important to make sure your code is extensible or else you may have to revise and modify your entire code architecture. Though you cannot always predict how much your platform will grow and revising your code architecture is inevitable, you need to make sure your product design is scalable. Whether it is paying more to your cloud service provider or increasing your load speed or keeping your software secure, your product needs to be developed only after considering these factors.
- Take User Feedback: Before launching your product, you can develop a minimum viable product (MVP) or a prototype. An MVP will help you understand how users interact with your product and can help you get their feedback on your platform. You can find out what users are looking for and how well they are able to navigate through your product. User testing is important especially when you are developing a complex SaaS product as without incorporating user feedback your product might fail.
- Respond to Change: Markets keep growing and changing regularly. The best way to deal with these changes is to address them. Before developing your SaaS product think about what changes might happen in the future and if you will be able to modify your product to meet these changes.
SaaS products are based on a public cloud service model and are extremely scalable. It is important to keep the above pointers in mind to build a powerful and efficient SaaS product that addresses are the user’s needs. Make sure you keep the focus on your customers and think of creating products that provide value to them.