There is a very tough comptetition these days in the field of SaaS Architecture. Best practices must be implemented by those who want to make the most profit out of their SaaS business. Products are now preferred by consumers because they require no complex installations to their devices and gadgets.
Any software manufacturer who refuses to hop into this trend is making a huge mistake, and you as an aspiring developer should acknowledge the most talked about SaaS best practice tips that experts are starting to implement this year.
In promoting your first SaaS company, here are tips that can help you ensure customer success.
Outwitting your existing competitors:
There will always be people who have already established their craft ahead of you. Now, the question is, how to grow a SaaS business so you will attain the success they’ve earned over the years. If you do exactly what they’ve already done, then you will have no chance of grabbing their clients who have already established their loyalty to those successful SaaS companies out there.
The key to winning them over is by giving the best customer experience. SaaS businesses that are already out in the open longer than you have gained already authority, and have given the best SaaS products to a variety of clients.
By showing the clients that you have something to offer that your competitors can’t is a solid idea to build your products on. In addition to the innovation you show in your creations, a better marketing strategy should be implemented as well.
Strengthening your email campaigns:
No matter how adamant you are at your claim that you have the best SaaS products in existence, nobody would care to check you out if people don’t get the idea that you exist in the first place. Advertising still works so well and one of the most effective ways in doing it is through a strong email campaign.
Collecting emails is one of the trickiest parts of growing a SaaS business, and you as a SaaS entrepreneur shouldn’t think differently. By doing so, you’re already teaching yourself and your staff how to grow a SaaS business.
In crafting your email messages, you must not appear to be too pushy or “salesy” because this will only alienate your potential first clients. Appearing to be friendly and sounding like you truly care about solving their problems is an approach that will always work, and you must never fail to implement this in the very act of reaching out through your clients.
Hosting webinars and live discussions:
One of the reasons why only very few online businesses stand out among clients is that not too many of them offer valuable information. If you believe that your SaaS company is among the very best ever, then you have to spread the word and you can’t do that by just doing simple advertising.
One of the best methods of attracting Saas customers is by conducting webinars that can truly give a comprehensive discussion about how helpful your products would be as people use them. Webinars can give you the advantage of addressing people’s inquiries directly, while promoting the greatness of your products at the same time.
In doing your webinar, you must not be too self-centered though. Talking about other products or companies very similar to yours would also be a wise move since it’s proof that you acknowledge their renown as well. That denotes your willingness in executing an excellent customer success model that will bring you a lot of good in the future.
Widening your online presence:
In addition to your SaaS website, best practices for your efforts must also include putting your online presence on a much wider avenue. If you have the knack for writing, write high-quality blog posts that you can submit to other sites so a link to your site can be clicked by their numerous readers.
If you prefer talking about your company and your products, guest appearances in various YouTube channels, and appearing in Podcasts should be a strong option to consider. If your website is still very new, its chances of getting indexed by Google and getting found by user searches is very low.
You need to announce to the realms of cyberspace that your business exists, and one of the most ideal ways to do it is by reaching out to those portals that are already there before yours even existed.
Implementing targeted social media promotions:
To supplement your actions on the previous item, social media promotion must also be executed. But this doesn’t mean the act of simply posting a link to your website on your Facebook wall, and expecting readers to click on it.
“You need to announce to the realms of cyberspace that your business exists. One of the most ideal ways to do it is by reaching out to those portals that are already there before yours even existed.”
To make your social media campaigns truly effective, a targeted approach should be implemented. What this means is that you must not promote your products on Facebook pages that have nothing to do with what you’re offering – this will only do more harm than good.
The most practical action would be making your own page, and paying for social media advertising which is surprisingly cheap these days. You can still promote your posts for free though, though they might take a longer time to gain high viewership.
Implementing multiple options for your trial versions:
Trial versions are still among the best SaaS ideas. But as stated in the first item, you need to outwit your competitors, and telling your potential clients that they can use your software for free within 15 days wouldn’t be too attractive anymore. Competition is very high these days – you need to do better.
A wiser course of action would be to provide multiple options for your trial versions that can surely generate an outstanding SaaS customer lifecycle. They can be motivated to try your products in a certain version with some distinct features, while urging them even more, to try out your other services as well, with even more helpful features.
In that way, you’ll have a stronger grip on your clients since they have a lot of options to choose from even as they try your best SaaS products for free.
Making your products executable even for older devices:
One of the mistakes that many software companies make these days is that they have the habit of making their products available only for the newest versions of smartphones, tablets, and desktop computers.
You as a novice SaaS entrepreneur must highly consider those users who still own older gadgets. You must make your software executable for those devices that might be slightly outdated, but are still held on dearly by their owners.
Those giant SaaS manufacturers out there can still make huge sales since they are already popular, but for someone who has just started in the business, it would be truly a wise move to try to cater to older devices.
Making your products available for various platforms:
It’s common knowledge that there are various operating systems for people’s smartphones. The best SaaS companies make sure that their products can run in as many mobile devices and computers as possible. But again, you have to be better than your competitors, and you have to acknowledge that aside from the common desktop operating systems like Windows and MacOS, there are also others like Linux.
What this means is that your SaaS products, should they contain some app elements that users must install into their machines, should have versions that can run in open-source platforms, and other non-Windows operating systems. This is a helpful strategy that can make your competitors know that you truly understand what is customer success in SaaS.
Giving impressive services to the first few clients:
Customer satisfaction is undoubtedly the best element that can advertise your company in a “word-of-mouth” manner. Throughout the internet, websites that focus on reviewing software products as well as company reputation are very commonplace.
If you are one of those who disappoint your SaaS Client even in your earliest days, word about your bad reviews will spread pretty quickly, and that is something that can seriously hurt your company.
The best way to prevent this from happening is by giving the best services to your first few clients. For sure, they will promote your company to their friends, which will give you that commercial boost that you highly need.
Publishing shareable content regularly:
Like a lush ecosystem that needs nurturing and maintenance, your SaaS business needs that same level of care and attention. No matter how great that software product you’ve conceived, it won’t last with its popularity very long if you don’t continually publish readable or viewable material for people to behold.
Your website’s blog portion must be regularly updated with high-quality content that readers can share on their social media accounts to maintain your products’ relevance. Aside from writing, publishing video posts should also be considered since some people prefer watching over reading.
Conclusion:
It is highly possible that the majority of software applications will be transformed into SaaS format in the next few years. If this the direction where the software manufacturing industry is heading, then you as a software business owner should establish a solid reputation for your SaaS business ventures.
The implementation of the SaaS best practices mentioned above should be something that you, along with your staff, should discuss. They can surely etch your status as one of the most successful SaaS companies.