If you have an idea for a service as a software, you are not alone. In today’s world, more and more companies are turning to SaaS, as it is much more convenient, and easier for potential clients to access. People today do not want to have to buy a disk, or download and install on their hard drive. While the process of using SaaS is easier for the user, creating one is a much larger and more difficult task. There are going to be a lot of steps to take to make sure the service you are providing is the best it can possibly be.
How to Create a Software as a Service
Before you go ahead and create your service, you must know how to develop it first. As the founder of the service, you must come up with the core value proposition. This is the first step for any cloud-based software, and it is the most important step. The development of your SaaS should start with 3 kinds of research: Market, competitors, and customer. These activities are a part of the validation of your business hypotheses. And demand the product. Without validation, you could not prove the real existing on-market demand. And with no validated demand, you will burn out your own funds on the development of useless software. So, avoid jumping the crucial steps when you build SaaS applications. Therefore, the question of how to create this product comes afterward. First, you find out what problem your software as a service solves for the users. Each type of study will help you accurately find the key elements to focus on. If you cannot answer those simple questions, your software will not succeed in the open market. So make sure you do your research thoroughly.
How to build a SaaS application from scratch
1. Market analysis – validate your idea
2. Discuss the SaaS requirements
3. Define the MVP
4. Choose your pricing model
5. Technical aspects
6. Find and create a development team
7. Know your budget
What are the key SaaS metrics you should be tracking?
When you are a business owner you obviously will want to know how it performs. There are many metrics that can inform you about the state of your product. Although using tools like Google Analytics or Hotjar is helpful they are not always sufficient.
Most SaaS businesses focus on KPIs – Key Performance Indicators like:
- monthly or annual revenue
- CAC (cost of acquiring a customer)
- LTV (customer lifetime value) which shows a revenue generated by a customer over the lifetime of their subscription
- NPS (net promoter score) the value customer gain from your product
- customer churn – the percentage of customers unsubscribing on monthly basis
When analysing your metrics remember to divide them into low-touch SaaS and high-touch SaaS. In low-touch products, the software allows subscription via website, e-mails etc with minimum interaction from the sales team. In high-touch products, the sales team is heavily involved in processes like customer acquisition, onboarding and maintenance.
Development is Key Here
While the core value proposition is the most important step, the actual development of your software is right there behind it. If you are someone that is tech savvy, there are several ways you can go here. But if you are someone who does not know coding, and the ins and outs of a computer program, you are okay as well. There are plenty of software as a service (saas) development services that are available to you to ensure your service gets done the way you want it to be done. While that option will cost you more money, in the long run, your service will look as good as you want it to and hopefully that impresses enough people to purchase your service.
In the end, if you do not know the problems or issues that your software is solving, your software will not be as big as you wish. Once you figure that part out, do not be afraid to reach out for help by a third party if you need it. Any wise business person will tell you that it is okay to hire people to do work for you. Sometimes it is the best thing you can do. Sometimes, your service depends on it.