Contact us anytime to know more - Abhishek P., Founder & CFO CISIN
It is important to understand where and how you can use the technology. You're at the right place if you want to bring your business to a new level with Software. Cyber Infrastructure Inc., the creators of all things SaaS, has decided to share our definition with you of what Software as a Service (SaaS) is and how you can leverage it to beat your competitors in the market.
What is Software as a Service?
A third-party supplier hosts the programmes and makes them accessible to customers through online subscriptions in the software as a service distribution model. SaaS companies are businesses that focus on developing, hosting, and maintaining SaaS products. SaaS, along with Infrastructure as a Service and Platform as a Service, are three of the main categories in cloud computing. This eliminates the requirement for companies to install and run Software in their data centers.
SaaS has undoubtedly transformed the model of software delivery! In the past, it could take weeks to install Software and adopt new technology. No longer. SaaS allows you to get started quickly and easily. SaaS has become the standard model for business software delivery.
About 16 SaaS applications are used by businesses every day. SaaS offers new opportunities and flexible expenses. It's also easy to adopt and maintain. Software is no longer dependent on a server or a lot of hardware. SaaS applications offer massive databases and lots of technology and can be used anywhere and anytime.
The only thing users need to have is an Internet connection and a web browser.
What is SaaS?
SaaS has centrally hosted Software that's maintained and updated by the provider. They can be accessed and used by customers via mobile and web browsers.
SaaS: Benefits and Uses
SaaS is, without a doubt, the most revolutionary model of software delivery. It was difficult to introduce new applications to an organization in the past. It could take several weeks, if not months, for employees to start using the new tool. This could be due to a lengthy sales process or complex installation on site.
This can be achieved in just a few days with SaaS. SaaS has become the standard for delivering core business apps. Even traditional on-premises vendors build SaaS software and expand their offerings by acquiring SaaS firms. Microsoft Teams, Amazon Chime, or Oracle purchasing Power for $532 Million are just a few examples.
What is a SaaS company?
A SaaS application development company is a business that focuses on developing, hosting, and maintaining proprietary Software as a Service. SaaS companies have the advantage of instant global access and can scale up without increasing product delivery costs.
SaaS products are not synonymous with the companies that offer them. The typical SaaS firm develops and maintains its product. However, a large part of its operations revolves around marketing, sales, and customer satisfaction.
Why Should You Consider Building A SaaS System?
Scalability
You can change the delivery model as needed with a SaaS-based application. When the number of users grows, you don't need to worry about capacity. You can easily add new users to the SaaS system as you need them without worrying about purchasing additional hardware or other equipment.
With just one click, clients can add extra bandwidth. Instead of buying physical Software; new users can register using an ID and password. Different SaaS models allow for flexibility in licensing and apps, depending on the business needs of users.
Reduced Costs
SaaS applications can reduce your IT budget. You can use the money you save to invest in other areas while still maintaining a fully-functional and protected business application.
SaaS reduces your investment risk, saves you money, and can help you save time. SaaS features will be automatically upgraded, so everything will continue to work as soon as the foundation is updated.
Increased Customer Lifetime Value
SaaS models are ideal for upselling and cross-selling. You can offer a variety of options and packages instead of just selling your SaaS features to the client every month. The client can upgrade the app by clicking a button when the requirements of the customer change. You can get more revenue by scaling up.
Increased Customer Loyalty
You can offer your customers a range of benefits as a SaaS provider, such as free storage, discounts or contests, and gifts. You can integrate communication with your customers into your SaaS application. You can build a relationship with your clients and provide excellent service. You can allow clients to personalize dashboards to suit their needs without affecting the core functionality of the app.
SaaS Product Types
SaaS apps come in many shapes and sizes and are used for different purposes. The majority of SaaS applications fall into one of three categories.
- Packaged Software: Packaged packages of Software are available in various forms, including CRM software, financial management software, and human resource management software. These products offer specific features for businesses that are beneficial to customers.
- Collaborative Software: SaaS focused on collaborative tasks such as document collaboration, web conferences, instant messaging, and email. SaaS allows enterprises to perform these tasks from anywhere and on any device.
- Management Tool: Consider the online tools for testing, monitoring, and measuring. These SaaS apps help organizations automate and streamline their processes.
SaaS Sales, Marketing, and Service
How do SaaS brands attract users?
To succeed, a SaaS startup needs to attract and convince people to use its product. Moreover, it needs to be done so fast. On the basis of a report SaaS firms must have annual growth rates of greater than 20% to be able to survive. This is no small feat when you take into account how SaaS marketing is different from other industries.
Here's Why:
SaaS is a service that you can't touch or hold. Your marketing must convince your customers that your product is effective and will solve their problems. In a blink, users decide whether or not to test a SaaS.
They will often do a quick search online, compare a few solutions and then make their choice. All of this can be done in a few hours. Marketing must therefore target each stage of the buying journey and provide relevant information to convince someone to try your product.
Many consumers are not interested in learning about the new tool. Most new users only log into an app one time and never return. Many users don't fully appreciate the value of an app before switching to another solution. You must make sure that your promotional activities help your customers to understand the activation point - the true value of your product.
You rely on different models of sales. A self-serve SaaS, which the customer signs up for themselves, is a product that can be purchased in a very short time. In a sales-driven approach, the customer is responsible for most of the work. In the final stage, a customer will typically work with a team of salespeople who can guide them and suggest the best option.
The process may take longer than expected and require additional resources. Finally, it could take several months, or even longer, for a contract to be signed. Typically, SaaS marketing strategies have the following objectives.
SaaS Marketing Goals
Objective 1: Attract Your Target Audience
For a SaaS business to grow, it must first connect with users and get them on their website. These visitors should not be just any. Individuals that currently have a problem that your product is designed to address The first step is to identify the problem you are solving for your customers. Create a strategy that will encourage them to find out more about your product.
Objective 2: Develop A Relationship With Prospects
Nurturing leads is the responsibility of marketers. A new SaaS firm should use a mix of content, email, and other channels to position itself as an authority and convince leads that its product is worth testing.
Objective 3: Remove Obstacles To Signing Up
SaaS marketers optimize their conversions to meet various website goals, from sign-up for a free trial to onboarding and converting users to paying customers.
The Engagement Of Users Is The Fourth Objective
Most SaaS applications require users to sign up first for a free trial or demo version. Marketers are often responsible for converting users into paying customers. Marketers usually achieve this by optimizing a free or trial plan that helps a person reach the activation stage, where they can realize the true worth of the product.
Objective 5: Increase The Customer's Lifetime Value
Most SaaS providers charge their customers on a monthly subscription basis, so the user must remain as long as they can. SaaS marketing strategies often aim to increase customer lifetime value by reducing churn and moving customers up in price.
Read More: Everything To Know About SaaS Model
The Most Successful SaaS Marketing Channels In Actual Use
SaaS businesses have many opportunities to reach out to users and gain initial traction. We've listed below the most effective SaaS channels that can help you achieve initial growth.
Inbound Marketing
Inbound marketing strategies are designed to bring strangers into contact with your brand and turn them into customers. It all begins with content. Content types such as blog posts, guides, resources, and other content help to attract new visitors, then convert them at each stage of the buying journey by adding value.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Nowadays, almost everyone searches online for information. Google is the first place people go to find answers, whether they are looking for product recommendations or advice on how to solve a particular problem. The practice of SEO helps you position your website and its content in front of users at all stages of the purchasing cycle.
Content Marketing
Publishing engaging content will help you establish your brand as an industry authority and to position it as a valuable resource. You'll also build relationships that will help you convert prospects into paying clients.
Online Advertising
SaaS companies use online advertisements to entice and attract potential customers to sign up. Some also use paid advertising, such as pay-per-click (PPC), social media ads, or display or banner ads, to direct potential users toward lead-generating assets or product sign-ups.
You Can Also Find Out More About PR
Today, PR involves more than simply publishing and disseminating press releases. Modern public relations is focused on improving the online visibility of brands in almost all aspects. From brand mentions to online reviews and search results, PR helps build brand recognition and awareness.
Viral marketing
These strategies are aimed at getting your existing customers to promote and refer your product to other people. These programs are designed to encourage your customers to invite friends, family, and other connections to try the product and sign up. Referral, affiliate, or viral loops are some of the most common types of viral marketing in the SaaS industry.
User Actions
Some apps allow users to expand their customer base simply by introducing them to clients. For instance, Xero found that a single accountant using their programme, on average, brings between 6 and 31 additional users to the system.
App Stores Resellers and Affiliates
App marketplaces such as Intuit App Store, Apple App Store, or Google Play can be used by some SaaS providers to reach new customers. Many other companies launch affiliate or reseller programs that reward those who promote their products by offering cash or rewards.
SaaS Customer Service
If you are a member of a customer service team at a SaaS firm, you will receive different types of complaints than you would from another business type, like an ecommerce company. You'll primarily be dealing with customers in e-commerce who are unhappy with the products they purchased and want to exchange them or need assistance making a purchase decision.
SaaS support helps customers solve their unique problems and assists them with both pre-and after-sales. Good SaaS Customer Service will ultimately make or break your business. Many SaaS Customers will need advanced support to get the most out of your Software.
SaaS Customer Support can reduce churn and increase customer satisfaction. This is done by communicating to customers your brand values and mission, showing empathy, and going beyond what's expected of you.
Our beginner's guide will help you learn more about SaaS Customer Service. It explores the differences between SaaS Customer Support and traditional support. You'll also discover how to build a strong SaaS Customer Support team and optimize your SaaS Client Service workflow.
SaaS Pricing Models
You need to determine your pricing model before launching your SaaS-based application. Here are some examples of pricing models you can use to price your SaaS application:
Freemium
Freemium models offer multiple features. Slack and Dropbox provide excellent examples of freemium SaaS products. They are free to use, but if you need more, then you must upgrade.
Pros Of Freemium Pricing
Freemium models make it easier for your customers to start using your product. It also has viral potential. Referrals from users helped Dropbox grow. Existing users referred friends and colleagues to the freemium.
Cons Of Freemium Pricing
This model, if not calculated correctly, can ruin your revenue. You may not be able to earn any money if you have no paid users. Your paid users need to bring in enough money so that you can serve both paid and free users.
A free version of a SaaS application can be a great way to get users on board. Still, it can also make it easy for them to abandon your app, which increases churn. You can reduce the value of premium features. Why would anyone pay for the same thing if you solve a huge and expensive issue for free?
Flat-Rate Pricing
You can offer a set of features for a fixed price with the flat-rate model. This is the easiest way to sell a SaaS app - a product with a set of defined features for a flat rate.
Pros Of Flat-Rate Pricing
By offering a product at a fixed price, you can focus your sales efforts on a clearly defined offer. This pricing model is simple to use because it is easier to communicate with potential customers.
Cons Of Flat Rate Pricing
It is difficult to cater to a wide range of users. You can't use a flat-rate pricing model that is B2C friendly if you are aiming to serve the B2B market. Otherwise, you will miss out on customers who need your product. You have only one chance to convince prospects. They'll either become your customers for a flat-rate pricing strategy or not.
Tiered Pricing
This is the standard pricing model for the SaaS sector. It has multiple packages. Each package offers a unique set of options to meet the needs of different users.
Pros Of Tiered Pricing
This pricing model allows you to focus on different target personas. One package is only suitable for one persona. You can customize your packages with tiered pricing to suit different types of customers. Upselling premium packages will maximize your revenue.
Cons of Tied Pricing
You can't please everyone with different packages. People can become overwhelmed if you offer too many options and choices. It is easy to lose prospects' attention by making them choose between ten packages.
Prices per User
The simplicity of this model is what makes it the most popular SaaS pricing. A single user pays one monthly fee. The price doubles for two users, and so on.
Pros Of Per-User Pricing
This is a very simple pricing model. This simplifies the sales process for you and your customers by making it easier to calculate monthly costs. You can scale the model to accommodate an increasing number of users. You will see an increase in revenue if you double your product users.
Cons Of Per-User Pricing
It is possible to cheat on this pricing model by using the same login for multiple team members. Also, it facilitates churn. It will be easier for users to abandon the Software if product adoption is limited in a company. A company with 50 users will be more likely to lose a team of 5-10 customers than one with only five.
Usage-Based Pricing
You charge for product usage instead of charging for features you offer users. Your customers will pay more for using your product the more they use it.
The Benefits Of A Usage-Based Pricing System
There are no upfront fees with usage-based pricing. Your solution is available to even the smallest of businesses, as the price will increase if the business uses the product more.
Cons Of Usage-Based Pricing
This pricing model makes it much harder to scale and predict your revenue. This is because the billing amounts vary from month to month. This makes it difficult to predict revenue and set budgets.
What To Consider When Adopting SaaS
Before you tell your team you are transitioning to a Software as a Service (SaaS) model, you should consider several factors.
Market Research & Target Audience
It is crucial to the success of your SaaS products. You can learn about your customers' buying patterns, software expertise, and other things. Market research will help you identify the SaaS business opportunities that offer the highest earning potential.
Market research can also be used to keep track of your competitors and maintain a competitive edge. This tool shows you what content your audience is interested in reading and will engage them with your blog, social media, and email content.
Specifications
SaaS products are not compatible with all technologies and programming languages. This is why choosing the right framework is so important for your SaaS. There are customizable programming languages and frameworks which solve problems and work with tools and platforms like database systems, image-processing libraries, scientific frameworks, etc. You should build your SaaS on a scalable architecture so that you can update the product easily without having to waste too much time or resources.
Product Features
Unique features should be what sets your SaaS apart from the rest. The unique features should also solve the problem of your target market. Consider how you can enhance the functionality of your application and help your customers solve their problems easily.
Budget
Before you launch a SaaS, you need to plan your finances. Define your product costs and development costs in custom software development services. You will also need to be cost-effective and profitable without incurring too many infrastructure expenses.
Launching the Prototype
Launching a prototype is the best way to test your product. When prototyping, you don't have to be as precise with the design. You need only the essential features for it to work. This will allow you to identify both the strengths and weaknesses of the product.
WordPress: Empower Your SaaS Business
WordPress is used by more and more developers to create innovative products. We can use our custom CMS development services to create SaaS apps and satisfy user needs. WordPress is a great SaaS for SaaS that emphasizes content, user management, and extensible features or payment options. The scalability and security of WordPress are well-proven. The CMS is a powerful tool that allows for a wide range of 3rd-party integrations. It also supports a variety of platforms and is widely adopted.
WordPress can easily be extended into a SaaS by offering different roles, features, and subscription-based payment options that provide users with different capabilities depending on the pricing package. You can offer premium users for your WordPress app along with other plans. Each plan may have certain features that are not available in freemium plans. Your business model will determine the requirements for a SaaS WordPress application. Most SaaS applications are based on a monthly fee for access to online tools.
Let's say, for example, that you would like to create a membership platform for your site. The user management, security, and payment scenarios can all be tricky in this case. We often recommend WordPress Multisite to our clients when they are developing SaaS-based solutions using WordPress. Multisite users can use the same features, including the freemium ones. Premium users will have access to more advanced features.
You can scale Multisite on multiple servers and in the cloud. Over the years, our SaaS-based solutions have been widely used by SMBs as well as enterprises. Cyber Infrastructure Inc. has built a complete Software as a Service application based on WordPress. These include marketing automation platforms, social networking-based solutions, and real estate IDX suites.
Project Road Map: Identifying requirements for launching your SaaS. The development of your marketing strategy according to the target market is also important.
Minimum-Viable Product: Develop an early, beta-tested MVP version to help us enhance the core product with time. Once it is validated, we can move forward with innovation and expansion.
Milestones: Planning future versions and release dates.
Integration: Integrating your SaaS, if necessary, with a specific WordPress build.
Multisite SaaS: Integrating domain mapping into WordPress Multisite to allow premium users to use the domain they own for their SaaS subsite.
Continuous Development and Support: Our team works tirelessly to improve system stability, introduce new features, and increase user satisfaction.
Wrapping up
SaaS development offers you unlimited business opportunities. You need to work hard to differentiate your company from the competition and the increased demand. You have countless business prospects because of SaaS. But in addition to the increased demand and competition, you also need to be aware of the SaaS industry's dynamics and work tirelessly to distinguish your company by providing incomparable solutions and incredible value.
