It’s now been 10-15 years since the SaaS software outsourcing industry’s birth but when we look closer, we see that almost 50% of SaaS startups have received the funds, which indicate significant amount of investment capital being channeled into this category. (Gartner, 2016) Forecasts the SaaS market will grow at 20% in the present year i.e. 2016, almost 3 times as quick as growth in the software industry, and there is a lot of opportunity for more global penetration as time progresses.
Salesforce is a perfect
example for these facts, consistently growing at more than 30%.
These are some of the
principles the SaaS startups can follow to ensure success. These
were the principles followed by Salesforce.
Articulating
your value should be simple
Address these points to
make sure that you have a feasible business in hand:
- The product you make, satisfies the need and consumers are willing to pay.
- Large number of potential customers to ensure growth of your company.
- Keep your solution complex so that entrants face high barriers for competition.
- Market and selling your product well.
Team
should be revived using a common cause
Not
all SaaS software
outsourcing startups can provide motivation to their employees; companies that
do will assemble a team inspired by purpose rather than incomes.
Salesforce
had a truly ambitious goal: to change the way of delivery of
enterprise software. Marc Benioff, founder of Salesforce was the
one who recognized in 1999, that Internet could be used to deliver
SaaS. This notion was unbelievable at the time. Companies were
unwilling to store their data on 3rd party servers. CIOs had lot
of concerns about SaaS. They doubted a web-based application could
compete with packaged software with respect to factors like:
- Security
- Performance
- Functionality
- Control
Every entrepreneur
wants a team enthusiastic about the company mission. Truly great
companies are those that impart desire and dedication among their
employees.
Keep
a strong relationship with your customer
In
SaaS software
outsourcing empire, a “sale” is just the beginning of a good and a
durable relationship with the customer. SaaS providers should be
in agreement with the needs of their customers; if their service
doesn’t provide CLV, the customer won’t renew the
lease.
SaaS
providers are landowners, leasing access to functionality and data
storage on their servers. Being a successful “landowner”
(SaaS company) means having happy “occupants”
(customers).
A
SaaS support team defines a new role in the company: Customer
Success Manager (CSM). Access to a CSM would be available to
customers willing to invest in a higher-priced plan; in exchange,
the CSM would analyze customers’ use of software and
proactively suggest best practices. CSMs would frequently chat
with customers and provide periodic scorecards to highlight
features or add-ons for the service.
Platform
building
Build
a platform that provides value for the majority of your customers.
Listen to their requests and use them to guide, but not command,
your product roadmap.
Trust
as a Value
For
a flourishing SaaS business, you want to maintain customers for
eternity. Your user base should grow over time, ideally using more
features of your service at higher price points as they become
more sophisticated.
Convincing
one and all
You need to convince
clients that SaaS is the best approach. You need to convince
industry experts and media that your startup is a disruptive
force. You need to convince clients that your solution is as
reliable as established offerings. And you need to convince
everyone that your company is introducing a sea change right now,
and they don’t want to miss the boat.
Risk
seeking approach
Startups have their own
advantages against other companies. They are agiler, creative and
are able to leverage newer technologies. They solve day-to-day
problems in newer ways. Entrepreneurship is about risk taking, and
making bold statements about “what’s next.”
‘Everyone
overestimates what can be achieved in a year, but underestimates
what can be achieved in a decade.’
Focus
less on freemium model
Focus
on the basics first, learn how to sell and deliver the product
proficiently, and then dive into freemium model. Only then will
the greatest rewards be most tangible. Focus on transforming
freemuim users into paying customers quickly and then only open
the floodgates when your funnel is mature enough to handle it.
Conclusion:As you build your
startup, focus on your foundational principles. Take one step at a
time while keeping your audience and client needs nearby heart,
that will create an organization that just doesn’t get the
job done but is also loved by people.
Bibliography
Gartner. (2016). Worldwide Public Cloud Services Forecast.
Stanford: Gartner.
