There are many different businesses that fall under the technology umbrella. One of these is SaaS businesses. SaaS stands for Software as a Service and is where a piece of software stays on the company’s servers and users access it from wherever they are.
There are many companies that can be considered SaaS and there are millions of users across the world. One of the largest examples of this is Microsoft 365 who have a number of products on subscription that you can use.
If you are looking to enter this area of the market, then here are some things you need to think about before launch day.
Understanding market needs
Today’s world is fast-paced and challenging, so users are looking for ways to make their lives easier. By starting an SaaS business, you are helping them to simplify a process that may otherwise take a lot longer.
Legal matters
Most SaaS businesses handle the data of their users. With this comes a legal responsibility to handle and store that data correctly according to GDPR laws.
It is always best to seek legal advice before launching your product to ensure you are fulfilling your legal obligations. Failure to do so could result in your business being fined, you having to fight a court battle and your reputation being destroyed before you have really even started.
Building a scalable product
Having a basic product is great, but your software will need to grow with your users. For example, you may want to add a feature where they can add different profiles or increase their storage.
To be able to do this without having to download new software means you will retain users as they will find your service easy to personalise for their needs.
Effective pricing strategies
Pricing is always an important consideration for any business. When it comes to selling products, you can use factors such as materials, labour and market rates to determine your selling price. Selling software as a service may not be as easily defined as it is in most cases an ongoing and developing service.
Many SaaS companies offer different pricing strategies, and it will depend on individual users’ circumstances which they will choose. You could offer a discounted price for a full yearly payment, making it an expensive outlay but worth it if you think about how long it is valid. Alternatively, monthly payments are a popular choice as it allows users to budget effectively.
You should also consider adding pricing tiers to account for smaller and larger companies. Logically, larger companies may want to add more users and have more options that smaller companies will need. By adding additional fees for extra features, users can truly decide what they are willing to spend.
