How to build a SaaS product

Product development process:

A SaaS product is online software that users with a license can access. It is
based on the needs of customers, product, market, target audience, user
personas, statistics, and competitors. These are mapped out, the objectives of
the product, the vision of the company have to be understood.
The product development process has to include various stages including
Research, validating, design, finalisation, development, and launch.
Research
The research stage includes market research and customer feedback, product
managers need to define the requirements and features of the product. This will
form a plan and communicate it with higher-level teams for internal planning.
A SaaS product manager looks for opportunities for a new product or to
improve an existing one. He searches for the latest trends, recent data in order to
have a better understanding of the market. A strategy has to be developed for
the launch of new products.
Customer understanding is a key to product success. It’s based on comparing
similar products, studying the competition, and checking target groups. Most
companies expect software producers to know and understand their needs
completely. SaaS makers need to understand customers to create user personas,
identify customer needs as per quality, choice, price, and convenience. The
main objective of market research is to ensure that they are using the most
productive and cost-efficient product. Market research involves secondary and
primary research on the overall industry, along with its changes, trends, target
market, and key actors— the competitors of a business.
Validating idea
Once the research is complete, a product plan is made. A good plan has to include
goals, objectives, etc, and is presented to key stakeholders. This process involves
many teams and people at various levels. The plan has to be long-term and a vision
and scope for the project. The product plan has to reach the crux of what a
customer wants.
An idea validation should find out if the problem is real, is there a need for a
solution, if the number of customers who need the solution is adequate for
profitability, cost of development etc.
To find real users, companies can research by using Google Adwords, using
keywords search, live chat software.
 Facebook ads can be used to find user interests and prepare an ad for the
target audience. Prepare a landing page and get their emails for future
contacts.
 Reddit is a platform of users grouped by interests. Shopify subreddit has
many members who can be sent messages for your idea validation.
 One can join Facebook groups that have similar interests.
 Try to find niche markets where people with similar interests hang out on
Twitter, Linkedin, Quora, etc.
A product strategy is created to maintain the product plan. A specific product
strategy defines the goals, milestones, and plan for the product. It defines the
main features of the product with their users and key performance
indicators (KPIs) mentioned. The strategy is a roadmap that involves product
features, market and user needs, and business goals. A product strategy is a
visual guideline for product managers and companies to know the working
timeline.
The different stages in designing a SaaS product is:
 Predesign stage:
A product design can be created by knowing the context, the end-to-end
users and presenting it with an accurate hierarchy.
 Interview:
Interview with the customer which includes Goal setting, Questionnaire
preparation, Contacting people, Conducting Interviews. The interviews
will help understand the user’s thought processes and test their ideas in
the run-up to design a SaaS product.
 Creating a minimum viable product (MVP):
After knowing the customers’ wants a viable solution can be created. It
will be better to be affirmative about what you are making. A minimum
viable product can be created. Producers can use tools like Facebook
campaign builder, surveys, building landing pages, selecting sample
groups of 10 people, and paying them a price for their discussions and
feedback.
Focussing on user journeys: Various touchpoints where customers
interact can be focussed on. The various touchpoints should describe the
solutions the software will provide. The most common touchpoints are
website design, Live chats, chatbots, social media, customer reviews.
Design 
UX Design: UX design determines the user’s interaction with the software.
 Smooth onboarding:
It should be easier for consumers to get started on. Consumers have little time to
explore new products. So products have to make a good first impression as
software products do not get a second chance. That precious first impression
relies on an efficient onboarding experience. A well-developed onboarding
process helps users familiarize themselves with your product.
 Information architecture:
It’s all about arranging content to make customers understand it without
problems. It enables a user to explore a software product’s value
proposition. So it has to be minimal and understandable. It should enable
users to find information without wasting time.

 Listening to customers:
A well-designed content-rich help and support system leads to
trustworthiness. All software products give easy and all-around access to
help and support. Users expect to receive help via email, discussion
forums, and live chat rather than talking to someone on the phone.

 Offering free services:

Consumers like free gifts, cashback, etc. to retain old users and attract
new users. The Freemium model can be used to provide free
subscriptions and generate a buzz. After having a good user experience,
consumers will be happy to pay for a premium subscription.
Present users can be asked for referrals and they can be rewarded by
giving a loyalty bonus.

 Use of microcopy:
It is a text and is a part of the digital experience which helps users
achieve their goals when using a product by guiding them as they interact
with its calls to action, onboarding journey, navigation, and more. It is
part of a user transaction that helps smooth user interaction.
E.g. informing a user what will happen and what will not happen when he
presses a button will reduce user anxiety and increase comfort while
using the software.
UI Design

A good UI increases the attractiveness and engagement of software. The

animation should be simple but should enhance product interactivity. The
animation should guide users around the interface, alert users of a change,
influence users' decisions, and indicate a relationship between elements.

 Simple Navigation:
The first thing to consider is making easy and intuitive navigation. The
front page should display the most relevant links to the product's
information, so the user won't waste time searching for the desired
information.
 Powerful Search:
Efficient filtering options make a huge difference in the SaaS platform. If
you want to engage your customers with your content and let them find
more, provide the most relevant information. Also, a well-functioning
search can enable finding the app's function a user currently needs.
Don't force your users to browse through hundreds of pages aimlessly.
Ensure a well-adjusted refined search for your customers, so they will
instantly find what they are looking for.
 Easy Sign-up:
The sign-up process makes the first impression of your SaaS product.
Make sure clients won't waste time on multiple registration forms. Place
the sign-up button right on the front page and make the process as easy as
possible. You can allow your users to enter the app with their social
media, Google account, or email. Ask only the most essential information
during the registration and collect other data later, when needed.

 Short Onboarding Time:

Onboarding aims to establish an emotional connection between your
service and the customers in the shortest time possible. Users should
instantly understand how the product can relieve their problems.

 Convenient Access to Support:

SaaS apps are quite complex. Clients often need help to troubleshoot the
use of the platform. Let them avoid time-consuming and inconvenient
calls to support with relevant UX solutions.

Replace phone calls with email help, chat assistance, and a

comprehensive FAQ page. It will reduce users' frustration and deliver
 information about the issues they face. Later, you can use it for customer
service improvement.

 Video Tutorials:
If a brief onboarding is not enough to learn how your SaaS product
works, don't create long-read guides for your customers. Instead, provide
your customers with an entertaining and informative video tutorial.

Development: 
Product development begins with understanding technical specifications,
making mock-up design, creating prototypes, and more. The following are the
options for product development:

 Choice of the technical stack

The technology stack is a list of the programming languages, frameworks, and
tools used in software development.

That is why the question of how to build a SaaS product and determine a
solution stack is not an easy one. Yet another issue depends on the particular
demands of your business.

The following are the options commonly used:

 Frontend

Front-end development is responsible for everything users see on the screens.

For these purposes, you will need modern JavaScript frameworks that meet
SaaS requirements – React, Angular, or Vue.js. The apps should be light and
easy to maintain.

 Backend

Back-end development is in charge of the server-side. Invisible to users, it

builds the core functionality of your SaaS product and formulates its
responsiveness. In this regard, you need to use a reliable framework, such
as Ruby on Rails, Node.js, or Django.

 Database

Databases keep the necessary information for your applications. PostgreSQL,

MySQL, or NoSQL are commonly used.
  SaaS hosting provider

To handle SaaS requirements, any reliable cloud provider will do, such as
Amazon (AWS), Google, Microsoft, or Heroku.

Launch:

 Know your competition:

A SaaS product company should understand the competitive landscape. The

company needs to start small by asking its current and prospective customers
which alternatives they have tried and considered and what they like in
competitors’ products.

 Always deliver value:

Resist the temptation of earning money and re-frame your mission in terms of
creating value for a million customers instead. Start small by creating real value
for your first few customers and then move on. The quality of your products
will bring in more customers and money will flow.

 You will need a launch strategy

As there is a lot of competition in the SaaS space, a lot of behind the scene work
has to be done for a successful launch from conducting market research and
building relationships with influencers in the SaaS space to preparing press
assets and refining your product UI and UX.
 Get traction
Customer acquisition channels like Blog Posts to PR to offline events can be
used to get traction and create a successful product launch.

Challenges of SaaS Development:

The SaaS business concept is to sell digital services and not products but some
users feel that buying a program on physical media without any source of
updates is useless. But the SaaS approach is a good alternative for both
developers and users. 
 It is convenient for users as they can access it from cloud services and use it
online and offline without having to purchase additional hardware resources. A
SaaS developer has to find ways to keep the service sustainable and performing
competitively, store data securely, and reduce the risk of system failures that
could lead to client data corruption.
Some challenges for a software developer are:
 Scalability: The Company’s tech stake has to be scalable which will
help it grow. It is applicable for both the startups (affects performance
as clients increase) and the clients (will no longer be able to operate due
to overloads and shutdowns as the business grows).
Vertical development will work but it still depends on the size of the
target audience. A niche product might not recover the cost of operations
of the company.

 Security: A guarantee of data privacy is important for customers. Much

important information like bank information, personal data, commercial
secrets, and much more may leak because of poor cloud service security.

 Reliability: The AWS SaaS architecture is considered to be the most

reliable platform but the system operates with physical servers located in
different geographical areas which might shut down due to non-
maintenance. AWS takes care of hardware and backup and prevents
websites and products from being shut down.
SaaS tools lack trust factor as there is a reduced sense of security because
the clients store their data elsewhere. By establishing a brand and
working on a positive reputation, you may gain a lot of customers. But it
is difficult for startups to gain customer trust.

 Monetization concerns: SaaS products are cost-effective and businesses

do not have the resources to build a custom digital service. SaaS helps
customers in reducing costs in areas where typical solutions are
applicable. Here, product pricing becomes important as the product
should be affordable and the software upgrades and maintenance should
come within the user’s bill. 
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