Software as a Service (SaaS) has grown exponentially since the introduction of cloud computing. You only have to look at the statistics to know that this is one industry that will not slow down anytime soon, as Forrester has predicted the industry will have a 22% compound yearly growth towards 2020.
There is seemingly no better time to start a SaaS business. Not sure how to do it? Well, we are going to show you how.
Create the Right Strategy
Many entrepreneurs often start their company with a business plan. However, we recommend writing a one-page pitch before you invest too much time into the plan.
The one-page pitch should cover everything from your SaaS strategy, the tactics you will use to deploy the strategy, your business model and the deadline to do it. This will help to format your idea and strategy onto a page, so have a synopsis of your business and methods. Don’t forget to detail your USP, industry rivals, target market and services, too!
Try to Fix a Problem
There is no point creating a SaaS application if it cannot solve a problem better than your rivals. You must be able to resolve your own problem with the service, which will allow you to solve other people’s problems, as a result. If you have struggled with the problem yourself, it is your job to find the solution – which is what will make your SaaS business stand out from its rivals.
Define Your Business Model
If you want to make money, you must first identify how you are going to do it with a business model. As soon as you have identified the direction you want to take the company, the next step is to figure out how you are going to do it. It is essential to write a list of any income streams, as well as your expected expenses. You should also define a sales forecast and expense budget, which will form part of your business plan.
Develop Your SaaS Tactics
Once you have defined your business model, you can turn your attentions to focusing on your industry tactics. Therefore, you must consider how you will sell your products. What marketing campaigns will help you drive as many customers as possible to use your services? You should also write a list of potential partners and their resources, which could help to grow your business.
Find the Right Application Hosting
The hosting provider you choose can make or break your SaaS business’s success. For instance, Umbee Hosting provides exceptional SaaS hosting that offers infinite scalability, while increasing your business footprint, enhancing the user experience and offering superior performance for both primary and secondary sites. Also, with integrated support and backups, combined with expert management, you will create a flexible, secure and reliable application.
Every beginner will have hurdles to overcome when starting a SaaS business, but with a little time, perseverance and hard work, you could soon reap the many rewards. If you make sure to test every idea, research the competition and select the right hosting provider, you could soon be fixing problems for customers across the globe.
On the point of developing your business model – there’s no point wasting time and energy creating a detailed business plan that’ll just end up outdated three months down the line (and this is never more true than in SaaS, where your entire business can be flipped on its head by a quick-starting competitor, a new technology, or a flawed assumption).
There are a couple of frameworks smarter people than myself have created, designed to help entrepreneurs create lean, actionable and agile plans – containing the barest bones required to get a SaaS business off the ground. The most popular is probably the Lean Canvas (taking inspiration from Eric Ries’ and his Lean methodology), and I’d highly recommend checking it out if you’re looking to get up-and-running in SaaS.
Thanks for the write-up Emily!
Yes, I’m agree with Rayan. There’s no point wasting time and energy creating a detailed business plan.
But your writing is good, thanks for sharing.
Very informative, a good guide. Will surely take this into consideration, thanks!
Saas strategy buildup is really tough, once you create a full designed model than you have to execute it well.