How to Build a Successful SaaS Business

The software business is experiencing an extraordinary time of churn – driven from within and without.

As of now, the number of security threats committed online is increasing, which is why we need more effective security devices There is also a rising level of remote work taking place, this is why we are in need of more effective collaboration tools.

The business model you choose for your software, whether you provide it for free to generate revenue through advertising, make users pay a one-time price or offer a subscription, could be incredibly consequential – from how the product is built to how it is financed. The options are abundant; take your time to carefully consider all of them before picking one.

Product Development

Product development is one of the important step of software businesses to invent a novel ideas which helps your organization to get an competitive edge to meet client’s requirments and technology constrains to evaluate to test users feedback.

Whether your company has a programmer, an IT guru or neither, your ideal software business model lays out the operational steps of your business, shedding light on the technology, operational and revenue-raising choices you need to make.

For most software firms, the hybrid business model has become the norm, with varying choices on which combination between inventor, IP lessor and contractor to select, in order to find an optimal point for business-model synergies within markets where there is potential for asymmetric business models to converge.

Marketing

Marketing a piece of software is not all that different to marketing any other good: toasters, toasting racks, a sports car, rain boots, rain ponchos… The tactics and strategies to raise awareness, increase positive perception and convert ‘suspects into prospects’ are manifold.

Software companies can benefit greatly from social media marketing, influencer outreach and attending events. Exhibiting oneself or one’s corporate image in events creates brand awareness, leads and at the same time develops connections with prospective clients.

Many software companies run email marketing campaigns to stay top of mind to their audiences. Hnry sends automated emails that congratulate customers for reaching milestones and provides tips on the software journey, to help their customers with staying long-term customers.

Sales

Sales – bringing in revenue and expanding the reach of any software business – relies on persuasive communication with your leads, and on an in-depth knowledge of the product.

Subscription-based software models have become more popular as they build customer loyalty and encourage long-term relationships, they reduce costs, and enable businesses to bring frequent updates to their software.

Like many sales roles, careers in selling software have lots and lots of money – all sales progress your overall quota and are rewarded with dinners or trips; plus, it’s generally good for honing one’s technical knowledge and one’s ability to communicate with clients – plus it opens up many more traps (‘opportunities’), networks with the salespeople, and increasing breadth of exposure to different industries.

Customer Support

Customer support is also essential in helping customers resolve issues arising from products and services they purchase, and in gaining valuable feedback that can help businesses improve the products or services for future releases.

If a customer calls the customer service line, emails or chats or gets in touch through a social media account, they expect an efficient and accommodating reply; if this doesn’t happen, those customers will soon be dealt with by someone else.

Customer service representatives need tools to help them organise, prioritise and address the tickets they receive, which help desk software solutions provide. By organising tickets in an intuitive way and automatically routing tickets according to position-level needs or according to ticket traffic trends, every question will get addressed quickly.

Legal Issues

Legal issues are frequently a point of contention between software vendors and their end-users, requiring the need for lawyers as both sides attempt to draft and negotiate SaaS contracts in ways to protect everyone involved.

Not only are copyright and patent infringement lurking shadows on certain projects, but litigation over such a topic can effective eviscerate a company’s success and reduce the market value of its publicly traded shares. Without a strong portfolio of legally defensible IP, your software’s future success is at risk.

Intellectual property ownership needs to be clear in any contract and the contract needs to include a warranty from the licensor (meaning the owner) regarding the ownership, in the event of a dispute. Service and licence fees need to be separate, such that the service can be stopped in goodwill – voluntarily – in the event of a licence fee dispute.