Lessons Learned from 5 Years of SaaS Business

First published: July 11, 2021 @ 6:00 pm

If you are a recent entrepreneur, or a soon-to-be-entrepreneur, then this is the perfect post for you. SaaS businesses can be fun, exciting, and even profitable type of business, but they are not without their share of challenges for future performance.

As a matter of fact, it’s hard to find an entrepreneur who doesn’t have at least one bad experience with SaaS companies that made them quit or change the direction of their business. This is what I’ve learned from my own experience over the time period of the past 5 years.

1) Stay Focused

If you are a business owner and want to get started with your SaaS business, you’ll find that it can be very tempting to start “feeling your oats” and become distracted by all the new things that are happening in your business. However, this is a recipe for disaster if you want to build a successful company.

Instead, try to keep focused on your vision and mission. This will help you stay motivated and inspired while allowing you to build a great company that will endure over time.

2) Be Professional

I learned this lesson the hard way, but it’s something that is very important to consider. SaaS companies are highly competitive, and this means that you need to be professional in your business practices and communication with your clients.

If you aren’t professional, then people will see right through your company performance and realize that you’re not a real company. As a result, they will quickly find someone else who is professional and build a relationship with them instead.

3) Know Your Competition

I’m not saying that you should do what other SaaS companies are doing, but it’s important to keep an eye on what other companies are doing in your industry.

This is especially true if you want to avoid the pitfalls of competing against large corporations or other startups for customers. Instead, start out small and work your way up to become the biggest player in your niche market.

4) Testimonials Aren’t Everything

As I mentioned above, testimonials can be very helpful when promoting your business, but don’t put too much stock into them. They can sometimes get misinterpreted by people who don’t really know what they’re talking about (see point #1).

Instead of getting overly-obsessed with getting testimonials, try focusing on the things that you can do for your clients to improve their experience with your product. If you do this, then you’ll find that the right testimonials and loyal customer base will start to appear on their own.

5) Get Your Products Out There

The old saying goes “build it, and they will come”, but it’s not quite that simple. In fact, the majority of SaaS companies fail because they don’t get their products out there in front of enough people for customer acquisition.

This is because most people won’t try a new product if they don’t know about it. The only way to reach a lot of people is to put your product in front of them.

As a result, spend time promoting your product every day (preferably at least once per hour) and make sure that everyone who sees your website knows about it.

6) Build Relationships With Your Clients

One of the biggest mistakes I made when I first started my business was not building relationships with my clients early on. Instead, I spent a lot of time trying to get business without spending any time making friends with my clients.

As a result, many people didn’t trust me and thought that I was trying to sell them something that wasn’t useful to them. Once I realized this, I made a huge change and began spending a lot of time making friends with my clients.

It’s not hard to do and it will help you build a loyal customer base that will stick with you for years to come.

7) Invest in Quality

If you want your SaaS business to succeed, then it’s important that you invest in quality products and services for future performance. The best way to ensure that your products are high quality is to hire people who are the best at what they do.

However, don’t be afraid to hire people who aren’t as experienced if they are cheaper than other options. This is because the costs of hiring someone new can quickly add up over time.

8) Always Do Something Different

I know that this sounds like something you’ve heard before, but it’s true. When I first started my business, I didn’t have any unique ideas or concepts, so I had no way of getting attention for my product.

Once I realized this, I decided to focus on what was different about my product instead of trying to be “the next big thing”. As a result, the first thing that my customers noticed about me was that I wasn’t like the other SaaS companies in my industry.

As a result, they trusted me and continued to use my product because they knew that I was trying to help them.

9) Don’t Over-Promise

I’m not saying that you shouldn’t talk about your products or services, but you should be very careful about what you say. As a result, make sure that you’re realistic when promoting your product and never promise anything that you can’t deliver on.

If people start believing in your promises, then they’ll stop doing business with you because they will no longer trust your company. Instead, try to focus on building a great reputation for yourself instead of promising the world to your customers.

10) Think Like a CEO

If you want to build a successful SaaS business, then you need to act like a CEO. This means that you need to think like the owner of the company and spend your time doing things that will help your company grow.

For example, if you’re hiring people, then try to hire people who are not only good at what they do, but also people who are motivated and excited about what they do.

The same goes for sales meetings and other interactions with clients. Try to be the best at what you do so that people will start trusting you and believing in your product.

11) Be Your Own Sales Rep

The worst thing that can happen when selling products is having someone else sell them for you. This is because it’s much harder for them to explain why your product is better than any other similar product in the market.

Instead, be proactive and take advantage of every opportunity that comes your way to promote your product. As a result, most of the time people will contact you first when they need something done or when they have a problem.

12) Never Sell Yourself Short

When it comes down to it, we all want to believe in ourselves, but we can’t always be the best at everything. Instead, focus on being the best at what you do.

For example, if you’re a web designer, then try to build a website that people will love and want to keep using. If you’re a writer, then try to write the best blog posts or articles that people will want to read.

As a result, over time people will start seeing you as the expert in your field, and they’ll want to work with you.

13) Always Be Customer-Centric

It’s important that you always remember that your customers are what make your business successful.

As a result, spend time trying to help them as much as possible, whether it’s through fixing their problems or helping them find new products that will benefit them. The best way to build trust with your customers is by focusing on helping them instead of just selling them something.

If you want find out more about SaaS business and how to start one, explore WorkDeputy. Our platform provides software, information, and tips on how to start your business and to develop them.