4 ways to improve your Software as a Service business

Did you realize that over 80 percent of enterprise workloads will be cloud-based by the year 2020? There is no denying just how popular cloud-based services and software have become in the past few years. If you are in the business of creating software as a service (SaaS), then finding a way to constantly improve and enhance your services is a must.

The SaaS world is filled with competition, which is why constantly optimizing the programs you offer is essential when attempting to create a competitive edge. If you start to notice your churn rate growing with each passing day, you need to take action. In essence, a SaaS churn rate describes how fast new customers are leaving and switching to a competitor. Higher churn rates are a warning sign that there is something wrong with either the software your company is offering or the subscription model you currently have in place.

Implementing the use of state-of-the-art SaaS user management software can help you pinpoint and fix problems your customers are experiencing. Here are some of the things you may want to try when attempting to improve your SaaS business.

1. Targeting your marketing efforts

One of the hardest things a new SaaS business has to do is build an audience for their product. The biggest mistakes most SaaS startups make is developing a broad marketing strategy that lacks engagement and originality. Before developing a marketing plan for your SaaS business, you need to identify your target audience.

For instance, if your software is designed to make accounting tasks easier, it is safe to assume that business owners will be one of your biggest customers. Once you have identified your core audience, it will be much easier to develop a customized marketing plan.

2. Communication is key

Regardless of how failsafe and user-friendly your SaaS programs are, some of your users will have problems operating it. Making it easy for these customers to reach out for this help should be one of your main priorities. For years, SaaS business owners have used the power and convenience of chatbots to help them provide excellent customer service.

These chatbots are AI-infused programs that can provide answers to some of your most commonly asked questions. Often times, SaaS business owners will put this software on their website. By doing this, you can serve both existing and potential customers with this software.

3. Work on simplifying the onboarding process

One of the biggest complaints most SaaS customers have is an overly-complicated onboarding process. Most business owners want to simplify this process for themselves and their employees. Dealing with a complicated software onboarding process can cost a business owner a lot of time and money.

Doing things like clearly stating the features and benefits of your software can help potential customers greatly. With this detailed explanation, a potential client can figure out whether or not a piece of software is right for them. You should also focus on making the implementation of your program easier for all involved. Consulting with an IT professional can help you figure out how to avoid conflicts with legacy programs on a new client’s network.

4. Continuously optimize and update

Setting and forgetting a piece of software is a recipe for disaster. As technology advances and the needs of your customers change, you need to optimize your software to address the needs of your customers. Failing to do this may lead to your software becoming outdated and not secure. The money and effort invested in these updates will pay off in the long run.

Hiring the right team is a vital part of having success with the SaaS business model. Ignoring the needs of your customers will generally lead to them jumping ship and using a competitor.