Did you know that the global SaaS market is expected to reach $1.3 trillion by 2030? With this massive growth, launching a SaaS product has never been more promising. However, amidst the excitement for this booming market, it’s important to ask: do you know how to launch a SaaS product?
Knowing this is as important as knowing how to build a SaaS product for your business. However, developing a SaaS product is not the end; and it is just the beginning. You wouldn’t want to build a product that doesn’t meet the needs of your audience and can’t generate revenue to keep your SaaS development business going.
So, to keep your business going, you’ll need to know how to launch a B2B SaaS product. If you have no idea on how to go about it, there’s no need to worry. We’ve got you covered. In this article, we provide you with a step-by-step guide on how to launch a SaaS product successfully.
What Is A SaaS Product Launch?
A SaaS product launch is a process whereby a company introduces a new product or service to users. This process involves making use of various SaaS marketing strategies to create buzz around a new product.
This is done to create an avenue where SaaS product owners can sell their products and make people eager to buy from them.
What Are The Stages of A B2B SaaS Product Launch?
When launching a B2B SaaS product, there are three different cycles involved. These cycles are:
- Pre-launch
- Launch
- Post-launch
1. Pre-launch
All that needs to be done before the product finally gets to be seen by users is done in this phase. As a SaaS product owner, the success of your product relies highly on the activities done at this phase.
These activities include conducting market research, developing your SaaS product, deciding how to price your product, and finding the right strategies that will help you market your product. Doing this helps you know your target audience’s needs and preferences, problems and how you can address it.
2. Launch
Ta-da! It’s almost time for everyone to know what your company has been up to.
This phase is where you get your SaaS product ready to be seen by users. However, this phase may vary depending on your product and industry type. This is because each industry has different ways of launching products.
Aside from this, launching a product just requires you to pick a launch date, carry out your marketing plan, sell your SaaS products, bring on customers, and monitor technical structure. If you do a proper launch, then there’s a guarantee that there’ll be an increase in the influx of customers.
To avoid any technicalities and to ensure that your platform can handle various data and user demands, technical structures must be properly monitored. Giving your users a good onboarding process is one way to keep them coming.
3. Post-launch
Launching your SaaS product isn’t the end of your SaaS business, rather you just began. The post-launch phase is where you monitor how well your product is performing and how users are interacting with your product.
This will entail that you gather customer feedback and review, and also identify certain issues enabling you to make necessary improvements. Additionally, you can decide to change your marketing and sales strategies following the feedback gotten from users.
How To Launch A SaaS Product Successfully: Product Launch Checklist
Now, go to the part that you’ve been waiting for. In this section, we will take you through the various steps to take in order to launch a SaaS product successfully.
1. Find Your SaaS Product Uniqueness
In order for you to attract customers, your product has to be different from those available on the market. You’ll have to identify what gives your SaaS product a competitive advantage. It could be that your product is niche-focused e.g. HR management software.
Your product may also be less expensive than the competitor’s, have high performance, or have outstanding features. Once you determine your product’s unique point, ensure that it is quickly visible upon launching.
2. Define Your Target Audience
You can’t launch a SaaS product successfully without having an idea of your ideal audience. You’ll need to create a customer profile. But you can’t do this without finding out their
- Preferences
- Needs
- Demographics, and
- Behaviors
Knowing this will help you develop your product in a way that matches your audience’s needs and preferences. It will also give you an idea of the marketing strategy that will suit your audience.
3. Determine Your Marketing/ Promotion Strategy
This is very important when it comes to launching a SaaS product. A proper marketing and promotion strategy helps in attracting customers to your product. When determining your marketing and promotion strategy, it is essential that you adopt various channels that resonate with your audience.
These channels include:
- SaaS Content Marketing
According to Thrivemyway, 36% of companies attract new customers by sharing educational content on their blogs. Furthermore, you can produce valuable content that solves your audience’s problems through podcasts, ebooks, webinars, and videos.
As a SaaS company, having a quality content marketing strategy can help increase your company’s revenue.
- Search Engine Optimization
In order for your content to be visible on search engines, optimizing your website is necessary. Proper SEO helps boost organic traffic.
- Email Marketing
SaaS companies keep their users informed about new updates or share announcements through email marketing.
So, as a SaaS company, investing in a good email marketing strategy is a great way to communicate effectively with customers.
- Partnerships
You can partner or collaborate with other businesses or influencers in order to promote your business. However, before you do this, you’ll have to choose a business or influencer who is well-known in the industry.
4. Build Your Brand Identity
According to Jeff Bezos, “Your brand is what other people say about you when you’re not in the room.” This simply means that your brand identity is more than just your logo or color scheme. It is the perception others have about your business.
A strong brand identity helps foster trust with customers, making them more likely to select your product.
5. Set Your Product Launch Goals
Ensure that you have set certain goals you’ll love to achieve once your product is launched. These goals can include gaining more customers, increasing user engagement, or increasing the company’s revenue.
6. Test and Gather Feedback
When you’re preparing to launch your product, you’ll have to provide a system where you can gather feedback from customers. It can either be through a survey or an interview.
The feedback will give you an idea of the different areas you need to work on in order to make your product better. In general, it will help you adjust your product in a way that meets your customers needs.
Different Types Of SaaS Product Launch Plans
After understanding the various SaaS product launch cycles, there are different launch plans you can take inspiration from. These plans include:
- Soft Launch Plan: This plan is sometimes referred to as dark launch. It involves releasing your product to a certain group of people before making it available worldwide.
Some companies see this launch plan as a safe way to launch a new product. As it can help them gather user feedback and make necessary improvements without a certain amount of critique or being widely available.
- Minimal Launch Plan: The minimal launch plan involves launching your SaaS product with limited features and functionalities to a limited audience.
This is to help the company make improvements to the product based on the feedback gotten from users before releasing it to a wider audience.
- Full-scale Launch Plan: This is the most common launch plan known by various SaaS companies. It involves releasing the SaaS product with all its functionalities and features to the general public at once.
This plan comes with various risks, especially if you’re new to the market.
How Long Does A SaaS Product Launch Take?
Well, the answer to this can only be determined by your product and business. Therefore, to know how long it takes to launch a SaaS product, you’ll have to consider your product’s complexity and features, your team size and expertise, the resources available, and the planning process.
For startups who want to move into the market quickly, a minimal viable product is built. Introducing the product to the market usually takes a few months. On the other hand, if your SaaS product is complex, it will require more time for design, development, and testing.
Doing this can take about six months to a year or more. For enterprise-level products, it may take a couple of years before it is being launched.
Lastly, it’s important to understand that the launching time can change or shift due to various reasons.
How To Measure The Success Of Your SaaS Product Launch
After your product has been launched, it’s time to confirm how well it is performing in the market. Not just that, it’s also time to find out ways you can improve your strategy to reach a wider audience.
Below are metrics you can use to track your product launch success:
1. Customer Acquisition Cost(CAC)
This involves calculating the cost it will take to get new customers, including marketing expenses, sales, advertisement and all activities that happen during the launching process.
2. Conversion Rate
This tracks how many customers take action once they interact with your product. This action can include signing up for a newsletter and subscribing to your free trial or a paid plan.
Having a high conversion rate shows that your marketing strategy is effective. To measure your conversion rate, you can make use of your product’s analytics feature or conversion tracking pixels.
3. Customer Lifetime Value
CLTV shows how much a customer has been able to generate for your business through their subscription. You can also use this method to determine the amount you’d like to make from your customers during their time of interaction with your business.
Additionally, if you have a higher CLTV than your CAC, it simply means that your strategy is profitable. You’re gaining more than the amount you’re spending to get new customers.
4. Sign up Rate
This shows how many people sign up for your product. If you experience a high sign-up rate, it means that your landing page is attractive and your sign-up process is easy and straightforward.
5. Website Traffic
You can check your product launch success by measuring the number of unique visitors and pageviews your website gets. Doing this will identify areas for improvement and optimize your website in order to attract and retain customers.
How To Launch A SaaS Product: Wrapping Up!
It’s amazing that you finally brought your SaaS product to life and are ready to show it to the world. However, launching a SaaS product isn’t an easy feat. It involves adequate preparation, planning, and execution.
Any mishap during your launch can tarnish the success of your SaaS product. Furthermore, if you’re new to the SaaS industry, you can make use of either the soft launch plan or the minimal launch plan for your product. This will help you know the areas you need to improve in and how customers feel about your product.
Doing this will help you know the chance of your product succeeding in the market. Additionally, a successful product launch requires a good marketing strategy, a defined target audience, and a proper brand identity.
Lastly, once your product is launched it is important that you know how effective your strategy is. Is it generating the required revenue, are customers taking actions, or are new customers interacting with your product? Knowing this will help you find out what isn’t working and what needs to be improved.
