There is no doubt that everyone made a mistake while developing or on top of that, launching a software product – SaaS, IaaS – for the first time. You would probably agree with that since it is not something out of the ordinary.
Updated 18 September 2024
Global Delivery Head at Appventurez
Product launch failure or success is an extremely common thing that everyone has to go through. It can be due to missing out on some points, identifying a gap, understanding the future, or anything. In such a case, the best thing that one can depend upon is a SaaS launch checklist.
It is best to place the launch list in a prioritized form to ensure that everything is in place. However, launching a new product can be overwhelming. But with the right SaaS launch checklist, it will be extremely easy to be part of the market.
The market introduces around 10,000 products almost every day but only 5% of them are successful. The major reason behind this is a poor checklist that doesn’t cover all the aspects. Hence, right here is the reason why you must work on the SaaS product checklist before launching it. As a leading mobile app development company, we understand it better than anyone else.
But what is this whole ruckus of SaaS?
To give you a better understanding of it, let us give you an understanding of what SaaS products are and everything about its checklist.
Software as a Service – SaaS – is a model that is focused on core features in an effective and ideal manner. It makes it easy for employees to cover tasks instantly without installing the software on every computer.
SaaS works on licensing methodology that just needs a stable internet connection to be accessed from any device, on any web browser. It is a software delivery model that is maintained by the service provider for maintaining and updating.
If we go by analysis, 50% of companies depend upon SaaS products to maintain their tasks. And we are not even including the companies that go for the SaaS readiness checklist.
Earlier, companies used to develop an app or software to ensure that their requirement is completed. However, development is easier said than done. The reason? It involves a lot of custom development processes, installation, sales, training, testing, and whatnot.
The whole development process usually takes months and not to say about the total cost. SaaS works as the game saver in such a case.
To avoid the whole development process and simplify the work, SaaS products are a work of a few days. With SaaS products, companies can get global and unrestricted access to the software as per the cost.
So, you get an idea of how SaaS products can be beneficial and why companies rush to them. Now, settle down on its SaaS launch checklist.
Before launching a SaaS product, one must be aware of how to develop it. To give you a better understanding of the development of SaaS products, here is a quick overview. Apart from our exclusive guide to SaaS Development, here is everything that you must know about the SaaS product development checklist.
To develop a SaaS product, it is essential to be aware of the target audience that can be open to feedback. The fact is that idea might be the one that can gain you success but small issues can be there that users can easily point out. So, what can be a better way to optimize and improve the idea than understanding the target audience?
To know the right feedback, you will need to approach the right audience. The target audience of the product plays a vital role in the development process which makes it vital to include the SaaS product development checklist. Hence, it is best to make a list of users who will be using the product. This list can be used to send messages and spread awareness to make sure that there is no loose end on your end. The research will help in gathering enough information to develop the product.
Would you like to use a product that you don’t know about? The answer is a big No! Similarly, the users just don’t trust the product until they are aware of it. But how will you gain the trust of users when your product is new? This can be done with the right strategy to engage with users and enhance their experience. It is mainly done with a minimum viable product for startups or demos that can give necessary details to the users on what the product is delivering.
The B2B SaaS product launch also requires the right investors who can gain something in return. For this, it is best to set up a campaign and see who will be the target audience, and who will be ready to invest in the product. Make sure to start improving the relationship with those investors via emailing and texting to attract the target audience with a few freebie offers.
The best way to launch a new product is to build a relationship with products that are already thriving in the market. It offers guidance and support to the new SaaS product development plan that can be done via SaaS conferences, events, social media, geist blogging, and so on. The backlinking to your website can be a great headstart for new products.
The SaaS product date must be fixed for the first version which can be helpful when it comes to building investors. In addition to this, owners can easily work on outbound and inbound marketing strategies. Along with this, the products are running marketing ads, press releases., and so on to get a better idea of the launch. It is essential to make sure that the functionalities and features are up to the mark while launching it in the market including testing before going for the SaaS deployment checklist.
The SaaS launch checklist can be a bit tricky with the leading, testing, and then final MVP selling. To make the launch process effective and easy, here is the pre-SaaS launch checklist that one must know.
SaaS products are simple and efficient for the users but require an onboarding process that is automated to make it easy for new users. As the SaaS pre-launch aspect, the automated process is easy to use for customers with signup, showcasing product features, and lifecycle for customers. It is similar but not the same as mobile app onboarding which will give you a better understanding of SaaS products.
Who will go for the new product when there are trusted products already in the market? However, if you want customers to go for your SaaS product then you need to tempt them to switch. The best thing that you can do is to give the product to them for free in the initial stage and once they are hooked to it then raise the price. In addition to this, you can launch the product without a payment gateway at the start and when the product is attracting customers then you can start with the upgrade with additional features as a part of the SaaS deployment checklist.
If your first version is extremely solid then it will not only impress the target audience but also help in keeping them hooked to the product. One such way is with testing – functionality testing, test management, security testing, user experience testing, performance & load testing, and compatibility testing. The SaaS pre-launch can help in getting honest and genuine feedback to refine the SaaS product. It is easy to gather beta users with sign-ups to kickstart the product. In addition to this, the promotion of testing can be done on social media, email, and so on. You can also refer to the mobile app testing guide to get a better understanding of the whole process.
This is the most common platform that is used to interact with customers and attract them to the platform. To reach the target audience, the companies can send out personalized messages and see how many might be interested in the B2B SaaS product launch. Why is email a good way to approach the audience? Cause every business owner or professional person checks their emails a minimum of 4 times a day. Hence, sending emails to prospects is a great way to get a hold of them and give traffic a push. It is just one platform to target audiences that can be done in different ways. Or you can know more about how to promote your app or product to thrive in the industry.
Just after the launch, your product is not going to thrive until and unless you include some essential aspects. One major thing is analyzing the scope of the SaaS products, measuring it, and enhancing the overall performance. Google Analytics is one of the tools that is offered by Google for users to check on user behavior and traffic on the website. Another one is Google Tag Manager which is used by marketers and developers just by adding code. These analytics can help in understanding the whole launch and what must be done after the SaaS deployment checklist.
We all know “How To Make An App Go Viral” helps applications to expand and reach a whole new level in the market. However, it is easier said than done since it requires developers to take the right steps. These steps are to be followed by the SaaS products as well. How are you going to motivate people to use it? What is the X-factor of the SaaS product that will make users go for it? Why would anyone even promote SaaS products? The viral factor must be founded by the developers to know what will be the hooking point as a common checklist to launch a SaaS business.
As mentioned above, the hooking or viral factor must be included in the SaaS operational readiness checklist that allows the owners to promote it in the right way. It is the USP of the product that will showcase the uniqueness of SaaS according to the competitors. The USP is the one that solves the problems of users with reasonable prices. This is done to make a great product that can work as a solution for customers and hook them to it.
Make sure to know your competitors to develop a B2B SaaS product launch that can be impactful in the market. This can be done easily when you know who your competitors are, what they are offering, what they are missing, and how you can take advantage of it. It is best to analyze all the hooks of software development to choose the best way of filling up the gaps in the market.
The SaaS operational readiness checklist must be launched with the right set of instructions. In addition to this, strategies are included to ensure that companies can inhabit it. Business owners need to get the attention of users and conduct research. This is a way to find out ways to influence customers. The motive is to establish relationships with customers with refined UI/UX and prepare press assets.
Once the pre-SaaS launch checklist is done and you are done with the final launch of the SaaS product in the market, comes the post-launch. Yes, your job is not done yet. It is vital to keep the essential aspects in mind once the software or mobile app launch checklist is maintained.
It is the next level of SaaS product that falls right after the launch is done. How to thrive in the market. This can be done in several ways that fall under the final category of post-launch SaaS products. Once the SaaS product or mobile app onboarding best practices are followed, you need to focus on essential factors as the part of B2B or B2C SaaS product launch.
If you believe that growing your SaaS product is as easy as it is building one, then you need to think again. Growing up is not easy. There are so many things that are summed together including organized flow to obtain the right product.
With the above SaaS launch checklist, business owners will be able to get the right SaaS product. The motive is to help businesses reach the level of success and include countless benefits to growth.
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Global Delivery Head at Appventurez
Ashish governs the process of software delivery operations. He ensures the end product attains the highest remarks in qualitative analysis and is streamlined to the clientele’s objectives. He has over a decade of experience as an iOS developer and teams mentorship.
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