4 Disciplined Tips for Successful SaaS Global Launch

Debuting a new Software as a Service (SaaS) solution is an exhilarating endeavor. After working with 100s of companies launching SaaS offerings, I have learned you must be hyper-disciplined around the following themes to be successful:

1. Value Proposition
2. Target Market
3. SaaS Validation
4. Track Data & Optimize

Remember, you must think big to create something that solves a real Global issue, aligns to executive initiatives, innovates with technology that scales and stands out from the competition. But how do you avoid the common pitfalls and challenges that can derail your product launch and jeopardize your success?

One of my most successful launches that drove 1000% growth in 4 years, was with an AI/Deep Learning, speech recognition, SaaS solution. Our tagline was "It's 200x times faster to edit than to type." The value proposition was proven to deliver 200x more productivity than current processes, savings millions per year to large healthcare, public sector and financial enterprises replacing manual typing words from paper to large files of text. Our SaaS solution quickly transcribed voice to coding to process in the cloud! Guess who the target audience was? All C-Level. Clear, concise, HUGE business outcomes spoke directly to CFO/CIO/COO/CEO. The value proposition was a NO BRAINER which ensured executive engagement early in the deal process, and bypassed lengthy pilots!

Ready to get started? Here are the disciplined tips for successful SaaS launch!

Discipline 1: value proposition

There are lots of new SaaS offering ideas. A common pitfall is to launch a SaaS product without a compelling value proposition from the perspective of the global marketplace. Not from a place that you and your friends and your mom think it's a great idea!

A value proposition is a statement that summarizes how your product solves a problem, delivers a financial benefit, and differentiates from alternatives or the customer's current state.

Your value statement must be:

1. clear,
2. concise,
3. drive business outcomes

Avoid: A weak or vague value proposition that confuses your potential customers, undermines your credibility, and makes it hard to communicate your product's value.

Do: Craft a value proposition that captures your unique selling point and resonates with your audience.

Discipline 2: target market

Digging deep to understand who/where/when to focus on when launching SaaS solution is vital. When working with start-ups and organizations launching new SaaS solutions, one of the biggest mistakes I've seen is organizations rushing to launch a product without a clear understanding of:

1. who the ideal customers are,
2. what they need,
3. how they behave.

To my earlier example, the success of the AI/Deep Learning Speech Recognition SaaS solution was correlated to alignment with executive sponsorship. Tying the solution to strategic executive initiatives is critical to success. At the same time, you need to incorporate the critical stakeholders across the lines of business. In this case, we needed to ensure IT, Operations, and HR were aligned on the value propositions. This approach will ensure you are evolving a business proposition that aligns across stakeholders linked to funded business goals.

Avoid: Assuming your product will appeal to everyone because it solves a problem.

Do: Tailor your product features, messaging, and positioning to the specific needs and preferences of your target market. Setting on a course to launch can be disastrous if you do not do the following:

1. do your market research,
2. validate your assumptions,
3. segment your audience.

Discipline 3: validate product

Again, you must be disciplined to not be sucked into assumptions, biases or opinions about your product. Having a disciplined SaaS validation process will help you identify and fix any bugs, errors, or issues that could affect your product's quality, usability, or functionality. It will also help you understand what your customers like, dislike, or want from your product. You have to iterate and improve your product based on the data and feedback you collect.

The launch of the AI/Deep Learning Speech Recognition SaaS solution was built from the ground up hand and hand with end users. This ensured the engagement with end users were high, and also allowed us to measure the results to benchmark against. These benchmarks translated into how we supported onboarding new customers and modeled business cases for new market opportunities globally.

Avoid: Launching a product without testing it and collecting feedback.

Do: Test it with real users, measure its performance, and gather feedback.

Discipline 4: track data and optimize

For your SaaS solution to succeed you must be disciplined in measuring its impact, outcomes, and feedback. A key benefit of SaaS is you will have new, stronger views of how your solution is used and what is delivering greatest financial benefits to your customers. Be disciplined to track and analyze your launch metrics like:

• traffic,
• conversions,
• retention,
• revenue,
• satisfaction,
• referrals.

In the case of the AI/Deep Learning Speech Recognition SaaS Solution, the above disciplined tracking processed was in place day one. We were obsessed with the success of the end user. The beauty of SaaS is you have real-time data insights on how your solution is being used and how value is being realized by your end customers. Not only does this real-time customer data help you evaluate your launch performance, it more importantly helps you identify your strengths and weaknesses in real-time. This is your competitive edge, the ability to be agile and optimize your product and marketing efforts and deliver exceptional value to your customers FASTER than any other solution that exists. It also keeps you accountable to your business proposition promises! That is vital for year over year SaaS benefits, to increase ARR and predict revenue growth effectively!

Avoid: Launching a product without tracking and optimizing your results.

Do: Constantly monitor your SaaS solution and improve your results.

What to do next?

Launching a new SaaS solution successfully is not easy, but if you stay disciplined in the above four themes while avoiding the common pitfalls and challenges your chances for success grow. Being disciplined in knowing your target market, defining your value proposition, testing your product and feedback, planning your launch strategy, and tracking and optimizing your results, will increase your chances of building and managing a successful SaaS solution launch.

Contact me to learn more, give feedback or ask questions!