Build it and they will come.

Not quite. Building it is one thing. Getting them to come is an entirely different matter. And if, when you were building it, you made the “my concept is brilliant” mistake of disconnecting from the masses who are supposed to come, then you might just have to forget about them coming at all once it’s built.

Make sense? Thought so.  

The selling or marketing a Software as a Service (SaaS) really needs to start when you are developing the product itself. So you've got to draw a line through your product that connects it with the future user (aka paying client). To ensure that this connection is bang on you need to continually engage with the future client during the development of your SaaS so that you develop something that end-users can really put a value on (value=payment).

Your SaaS needs to hit on a real pain point that is common to sufficient numbers of users in the market for you to have a business chance. So you have to know who you are developing for and you need to be unquestionably sure that they eventually will pay for your SaaS. Your solution needs to be the medicine that treats this pain; better than all other medicines. Co-create your development with a core group of “sufferers”. You are now developing a solution to a real world problem that representatives from the target market are helping you to steer and validate. You might be on to something.

So it’s built. And they're not coming?

Marketing, marketing and more marketing.

SaaS commercialisation is truly a marketing exercise. And a digital one at that. And in today’s cyber world it’s an art in branding, cleverness, creativity, outstanding graphics, even more outstanding analytics capability and the ability to tweak our campaigns in real-time as we all scramble to perpetually seduce an over stimulated virtual community of clients. We need to get our SaaS on the A-list, our brand needs to ooze the “George Clooney” effect. The SaaS that everybody wants to have. We need to be able to work the internet like A-listers work the red carpet. Get it right, with a product that really offers a value, then they might, just might, come.

Oonagh Mc Nerney. CEO. Sapenta

Sapenta has developed an Operations Management Solution for SMEs. We are currently seeking a genie in SaaS sales to drive the commercialisation of the product.  For more details on this offer:   https://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/embed_code/key/9VaEufcSHZ8GC