Launched. Flopped. What's Next? SaaS Go-to-Market Troubleshooting

Developing a SaaS product and gaining your first early adopters marks only the initial phase. Yet, what happens when you initiate your launch and try to reach the broader market?

In my discussions with numerous SaaS founders, a prevalent sentiment emerges: dissatisfaction with the traction garnered post-launch. Nearly 99.9% of those I've spoken to express disappointment with their official launch's traction.

This shortfall in expectations often leads to significant frustration, particularly for startups backed by investors with specific milestones, such as Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR), to achieve.

But why does this occur? The reasons can be manifold. However, the crucial question is what comes next. How should we troubleshoot the situation and come up with necessary improvements?

Go-to-market troubleshooting ABC

A) Diagnosing Traction Issues

Without it, even the most innovative solutions may struggle to gain momentum. But how do you know how strong your product-market fit is and is it sufficient to gain the traction it needs to thrive?

It boils down to asking the right questions. Key metrics like Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR) and customer acquisition numbers provide vital insights into your product-market fit.

Are you generating revenue, or are you merely treading water? Honest self-assessment is the first step toward identifying potential pitfalls in your go-to-market strategy.

??Solution: Evaluate the level of your product-market fit by reviewing what proofs you have to validate the key 5 hypotheses.

B) Optimizing Sales System

For SaaS businesses, optimizing the sales system continuously is a game-changer. No bullshit. Whether your business leans towards a sales-driven or marketing-driven model, improving your sales process is essential for staying competitive in the market and growing your MRR.

??Solution: Identify your sales bottleneck based on the AARRR (AANRR) metrics. Fix it and identify the next bottleneck. Rinse and repeat.

C) Picking Low-Hanging Fruits for Growth

Once you've fine-tuned your sales engine, the path to scalability becomes clearer. However, scaling a SaaS business demands a different approach compared to the strategies employed to garner initial traction and secure steady MRR.

Before diving all into growth hacking and other over-hyped strategies or tactics (please, no offense here), focus on the low-hanging fruits. Pick only one of them at first and nail it. Proceed to the next.

By identifying these opportunities and allocating resources effectively, you have greater chances of adding some extra MRR without a risky increase in your cash burn due to higher expenditures on marketing.

??Solution: Decide which direction could be the low-hanging fruit in your case: usage, channels, segments, offer. Reap it!

Optimizing your sales system: AANRR

No, it's not a typo. You're likely familiar with the commonly known 'Pirate metrics' represented by the acronym AARRR (Acquisition - Activation - Retention - Revenue - Referral).

But when it comes to optimizing software or online platform sales, I prefer a proactive approach and prefer to refer to it as lead nurturing rather than lead retention.

Moreover, I opt for the term 'system' over simply 'funnel'. In the early stages, many SaaS founders still engage in manual sales efforts, making the development of a robust marketing funnel premature.

Here is a snapshot of the live workshop where we've covered sales system optimization:

?? You are welcome to access full training here.

Want to pick my brain on your SaaS launch?

If you're gearing up for your SaaS launch?? or already launched but aren't happy with the traction you got, and need some expert guidance...

?? I'm here to help??♂???

Comment below?? or send me a message, if you want to pick my brain and discuss the best way I could help you.