How UX can make or break a SaaS product for a startup?

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How is a SaaS product different from any other digital product? While other apps and websites focus on user engagement and retention, SaaS products go way beyond. A SaaS product or SaaS applications are web-based or web-hosted Software that functions as software-as-a-service. A SaaS company licenses the Software to the users on a subscription-based model. 

Some of popular SaaS products examples are:

  • Netflix
  • Spotify
  • Slack
  • Dropbox

The SaaS applications are not a one-time purchase model. The SaaS software will be used by the users repeatedly. You need users to keep using your Software as a service product. Once they shift to another SaaS platform or an alternative, There is no coming back. You need to ensure that your product conveniently serves everything the user needs. 

As a SaaS product startup owner, there are plenty of things on your plate but UX design needs your undivided attention. However, if you must ask why then here it is!

7 benefits of a good SaaS UX design

A good UX defines the difference between a user becoming a loyal customer and a user signing up and never returning! The following are the benefits of a good SaaS UX design;

User retention

For a SaaS product, user retention is when a user actively uses your SaaS applications. More importantly, the user has formed a habit of using your product. Even though you offer lesser features but deliver a better experience, the customers will choose your product above the others. Making the users keep using your product is the ultimate goal. User experience will ensure every user onboarding your SaaS application completes the intended task and becomes a customer. 

Business growth

While your product is entirely user-focused, this will play a major role in serving your business goals. With a good UX design, your product will be likable and have more user retention. For instance, the fast and easy onboarding being secure simultaneously will help bring in more users. Onboarding plays a major role in acquiring new users. Ultimately it will help boost your sales and help you achieve your business goals

Save on SaaS web development costs

Primarily undertaking the UX design in the early stages of design allows you to see how the product performs. You can identify the hurdles and the issues that the potential users will face and resolve them in the early stages of development. With so many resources at stake and big goals to achieve, you shouldn’t take the UX design for granted as a SaaS startup owner. 

Competitive edge

With the high competition among SaaS companies, you need to identify the niche your product is delivering. The service you provide must add value to users’ life. While you may have a product that already exists. What will make you different is the easy and intuitive UX you deliver. The better the experience, the more users you will acquire and retain. With faster onboarding and much easier navigation, your SaaS product will have a competitive edge over others. 

Especially the easy navigation and a smooth onboarding experience play an important role in the advantage of the SaaS metrics. SaaS UX design helps you build a habit-forming SaaS product. 

User-centric approach

When UX design takes the lead to make your SaaS product exceptional in terms of experience brings user-centric completely. You know the problems to solve, and you know what solutions to deliver, but how they reach and help the users is what the UX design defines. The existing and the features being utilized are two different scenarios often neglected. 

Human-centered design is why the biggest names like IDEO, Apple, and Ikea dominate their respective industries. 

Reduced churn rate

Losing an existing user is more costly than acquiring a new one. The churn rate can come off as one of the biggest challenges for a SaaS company. But as a SaaS startup, you can skip the hassle of falling major churn rate issues. You reduce the churn rate by implementing an intuitive interface with clear UX copy. 

Improved user engagement

Your SaaS UX design is successful when the user actively engages with your SaaS product and completes their tasks. This becomes possible when the interface is interactive and visually appealing. When your product design is focused on the users, it will eventually lead to increased user satisfaction and loyalty. Ultimately, all of this results in your growing SaaS business. 

Biggest UX misconceptions for a SaaS Product UX design

Many SaaS companies consider their SaaS product different than the usual products. They believe in creating a feature-rich SaaS product instead of a more efficient product with the right features and a better design. They often ignore that their SaaS applications need user experience design. 

One of the common mistakes startup owners make in the initial stages is thinking that they don’t need a UX design; the developer can manage to design their SaaS product. They believe that following the standard design component and methods will work fine, but that is not true. 

Moreover, they skip the design part to save cost and time for their overall project. However, it is one of the crucial stages of the whole product development process. And ultimately, all of this ends up in multiple changes and corrections post-development. Let me tell you, that’s one huge headache!

We’ll save you from some common misconceptions to steer clear of your head about the importance of UX design for a SaaS product. The following are some of the common misconceptions among SaaS startup owners:

The Developers can design too!

No! This is not entirely true. A developer can create a SaaS design from standard templates and components, but it may not serve right for your target audience. UX design demands a certain understanding of users based on research and usability testing. The developer knows the technical aspects of your SaaS product but building a user-focused product demands a UX designer. 

In most cases, the developer is less aware of the design and user needs of a niche SaaS product than a UX designer. UX designers can easily identify the key problem areas and find the most convenient solutions. Also, these SaaS solutions are future foreseeable. 

A small SaaS project doesn’t need UX design.

This is quite a common myth that people believe a good UI UX design will only help build a visually appealing design. It serves more value than simply making the product pleasing to the eyes. Just because you start small does not mean your SaaS application won’t need a UX design for your product. UX design is not only for larger SaaS projects. 

Too expensive for a small startup

UX design is often seen as quite expensive. However, it is not true. Getting UX designing done for your SaaS applications can help you save a lot of post-development costs. Thus, it is the other way around. UX design will help you save time and resources before the development stage and help in developing a more user-centered product, much better than you have visioned it. 

4 Things to keep in mind for a SaaS Product!

Feature overload + Bad navigation

Often in the gist of availing of too many features, the product fails to acknowledge the ease and convenience of using the features. The users shouldn’t need to break a sweat to find and use the features. If they find it difficult to locate a feature, that’s an example of bad UX. 

A solution for a solution

SaaS product is bound to deliver a good customer experience. But not every SaaS startup acknowledges that. A SaaS product brings a solution to tons of problems. There are organizations still struggling with difficult programs and Software. SaaS products are a solution to ease up the process, and it shouldn’t become a difficult task to make things easy. 

Comprehensive yet valuable

The overall experience is way more important than fixing some bugs or adding features. The users don’t expect something extraordinary but something that makes their work easier and faster. 

Give them a try!

Whenever you introduce a new feature or make any upgrades, let the real-time users try and build a small guide on how to use the newest update. Please consider their feedback and analyze how effectively you can make the product. When you seamlessly introduce the newest features to your users, they’ll be aware of it and keep using it. 

Conclusion

UX design is the first step to successfully marketing your SaaS product in the rapid-growing Software as a service industry. In a non-competitive market, the user experience is often neglected and works just fine. But in a competitive market, UX design should be your primary goal. In a market where you have to sell your product every month, you can’t afford to lose users over a minor detail you failed to acknowledge. 

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