However, you need to remember the true value lies not in the features themselves but in the business benefits they provide to your end users.
You need to remember as a product founder it’s not just a tale of your product’s evolution but a roadmap for yourself and how to pivot, focus, and leverage your unique strengths to find success.
It’s so easy to get caught up on the technical marvel of the product and its ability to do X,Y & Z.
Over the years as I’ve step in and out of SaaS products helping founders turn them around, It’s almost guaranteed the turning point always comes when you shift your focus from the product’s features to the tangible business benefits your product can offer.
Below I’m going to teach you several critical lessons I’ve learnt over the years.
Understanding your audience’s needs
One of the most important things is to truly understand your audience’s needs. If you are targeting a broad audience, and casting the net too wide you can find yourself and product quickly to fail.
If you’ve already found yourself in this situation, it’s not too late. You just need to find the sweet spot with an audience, individuals or industry that already values and understands the importance of your product’s benefits.
This focus allows you to tailor your messaging and product development to better meet the specific needs of this group, in time others will come naturally.
Simplifying your offerings
The power of simplification, and by this I don’t mean you need to attempt to reinvigorate your business or product offering, start from scratch with a new, simplified codebase, features or change in direction, that is far from the “Hail Mary” and in most cases that doesn’t always pan out as expected.
Instead understand the importance of making your product accessible and easy to understand for your target audience.
The first time user experience is one of the most important steps, you have a very short window to capture their full attention and win them over by helping them find their Ah Ha moment.
Simplification doesn’t just apply to the product itself but also to how you communicate its value.
Leveraging creators, influences and partners
It is important you build genuine relationships within your industry with influencers, creators, and partners whose audiences overlap with your target customers, partnerships not only broaden your exposure but also attract genuinely interested prospects.
You need to remember it doesn’t just happen overnight. It can take years of networking, building credibility, and establishing trust, but partnerships will not only help you validate your product and ideas but also provide invaluable exposure and credibility.
Such strategic partnerships not only amplify your reach but directly contribute to demonstrating the tangible benefits of your product to your target audience, reinforcing the importance of focusing on value over features.
Embracing your unique strengths
The crucial lesson of embracing your unique strengths as a smaller player in the market. You will find bigger and faster success not by trying to mimic larger companies but by leveraging the agility, personal touch, and authenticity that a smaller company can offer. This approach not only differentiated you but also created a more personal and engaging experience for your customers.
The importance of case studies and testimonials
The power of case studies and testimonials cannot be overstated. As you begin to focus on delivering tangible business benefits and working closely with high-profile influencers, it will amass a collection of compelling success stories. These stories can serve as a powerful marketing tool, giving you the ability to showcase the real-world impact of your product and help you attract new customers.
The role of education in selling SaaS
Finally, you need to take the approach of combining education with your SaaS offering. It’s a strategy worth taking the time and effort. By creating courses and content that educate potential customers or existing users on the benefits of your product features, you’re not just selling a product but also providing value and building trust. This educational approach helps demystify the product and encourages adoption by showing your potential customers exactly how it can benefit their business.
I would love to hear from you.
If you are open to sharing your story, I would love to understand the struggles you’ve faced. If there was a turning point or if this is something you’re currently facing as a product founder or owner.
In the realm of startups and entrepreneurship, the journey from an initial idea to a successful product is often fraught with challenges, learning curves, and the need for constant adaptation.
For many technical founders, the allure of coding and developing features can sometimes overshadow the core value their product offers to customers. It’s a common pitfall to become engrossed in the technical aspects of a product, forgetting that customers are ultimately seeking a solution to a problem, not just a well-coded platform.
And the realisation that “no one’s ever paid you to code” but for the business benefits that coding can bring, is a crucial turning point. You should understand the importance of focusing on how your product solves specific problems for your customers, rather than the technical prowess behind it.