How to Get Your First SaaS Customers: A Reverse Approach to Building Your Product
I wanted to share a strategy that might seem counterintuitive but is incredibly effective when launching your first SaaS product. Instead of building the product first and then finding customers, what if you worked backwards? I've known far too many engineers that build side projects with no pre-vetted audience. Assign a value to your time, and stick with it the way you would spend cash. You wouldn't burn through $200/hr on a product with no guarantee sales, would you? Then definitely don't so that with your time.
Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to get your first SaaS customers before you even start building your product.
Step 1: Identify a Pain Point
The first step is to find a real, pressing pain point that people are facing. This can come from your own experiences, industry knowledge, or by talking to potential customers. Look for problems that are significant enough that people would be willing to pay for a solution.
Tips:
- Join industry forums and groups on LinkedIn or Reddit.
- Attend meetups or industry events.
- Conduct surveys or informal interviews with potential users.
Step 2: Validate Your Idea
Before you dive into building, validate your idea with your target market. This can save you from investing time and resources into something that people don’t actually want.
How to Validate:
- Create a landing page that explains the problem and your proposed solution.
- Drive traffic to this page using targeted ads or social media posts.
- Offer something in return for signing up, like an early-bird discount or exclusive content.
Step 3: Build a Pre-Sales List
Start collecting emails and contact information of interested users. This will be your pre-sales list. These are the people who are interested enough in your solution to give you their contact details. Mailchimp offers all of this. Sometimes it is better to have a 'buy now' button in place of an email button then on the other side of the buy now, you offer a "sign up to be notified form" to better filter out unserious users.
Techniques:
- Offer a free eBook or guide related to the problem you’re solving.
- Host a webinar or a live Q&A session on the topic.
- Use a compelling call-to-action (CTA) on your landing page.
- Scrape Facebook groups for leads and potential users.
Step 4: Engage and Nurture Leads
Once you have a list, start engaging with these leads. Send them valuable content related to their pain points and how your upcoming product will solve these issues.
Engagement Strategies:
- Send regular email updates about your product development.
- Share success stories or case studies if you have them.
- Create a sense of urgency by highlighting limited spots or early-bird pricing.
Step 5: Partner with Group Mods
A powerful way to build your customer base is by partnering with moderators of relevant Facebook groups or online communities. Offer them referral fees for allowing you to post high-value content about your product.
Strategies:
- Reach out to group mods and propose a partnership.
- Offer referral fees or other incentives for greenlighting your posts.
- Post valuable content that addresses the group's pain points and subtly introduces your solution.
Step 6: Offer Pre-Sales
Now, offer pre-sales to your engaged list. This could be in the form of discounted early access or lifetime memberships for a one-time fee. The goal here is to secure commitment from customers before the product is fully developed.
Pre-Sale Offers:
- Early access at a discounted rate.
- Lifetime membership for a one-time fee.
- Access to an exclusive beta program.
Step 7: Build Based on Feedback
Use the feedback and insights from your pre-sale customers to shape the development of your product. This ensures that what you build is aligned with what your customers want and need.
Feedback Collection:
- Conduct regular surveys and polls.
- Hold one-on-one interviews with pre-sale customers.
- Use beta testers to gather insights on usability and features.
Step 8: Launch and Scale
With customers already committed, you can confidently launch your product. Use the testimonials and case studies from your pre-sale customers to attract more users and scale your business.
Post-Launch Tips:
- Leverage user testimonials in your marketing.
- Offer referral incentives to early adopters.
- Continuously gather feedback and iterate on your product.
Conclusion
Starting with the customer and working backwards can significantly reduce the risk associated with launching a new SaaS product. By validating your idea, building a pre-sales list, and developing based on feedback, you can ensure that your product is market-fit from day one. I also think there is a tendency for people to be biased towards products they feel like they 'helped' build or develop, so you also gain that when green-fielding an app this way. Give this approach a try and share your experiences with us.
I wanted to share a strategy that might seem counterintuitive but is incredibly effective when launching your first SaaS product. Instead of building the product first and then finding customers, what if you worked backwards? I've known far too many engineers that build side projects with no pre-vetted audience. Assign a value to your time, and stick with it the way you would spend cash. You wouldn't burn through $200/hr on a product with no guarantee sales, would you? Then definitely don't so that with your time.
Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to get your first SaaS customers before you even start building your product.
Step 1: Identify a Pain Point
The first step is to find a real, pressing pain point that people are facing. This can come from your own experiences, industry knowledge, or by talking to potential customers. Look for problems that are significant enough that people would be willing to pay for a solution.
Tips:
- Join industry forums and groups on LinkedIn or Reddit.
- Attend meetups or industry events.
- Conduct surveys or informal interviews with potential users.
Step 2: Validate Your Idea
Before you dive into building, validate your idea with your target market. This can save you from investing time and resources into something that people don’t actually want.
How to Validate:
- Create a landing page that explains the problem and your proposed solution.
- Drive traffic to this page using targeted ads or social media posts.
- Offer something in return for signing up, like an early-bird discount or exclusive content.
Step 3: Build a Pre-Sales List
Start collecting emails and contact information of interested users. This will be your pre-sales list. These are the people who are interested enough in your solution to give you their contact details. Mailchimp offers all of this. Sometimes it is better to have a 'buy now' button in place of an email button then on the other side of the buy now, you offer a "sign up to be notified form" to better filter out unserious users.
Techniques:
- Offer a free eBook or guide related to the problem you’re solving.
- Host a webinar or a live Q&A session on the topic.
- Use a compelling call-to-action (CTA) on your landing page.
- Scrape Facebook groups for leads and potential users.
Step 4: Engage and Nurture Leads
Once you have a list, start engaging with these leads. Send them valuable content related to their pain points and how your upcoming product will solve these issues.
Engagement Strategies:
- Send regular email updates about your product development.
- Share success stories or case studies if you have them.
- Create a sense of urgency by highlighting limited spots or early-bird pricing.
Step 5: Partner with Group Mods
A powerful way to build your customer base is by partnering with moderators of relevant Facebook groups or online communities. Offer them referral fees for allowing you to post high-value content about your product.
Strategies:
- Reach out to group mods and propose a partnership.
- Offer referral fees or other incentives for greenlighting your posts.
- Post valuable content that addresses the group's pain points and subtly introduces your solution.
Step 6: Offer Pre-Sales
Now, offer pre-sales to your engaged list. This could be in the form of discounted early access or lifetime memberships for a one-time fee. The goal here is to secure commitment from customers before the product is fully developed.
Pre-Sale Offers:
- Early access at a discounted rate.
- Lifetime membership for a one-time fee.
- Access to an exclusive beta program.
Step 7: Build Based on Feedback
Use the feedback and insights from your pre-sale customers to shape the development of your product. This ensures that what you build is aligned with what your customers want and need.
Feedback Collection:
- Conduct regular surveys and polls.
- Hold one-on-one interviews with pre-sale customers.
- Use beta testers to gather insights on usability and features.
Step 8: Launch and Scale
With customers already committed, you can confidently launch your product. Use the testimonials and case studies from your pre-sale customers to attract more users and scale your business.
Post-Launch Tips:
- Leverage user testimonials in your marketing.
- Offer referral incentives to early adopters.
- Continuously gather feedback and iterate on your product.
Conclusion
Starting with the customer and working backwards can significantly reduce the risk associated with launching a new SaaS product. By validating your idea, building a pre-sales list, and developing based on feedback, you can ensure that your product is market-fit from day one. I also think there is a tendency for people to be biased towards products they feel like they 'helped' build or develop, so you also gain that when green-fielding an app this way. Give this approach a try and share your experiences with us.