How to Get SaaS Product Validation for Better SaaS Development?
You have a great product idea, but you are not sure how viable it is as a marketable SaaS Product. Nobody knows whether or not people will love your tool and are ready to pay for it.
It could leave SaaS entrepreneur direction less in developing their product and SaaS Start-up.
SaaS product validation can be the light that guides them in the right direction.
How do you get product validation for your SaaS tool?
Before we answer this question, let’s address the importance of SaaS product validation for every SaaS Founder.
Importance of SaaS Product Validation
It is often easy for SaaS Founders and entrepreneurs to think that every idea in every industry has been explored, discovered, and made into a product.
And it looks like anything they pick up on seems to be already made by someone else.
Finding a unique product idea and portraying a unique take on the idea is vital for the development and successful marketing of the product. It helps in making people believe in your product and finding an audience, and investors who are enthusiastic about your product.
When you land on a unique product idea and develop your SaaS product, one question still lingers in the back of your head.
“My product is unique. But, is this a commercially viable product idea?”
What are the chances that you’re going to a dead end? Or lead to a situation where you need to pivot?
The most important thing about getting product validation for your SaaS tool is that it will help you avoid wasting time on building something that no one wants. It will also save you from spending money on building features that people won’t use.
This is where you need product validation for your SaaS. And it can save you from lots of trouble while trying to figure out how to get your SaaS off the ground.
Different Ways to Validate Your SaaS Product
Though product validation is of paramount importance, you cannot validate a product that does not exist.
Most SaaS Founders start with a simple idea and start developing the product. From there to the beta testing phase every SaaS Product goes through a tremendous evolution.
A SaaS developer can figure out a lot from there, yet product validation could still be a missing piece of the puzzle. There are different ways you can try to validate your product idea and your SaaS tool.
Your mode of product validation can be as simple as a simple survey to competitor analysis—the simplest and proven way that people are ready to pay for your solution.
You can even go so far as to create a mock-up of your SaaS tool and ask users what they would expect from it. This way you can find out if your SaaS tool meets their expectations.
But one of the best ways to get validation for your SaaS product is to take the simple and direct approach.
Where to Start for SaaS Product Validation?
It is a good starting point to share your SaaS tool with your family and friends to get their feedback and get your product validation.
Although, you cannot always expect your family and friends to be objective. Their perspective is often limited to their experience and their expertise in the field—be it SaaS or the niche your SaaS serves.
Though it can be helpful in the initial stages of product development, relying on the feedback of family and friends alone can stunt your SaaS potential.
So, before taking any decision based on the feedback of your family and friends, make sure you have done enough research on the subject matter.
Approaching industry experts for feedback is a more effective way to validate your product.
Industry experts include fellow SaaS Founders, SaaS Communities, Niche professionals, SaaS Reviewers, Growth marketers for SaaS, etc.
These experts can provide valuable insights into the market and its trends. They can also give you an unbiased view of your product. They can also tell you whether your SaaS tool has a chance at success or not.
In addition, they can also offer you tips on how to improve your product and point you in the right direction of product development.
How to Approach Industry Experts for Feedback?
There are many ways you can approach industry experts for feedback. You can either do this by emailing them directly or by joining a community forum dedicated to your topic.
When approaching industry experts, remember to keep things short and sweet. Don’t bombard them with questions. Instead, focus on asking them to review your SaaS tool within a specific timeframe.
Make sure you don’t forget to thank them for reviewing your SaaS tool!
On a side note: if you are a SaaS Founder looking for product validation or any feedback on your SaaS you can write to [email protected]. We’ll be more than happy to take a look and give you our input.
Though experts can give you valid inputs and views, it is often not as good as the views of an end-user.
Product Validation from the Valid Users
Nothing compares to the validation that you get from the actual end-users. That is the people who resemble your ideal customer persona the closest.
For the most authentic product validation and feedback, reach out to those dealing with that problem on a daily basis. They will give you valuable feedback.
How to Get Validation from the End-Users?
Reaching end-users is an obvious and direct way to get product validation for your SaaS.
However, it is not as easy as it sounds to get professionals from your target audience to use your product and get their feedback.
One of the most common ways to get product validation from your target audience is to incentivize the process.
This means offering something in return for using your SaaS tool and giving you the insights you need to further develop your product. It only requires time and proper planning.
Some of the proven ways to incentivize and get users to validate your product are, offering a free trial period, Free access to premium features, Discounts on future purchases, etc.
However, one of the best and lesser-known strategies to get product validation for your SaaS product is by launching a limited Lifetime Deal campaign.
Lifetime Deal campaigns help SaaS Founders get hundreds of users for their SaaS Products in just a few days. These campaigns usually last for 3 months and have a fixed price per user.
The key benefit of these campaigns is that they allow you to test your SaaS product with real users without having to spend money upfront. This helps you save a lot of time and money.
Conclusion
Getting product validation is essential for every SaaS founder. However, getting it done correctly is not always easy.
You need to know what kind of validation you want and why you want it. Then, you need to find the right person to ask for it. The ideas shared here can get you the validation you need at different stages of your product development.
Yet, if you can get feedback and product validation from your target audience, you can realize the potential of your SaaS product.