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HOW TO CREATE AN MVP FOR YOUR SAAS APP?

Did you realize that more than 42 percent of failed companies had lost because their product could not reach a market? It’s true that you cannot tell the likelihood that your SAAS APP will be successful until you’ve tried it out on actual customers. However, that doesn’t mean you need to invest in all-out development and pray for the best results.

Instead, you can create a SaaS MVP to give your customers a glimpse of your service with a minimal amount of effort, money along with time.

Don’t assume that your customers will love your SaaS since you already have. The market for cloud-based applications is overcrowded. The value of SaaS solutions globally is expected to be $436.9 billion in 2025 from $272.4 billion in 2021. It’s becoming more difficult than ever to build customers who are loyal.

we’ve witnessed this phenomenon first-hand since we’ve created many SaaS-based products. We’re nowhere to help you learn how to build the perfect MVP to use with SaaS and gather feedback from customers in the most cost-effective way feasible. We’ll also help you stay clear of the typical SaaS MVP challenges, share suggestions for speeding up the development process, and explain how other businesses have gone about creating an MVP.

How do we conduct ourselves? Naturally, we must present SaaS MVP in the first place.

What is the minimum viable product that can be used for SAAS APP?

A SaaS Minimum Viable Product (MVP) is an elaboration of the software you’ll need to test your idea and gather feedback from customers. An MVP isn’t the complete version of your app or even a functional prototype. It’s more like an investment in a validated understanding of your target audience and their needs.

If you don’t think that’s convincing, have a look at other reasons that companies come up with MVPs to promote their SaaS:

It takes little effort:

Your team is focused on the core functionality that you want to achieve with your SaaS. It is evident that this will require fewer resources than creating an operational prototype or a full product.

Low-risk investment:

It is possible to gather feedback from customers, testers, and other stakeholders in a much shorter time. This saves time and funds at risk.

Easier funding:

You can utilize MVPs to show the advantages that the coming SaaS for investors.

It takes time to fine-tune:

Early adoption can help create a feedback loop with your users, allowing you to collect important information to improve your design.

In the end, All in all, the use of a SaaS MVP can help you test the app’s functionality, market it, and improve the foundation of your application quickly even if your budget is small. However, this does not necessarily mean MVP development isn’t straightforward.

Common issues in building a SaaS MVP

A lot of things could be wrong when it comes to MVP development, however, the majority of them can be easily avoided.

Here’s how to tackle the most commonly encountered issues of SaaS MVP development.

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A broken feedback loop

It is possible to revise your SaaS app from scratch, or dramatically alter it in response to the feedback. It’s common to go through several versions of an MVP prior to launching fully-fledged development. However, there are some companies that do not get the right feedback from their users.

The most efficient way of collecting information is to build early adopters. It is then possible to connect with them through forums and social media, along with survey forms, email as well as exploratory interviews. Be sure to include the qualitative (user-friendliness) as well as quantitative (how difficult the job is) feedback in your evaluation of the experience of your client.

Inefficient development methodology

The development of software that is not based on the same procedure could affect productivity and increase costs. Implementing iterative processes such as Agile can help companies make the most of their resources to the maximum.

Based on the 2022 State of Agile report Two-thirds of Agile adopters said they had an increase in visibility, management, and goal alignment during production. They also say that implementing Agile has helped improve their time-to-market (64 percent of those surveyed) team efficiency and morale (60 percent) and the quality of their software (45 percent) and has reduced cost (23 percent).)

Implementing DevOps 

practices that focus on continuous feedback and automated processes have also resulted in productivity gains in many organizations. According to the 2022 State of DevOps Report, the most successful adopters have improved their deployments of code by 973 times and decreased the rate of failure to change 3 times. In addition, approximately 75 percent of the practitioners say that DevOps is essential to their companies.

Not prioritizing security

Your SaaS application is likely to gather personal information from your customers. That means that one large data breach is enough to derail your start-up. This is why you must implement security measures in the MVP stage to evaluate external and internal threats.

In the course of development, you must adhere to ISO/IEC 27001 security policies and frameworks for maintaining secure information management systems. Additionally, you should incorporate efficient methods, like the multifactor approach, dynamic password change encryption, and access control based on role. Additionally, experienced companies are able to implement the DevSecOps method to make cybersecurity integral to SaaS development.

Scalability issues

The presence of too many simultaneous users within a cloud-based environment could cause problems with performance if your infrastructure isn’t scaling enough. It is essential to choose the correct SaaS platform to ensure that your app is capable of handling the demands.

Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure offer cost-effective infrastructures for SaaS applications. These platforms let you expand resources when your MVP is upgraded with more features and the number of users you have increased. They also come with useful tools to analyze data, monitor, and load balancing.

Unrealistic budget estimates

MVP development is less expensive than full product development but it’s certainly not expensive. Many companies aren’t aware of the length of time that their project is likely to be and end up over budget even in the beginning.

Our experience suggests that it could take anywhere between the range of $25,000-$80,000 the creation an MVP for a SaaS startup. That’s only if you have a talented team of engineers, experienced management, and a well-established workflow.

The development costs are also contingent on the location of your team. If you are considering remote teams for outsourcing or outstaffing, you must research pricing as well as available talent and the rates of skill.

For instance, the top outsourcing firms outsourcing in The US, as well as those in the UK, cost between $100 and $150 per hour, whereas experienced companies in Ukraine can cost between $25 and $50 per hour. Additionally, Ukraine outperforms North America as well as the majority of European countries, based on the hacker rank as well as SkillValue ratings.

How to create a SAAS APP MVP in just 7 steps?

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An MVP can help you understand the opinions of your customers about your SaaS at an early stage, making it an ideal tool for small startups with a limited budget. However, a successful MVP is a thorough market analysis and planning. To simplify the process and avoid delays, we have divided it into steps.

1. Determine the audience for which you are targeting.

Making a solution to an issue that isn’t there is a major flaw of many SaaS companies. This is why, prior to committing to development, it is essential to develop a thorough customer profile. For this, you can consider answering these questions:

  • Who are your clients?
  • What are their hopes and fears?
  • Are their issues substantiated and substantial enough?
  • What are the devices they use?
  • What are the latest solutions available that are available?

Get as much information as possible from people who match your ideal customer. If your concept for a project isn’t a success with an audience, it might not be the right idea. However, be careful not to be too sloppy when your audience is suffering from many problems. Instead, concentrate on a particular issue and figure out the best method for solving the issue.

2. Research the market and competitors

The majority of 19 percent of startups that fail didn’t pay attention enough to their competition and didn’t realize that they missed out on their chance to succeed. You must thoroughly study the competition and market when you design your SaaS MVP. 

The size and scope of the market or is there a market for a novel solution?

3. Find the key attributes

Many companies load their SaaS MVP with non-essential features or make them too complicated. Be aware that this isn’t an end-product or prototype. Instead, focus on the essential functionality required to determine the viability of your product.

Prioritization methods can be used to determine the features to include. Make a list of features you’ll need for an MVP. Create tables that have two columns: one for initiatives that must be included as well as secondary initiatives.

Now, you can take every feature and sort it according to the following parameters:

  • Does your SaaS product function in the absence of this attribute?
  • Do your intended audience members desire it (as identified in your research stage)?
  • Does it resolve a crucial issue?
  • Does it have an important effect on your sales?
  • Does this feature make up a component of your product’s vision?

Make sure that the features that satisfy these requirements are on your list of initiatives that must be included. All other features should be put off until future versions that the software will be available.

For example instance, an MVP for a healthcare SaaS platform may require documents, clients and invoice management, and robust security to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements. In contrast, you don’t need time-tracking or customer relationship management and marketing expansion extensions right from the beginning.

4. Select a business model

Around 17% of entrepreneurs fail due to the fact that they didn’t have the right business model that could scale their company. This is the reason you need to determine your pricing model and revenue model at an early stage.

The majority of SaaS companies adhere to a subscription-based model of revenue. Recurring payments on a monthly basis help to attract more customers as they are less expensive to start. However, an increase in income typically translates into a greater lifetime value for every customer.

In terms of pricing strategies for your SaaS you can select one of these options:

  • Flat Rate — a full set of features for regular monthly payment.
  • Tiered pricing — various price points based upon several factors.
  • Pricing for users based on their usage according to the number of users added to their account.
  • Pricing based on usage — the price is determined by the data and consumption metrics of usage.
  • Variable pricing -individual payment plan and feature packages for each customer.
  • Freemium — a no-cost Version of your SaaS and additional capabilities with an upgrade to a premium version.

According to a 2022 study conducted by The Lahti University of Technology, 54 percent of SaaS companies employ tiered pricing. 27% create their own hybrid strategies based on the model of tiers.

Be aware of the demand for your product and competition when deciding the price. Don’t launch your MVP for the lowest price possible, only to raise the price after the full launch. It is better to create your business model as close as the actual one in order to understand what the customers’ reactions are.

Additionally, free offerings are a fantastic opportunity to expand your business. However, you must carefully consider the portion of your SaaS features that should be offered for free. For instance, the freemium model functions as a lead generator. However, the paid model that comes with a trial period is able to generate more than twice the conversion rate between free and paid accounts.

5. Develop a roadmap for the product

Before beginning the development, your engineer’s architects, and designers must be able to document and analyze all requirements for the project, including:

Software specifications that include both functional as well as non-functional components of the MVP (technical stack frameworks, APIs, frameworks, and subsystems).

Design specifications that include essential features, UIs applications, logic, and ways to incorporate specifications during the code phase.

A cloud assessment is conducted to find the best architecture and the infrastructure you need for your application.

Security analysis to detect, assess, and mitigate threats.

Documentation post-deployment to assist the team of maintenance and support after the launch.

Furthermore, you can plan out MVP development plans for managers, marketing departments, and customers. The most important stakeholders must understand the long-term and short-term goals as well as progress metrics and success criteria. The marketing and sales teams need plans that have prioritized channels. An external roadmap can be helpful to keep customers entertained until the project’s completion.

6. Make sure to promote your product prior to its launch

It is difficult to determine whether your MVP is to par until enough people are able to test it. That’s why you need to show your product’s capabilities to people who are influenced by it, customers, and potential investors prior to the launch.

Start by creating a landing site or video that illustrates the audience’s issues and demonstrates how you can tackle problems better than other companies. Be sure to convey your ideas as accurately and simple as possible.

Learn to  Dropbox -one of the largest file-hosting companies which laid out its idea in a short video. With minimal money, the company proved its ideas and increased the number of beta testers from 5 to 75,000.

7. Set up the MVP to include feedback

Post-launch is just as crucial for your MVP as it lets you test your assumptions regarding the market and your customers. You must establish a strict communication with customers in order to discover:

  • If your MVP is generating enough interest to warrant the large-scale development.
  • What do customers think of and like about your product?
  • If your business’s model is compatible with your solution, you’re in luck.
  • When the strategy for pricing is in place when compared with other products.

In the course of integration testing, the team must be able to identify errors and bugs. Also, you must ensure that your system can handle a large workload, system updates, and actual user scenarios efficiently.

Yes, it’s a ton of work. But don’t be concerned in the event that your MVP does not resonate with your customers it’s possible to start at the beginning or incorporate your insights into the next version of the MVP. After you’ve mastered the fundamentals of your SaaS application, you are able to begin to develop it on a full scale.

What’s the next step SAAS APP?

A million-dollar concept can turn into the equivalent of a million dollars when you hurry development without testing the idea first. Making a SaaS MVP will be the safest way to test whether your product has an audience that is real and has an efficient business model.

Today’s major media companies like Spotify, Airbnb, and many others began by launching an MVP. Their offerings were basic initially, but they enabled them to collect valuable feedback that helped transform ideas into profitable businesses.

Development may go off track even with a team. But Brisk Logic’s highly-qualified project managers and engineers will assist you in researching, planning, and outlining the main elements of your service. It is important to contact us for more information if you’re looking to build an upcoming-proof SAAS APP MVP on a scalable design.

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