10 Key Drivers of a Successful SaaS Startup you should know

A Successful SaaS startup is quite rare.

Not to mention, this has introduced fear promising entrepreneurs to start a successful SaaS startup enterprise. But before digging deep into this, let’s clear the concept of SaaS, specifically for a better understanding.

Did you know?

By 2021, more than 73% of businesses will be using mostly SaaS solutions

Yes. That’s true. But what is SaaS?

To begin with, Software as a Service (SaaS) is a cloud-based operation. In detail, it means rather than downloading the software on your system, you use it through the Internet browser.

In light of this, to download, run, and update the software, generally, PC, desktop, or business network is used. So, in a word, the software application could range anything from office software to unified communications.

To know more about SaaS, read on.

Is Successful SaaS Startups a Myth, or a Reality?

The most compelling evidence about SaaS success can be summarized with its growth chart of the last few years. In contrast to others, the SaaS industry has witnessed significant growth in the past few years.

Showing no signs of slowing down, SaaS organizations are growing at a rapid pace. Furthermore, such companies are expanding their teams on an average of 56% every year.

Great isn’t it? But that’s not all.

Additionally, the initial public offerings (IPOs) of SaaS have almost doubled in the last 12 years. Hence, the industry is estimated to grow to a huge $75 billion every year sector-wise.

Here is an overview of the public demand of SaaS in comparison to Infrastructure and Platform as a service:

Source: Gartner

In the meantime, some companies find it very difficult to become successful SaaS startups. But why so?

An important point often overlooked here is that with rapid growth, there comes a possibility of market saturation. As a result, the top-performing organizations must always be ready to measure their growth. Only this way they can keep up with the rising number of competitors.

For this purpose, metrics are used.

What is Metrics? Why it is so significant for startups?

In order to get ahead with your SaaS, it is important to understand metrics in detail.

For one thing, Metrics are vital because they point out the importance of numbers. After that, your team members will try to improve those numbers. Consequently, this will help your company to become a successful SaaS startup.

By and large, around 85% of SaaS startups have invested in SaaS significantly, as per market reports. Hence, if you do not wish to fall under the remaining 15%, understand the importance of metrics first.

But to make the most of SaaS options, it is vital to know the key drivers for a successful union.

So. Read on

How ZapOne determines the Key Drivers of a Successful SaaS startup?

Generally speaking, starting a successful SaaS startup is quite difficult. At least the facts stated above clarify that.

With more than 92% of failure rates in SaaS startups, for the CEOs startups are difficult to sustain. Hence, it is significant to have a detailed understanding of the key stages of a startup life cycle.

Here are the key drivers to build a successful SaaS startup with no blockages:

The Right Product Fit

It goes without saying that a strong product fit is crucial to success.

To explain this, experts say that the best way to find the product fit is very easy. All you need to do is just get in front of the customers and check your claims. In brief, validate before you begin.

Above all, it will help to understand the problems of your customers and the type of the solution required. Additionally, it will also help you to understand the value you can offer by solving the problem.

Thus, you need to clarify why your product/solution is a must-have for business.

Take control of your business leads

Given that this is one of the most vital problems of a SaaS startup, it needs to be fixed immediately. In the long run, it is significant to drive a consistent flow of leads.

In order to make this work, you need to understand what business model works best for your company.

Usually, experts suggest that your business model should be based on your price point. Consequently, it will help you to drive leads to your website and also boost outbound lead generation.

Ensure the sales funnel is not leaking

In all honesty, there is no point in moving forward with lead generation if your sales funnel is not strong. Thus, it is vital to repair the areas where the decline is more, prior to scaling the lead procurement method.

Regardless of whether your business is an inbound or an outbound sales model, measuring the sales funnel metrics is vital. After all, you cannot improve your business if the sales funnel is leaking.

Make sure the Customer Acquisition Cost is Reasonable

Customer Acquisition Cost, in the first place, is a significant factor in a SaaS startup. Furthermore, it is related to Customer Lifetime Value.

In other words, it determines the price of obtaining a real paying customer. Actually, businesses need to measure the amount spent on obtaining every customer. To clarify, it is not possible to attain sustainable growth if the cost of marketing is higher than customer retention.

Track productivity on an average

Generally speaking, productivity affects revenue. In fact, many things can turn productivity difficult.

Actually, it is vital to determine the factors that affect productivity across the sales cycle. In order to prevent such factors affect the conversion rate, it is important.

Thus it is mandatory to determine and diagnose the factors and spread the best practices with the sales team.

Lifetime Value

In simple words, it is the measure of the average revenue a customer generates in his entire life. In addition to it, Lifetime Value also helps to determine many significant business decisions. So, In view of that, such decisions include marketing budget, profitability, forecasting, resources, etc.

To clarify,

Lifetime Value = Average Contract Value x Gross Margin

Tracking the Customer Churn Rate

By all means, it is very important to understand the reasons why certain customers have left you.

For a successful SaaS startup, understanding the customer churn reason is directly related to its existence. If a startup fails to understand why customers are leaving them, then sustaining the business is impossible.