David Cummings on Startups

Must-Have vs Nice-to-Have SaaS Products

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David Cummings

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One of the biggest considerations in the early days of a new Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) product is the must-have vs nice-to-have question. A must-have product fundamentally alters the way work gets done — either changing existing processes to be 10x better or unlocking new value that wasn’t previously achievable — and once used, companies will never go back. A nice-to-have product provides some value — perhaps being twice as good as doing it by hand or with spreadsheets — yet isn’t valuable enough to compel a critical mass of adopters, and won’t be successful.

Here are a few thoughts on must-have vs nice-to-have SaaS products:

  • Every spreadsheet is another SaaS app, but every SaaS app isn’t a must-have
  • Apps that unequivocally help companies make more money, like marketing automation, are a must-have
  • Apps that improve productivity must be 10x better than the manual process, not 2x, which results in a nice-to-have
  • Note: this is for products in new categories and greenfield opportunities, not new products in existing categories

As an entrepreneur, the next time you evaluate an opportunity, consider the must-have vs nice-to-have question — it’s a big one.

What else? What are some more thoughts on must-have vs nice-to-have SaaS products?

Comments

One response to “Must-Have vs Nice-to-Have SaaS Products”

  1. shklnrj Avatar
    shklnrj

    As a listener in an event, I heard that if you build something for customers, it can fall into following four categories-

    1- It increases the business, revenue, profits for your client and your service costs less than that increase your product brings and is pretty self-evident
    2- It improves the experience of the customers of business that you are service by a good margin.
    3- Improves branding for the business.
    4- helps the brand in following the regulatory rules without efforts and with clarity.

    I thought that was pretty good listing. Which ones do you think are category wise essential SAAS products, for branding to sales to customer touch point to regulatory needs and which ones are not?

    Reply

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