How to Build a SaaS Product Development Strategy

The challenge of getting the first 100 customers is something that every startup must face. They don't know if the products they offer are worth it until they start making profits.

The first group of customers is often more difficult to acquire than the later groups. There is no data in the first place. No customer segment has a successful product. Also, you don't know the characteristics of your proper customer who will be with you in the long run.

With the same context in mind, let's look at some ways to generate leads and win the first 100 customers in your SaaS business.

# 1 Start using the network

The best way to know if your product is worth buying for your customers is through your existing network. First, you need to create a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) and send it over the network for a trial. If you're building a product for a particular niche, you probably know a lot of people in that area.

Please send an MVP and collect your first feedback. Then work on the customer's feedback before the final product launch. It is likely that the first set of clients is from the same network. Once you got them, it's time to start looking for more clients.

# 2 Establish a presence on social media

Recently, social media has become an important factor for customers to judge the credibility of a company. You need to create social media pages on all platforms such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Quora and start to win fans. Acquiring these fans is a prelude to acquiring real customers.

In addition to creating social media identities, you can also use these accounts to conduct market research. For example, you need to join a LinkedIn group that most potential customers are already members of.

# 3 Collect customer data

With tools like Survey Monkey, you can collect important data such as company names and email addresses through a simple survey. Your research is as easy as asking if you need a product to tackle the challenges they are currently facing. If you come to the right place, they will not hesitate to answer yes while sharing their details.

But before submitting a survey, the most important point is to know the personality of the customer. These personalities help you create a list of real clients through your social media profile. Creating an ideal client profile is a good exercise for that. Once all the necessary preparations are complete, conduct an investigation through any or all of the communication channels.

# 4 Use Affiliate Marketing

The best way to increase your audience's credibility and trust is to "borrow" your audience from other marketers. There are many technology magazines and companies that promote technology-related products and services. You can reach their audience through affiliate marketing. They can show your product to a wide audience that they have created themselves. This allows you to reach a wide audience instantly and, in return, pay these affiliate marketers a percentage of your conversions.

One of the best examples of affiliate marketing is the Shopify affiliate program. They partner with several marketers and give them a $ 58 fee per conversion. We also provide online support to educate our partners on products that can help translate traffic.

# 5 Leverage outreach efforts

Content marketing is one of the most effective internal marketing strategies companies have recently followed. You can run your own blog on the topics most relevant to your niche. However, in addition to creating your blog in-house, you can also access other websites for guest posts. In this way, you can use the attractions created in those places for your own benefit. Maintain achievable but consistent goals for guest posts.

It takes months of effort and lots of guest posts over a period of time to start getting the first 100 customers. You can develop good relationships with site owners and use them later for affiliate marketing or simply to promote your blog through email marketing. Content marketing is a strategy that has helped major companies such as HubSpot and KISSmetrics.