The shift in lifestyle and embracement of digital space has brought several problems parallelly. Aspiring people aim at solving problems. They establish businesses for the same.
These firms need SaaS products for their operations. Businesses these days mostly prefer SaaS applications. In 2020, almost 80% of companies said that they use at least one SaaS product.
Every process and product, nowadays, are moving towards personalization. From the content they engage with to the product experience, users look for the ‘made for them’ factor everywhere.
SaaS products are not an exception. More companies are looking for custom-made products that accommodate their different requirements. Staying connected with users and staying empathetic to their needs is the key to success. And customization is one-way.
SaaS product customization has even more benefits. Let’s explore them in detail, here in this blog.
Customization in SaaS
SaaS products are built to cater to the needs of their target users. Having said that, the target user base is made up of unique individuals and businesses. Their common needs are obviously addressed.
But, what’s the case with the distinct requirements? They remain unfulfilled.
Individuals or enterprises might find gaps in the SaaS products that are developed in a user-centric approach. So how do the SaaS companies accommodate uncommon needs?
Customization is what they can resort to.
It is the process of building products to suit an individual’s or a company’s specific needs. It can range from just tailoring the dashboard to the entire process flow. The level of customization is decided by the user.
The minor customizations come as a part of the SaaS products. And it is up to the user to make use of it or not. For example, look at the Slack app. Here are the smaller customizations you can do.
Moving to the next level, you can customize the workflow as well as use APIs to integrate specific tools.
These are part of the product itself. But there’s another case— customizing by developing your workflow through codes. Enterprises can approach SaaS product companies for end-to-end customized products.
Client-side benefits
1. Trouble-free scaling
With time, companies grow. They add new customers. As business scales, the team expands as well.
When this happens, there’s a need to scale the products they use as well. Product scaling means more pay. So, requirement gaps here are a waste of money. It can have an impact on the company’s finances.
This might be fitting for small businesses for their urgent needs. But as the businesses grow, it becomes a problem. Organizing and standardizing come into the picture.
But in the case of customization, scaling is done with the product that perfectly suits the company. Also, there are no limitations regarding the software guidelines or policies.
2. Ownership
When a product is tailor-made for customers, they have a say in everything. They get to decide the features.
As the product gets customized, customers are regularly updated about the status. They also get to see the features through the development process. And this makes it easier to address the less satisfying areas. And actually, get them tweaked!
They possess that special edition of the product. And it’s up to them to decide whether or not to share it with someone else. This gives a sense of ownership.
3. Adherence with standards
The way of organization functioning deviates from each other. The practices and standards they follow differ.
Some companies might follow traditional methods and processes. There might be cases where the companies come up with a new approach to run the operations.
Most SaaS products are built taking the latest regulatory standards into account. When these products are put to use in atypical environments, compliance issues arise.
They cannot take the pain of altering the management practices. But these companies need new product solutions as well.
In such circumstances, product customization can help to remove the barrier. Customized products can be designed to suit individual organizational standards.
4. Fit-to-use
Sometimes it’s difficult to integrate standard products with present systems. But synchronizing them together is crucial for operations in organizations.
Purchasing a SaaS product to find that it doesn’t go hand in hand with existing ones, is on whole, a disappointment.
Customized SaaS products are made considering the existing systems. Even when a problem arises in integration, the customer can ask for help. The support and development teams are always available.
5. Full-adoptability
In enterprises, the product is bought to be utilized by almost all employees. It’s an extensive process to make every one of them adopt and use the product. If the SaaS product doesn’t go along with the processes, adoption becomes difficult.
What’s the use of purchasing a product your employees cannot utilize properly?
But a customized product is made with the end-users of the organization in mind. How to fit it in their workflow is thought through during the development phase itself.
The customized product can sit with the organizational processes effortlessly. It’s naturally incorporated into those products.
This ensures easier user adoption.
Vendor-side benefits
1. Ahead of the competition
Many enterprises are looking for specific solutions to solve their problem.
The fact that they can have customized products makes them feel heard and acknowledged. Customized products help them overcome the incompatibility issues in the generalized solutions.
There go you, a sigh of relief from the user community!
This is also true for products that aren’t completely customized. Customizations that come in the form of integrations and extensions are also valued. When users have the option to make changes according to their needs, it gives them a sense of freedom.
Having customization options in your SaaS product makes it relevant to your users. This brings a feeling of being connected to your business. That’s how the process of becoming a customer begins.
Providing customizable solutions makes you stand out in the crowd. Customization gives you an advantage over your competition.
2. Increased Customer Lifetime value
Consider the following scenario.
You are a SaaS business owner. An enterprise customer approaches you for customization in your product. Do you dive straight away into building it for them? No. That’s not how it works.
You need to sit with them and listen to their specific needs. Analyzing the possibilities is the next step. You present your ideas to them. If they are satisfied you go for further negotiations. Only after this long process, you can start with the development process.
Now imagine this from the customer perspective.
They have to go through a lot. Explaining the needs, finding a business that understands the requirements is one part. Then there is getting a satisfactory solution and fitting it within their budget. It’s as tiring as finding water in the desert.
Now, is there a possibility for them to switch to other vendors? It’s obvious that they will not. Here’s why,
- You make the customized solutions. This means you and your team are the ones who know the flow and minute details very well.
- Finding a satisfying solution is challenging and stressful for customers.
With customization, you gain customers whose lifetime value is high.
3. Customer satisfaction
Any business that doesn’t care about customer satisfaction is fighting a losing battle.
To create such a product, understanding the users is crucial. Now think of product customization. Customers are directly involved here. That’s like hitting the jackpot and here’s why.
- The customers approach you with their specific ‘list of needs’. It reduces the confusion on your side. You have clearly defined requirements.
- This process involves the clients. Especially if it’s end-to-end customization. You always have them to receive feedback and tweak accordingly.
- Regular interactions with customers are treasure vaults for businesses. Even though you deal with specific needs, you gain useful insights about your customer base.
All of these ensure that you deliver the right product that solves their problem efficiently.
The result is happy, satisfied customers. What more does a business need? If you say profit, think what brings you that.
Here’s a fact— Satisfied customers are more likely to buy other offerings from you. Now you know the answer!
4. Customer loyalty
Customization means you provide support as long as they use the product. It ensures that you know them well. And it results in increased trust.
Customization shows that the product is flexible enough to address their specific needs. It makes your customers feel understood.
When you are relevant and reliable, you gain loyal customers. When you can give them all, why would they think of your competitors? Loyal customers are valuable. It’s not just because they stay with your business, but because they bring in new customers as well.
They turn out to be the advocates of your business. Loyal customers know your value so they convey it to others and post it on social media. And, this word-of-mouth marketing is a great advantage to your business. In this end-user era, are there any marketing efforts that are more effective than this?
It’s the cheapest way of customer acquisition as you there’s no need to spend a penny here. Hence, customizations help your business grow and flourish.
Endnote
The digital product space is growing and new businesses are blooming. Product customization is a boon in today’s world.
But too much customization might affect your product’s core functionality. You should be conscious that customization shouldn’t complicate the processes and workflows.
This is why you should know where to draw the line. There are many digital product agencies to help you with this decision as well as building it for you.
When you leave the choice to the customers, you help them out of rigidity. You open doors to possibilities. Customization can empower your users and in turn your business. Embrace it!
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