{"id":2770,"date":"2021-11-19T19:53:52","date_gmt":"2021-11-19T14:23:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.crayond.com\/blog\/?p=2770"},"modified":"2023-03-23T18:06:39","modified_gmt":"2023-03-23T12:36:39","slug":"saas-product-experience","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.crayond.com\/blog\/saas-product-experience\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Is Your SaaS Product Experience So Crucial? A Comprehensive Guide"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The product companies have one magic potion that makes or breaks the business. Surprisingly, it is common for all\u2014  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Product. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In today\u2019s market dynamics, everything revolves around the product. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It has become the crux of purchase decisions. You have to be sure to make everything about the product indubitable. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

SaaS products are baked in with two things\u2014 the features and the experience. The product experience goes into every nook and corner of the features. Embedded throughout, it has a significant effect on making your product succeed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Well, if you ask, \u2018Have you forgotten the users\/customers?\u2019 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

No, if the customer is the king, it\u2019s the product that rules their mind. The customer and the product are two pieces of a puzzle. All you have to do is make them fit together perfectly! In shaping your products to be user-fit, product experience plays a huge part. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aboard and join us in the journey to understand product experience elaborately. And while we drop you off, you would have started figuring out the product experience you wish to deliver.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is the SaaS product experience?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Product experience is how your users feel inside the product. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is the part of the customer journey that\u2019s contained inside the product. Your product experience spans the entirety of the users\u2019 stay inside the product\u2014  right from the onboarding to the last action performed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Product experience (PX)  is defined through the interactions they have with your product. These interactions trigger thoughts, emotions, and motives. Interactions include a click, a swipe, or any action they carry out within. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Perceptions of the product are formed based on product experience. Every interaction stimulates a feeling, and they add up to build an opinion. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s an explanation in simple terms: When people enter a new room, they judge it through smell, look, touch, and encounters. Your product is the room here. Expect that most forms of senses are ruled out. It\u2019s mostly touch and cognition that apply here. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s where the challenge of digital SaaS products lies. You got to elicit emotions with fewer factors in hand. On the whole, a product experience should be aimed at making the customer journey better. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Product experience (PX) vs Customer Experience (CX) vs User experience (UX)<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Customer experience is the larger circle, where the UX and PX are a part of it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Customer experience begins the moment a user gets introduced to the product and continues even after their churn. Product and User experience are limited to their time inside the product alone. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While UX is concerned mainly with a specific interaction and resulting usability perceptions, product experience goes beyond that. Though it is bound to interactions, product experience focuses on the customer journey. It is more about how the users advance in the customer journey, inside the product, through prompted emotions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

UX focuses on the betterment of interactions, while PX is concerned about the improvement of the journey. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why is Product experience a crucial factor present day?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The short answer will be Product-led growth. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Users don\u2019t buy a product right away. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But, their progression toward a purchase has changed a lot over the years. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Usually, they\u2019d start with research and then see recommendations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just like how it is always better to eat from a restaurant to know if their menu is good, what really cultivates trust in users is seeing and experiencing the product themselves. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hence, you can see a major shift from traditional timelines in the customer acquisition process <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Level 1: Acquisition<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Customer acquisition is no more an event that occurs outside the product. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Among other information sources used by B2B tech customers, product demos account for 58%<\/a>. Here\u2019s a comparison of traditional and new customer acquisition processes. The in-product domain has extended. Most of the decisions occur, inside the product, understanding the experience. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"customer<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

For people exploring your product, a bad product experience is an instant turn-off. In making the prospect a user, the product experience is one of the significant factors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Level 2: Retention<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Acquiring users is good. But it doesn\u2019t guarantee you a forever with them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Purchase cannot prison them like olden days. Remember the SaaS subscription models? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The real hook is your product value. And, product experience is one of the elements that bring in value realizations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It creates a good impact on users\u2019 minds. A positive experience is taken as a value, indeed, even though it\u2019s only an enhancer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Level 3: Advocacy<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Product experience’s magic is not constrained to acquisition and retention. It can turn your users into loyal customers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The accumulation of good product experience in every instance makes them trust your product. It’s reflected in the Customer Lifetime Value. They aren\u2019t idle when they stay for a  long time \u2060\u2014 they bring in new customers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Well, they talk about it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 \u201c74% <\/a>of consumers say that word of mouth is a key influencer in decisions to buy\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It improves the Net Promoter Score<\/a> too. It is a complete circle, beginning from purchase to ending with purchase recommendations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Product experience responsibilities<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Product experience isn\u2019t just confined to the product development teams. They are undeniably a crucial part. However, more people are to be involved as well. Because it isn\u2019t just about the features. PX influences value perceptions. When the picture is big, the range of teams must be too!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are how the different teams contribute to being a part of the product experience. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Product team<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The product team is responsible for product strategy and vision. They are the main creators of the experience. Their work on strategy, development, and management must enable them to fabricate a better experience. Their role is to take care of the experience to foster adoption and user retention. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Support team<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

While user interviews are a part of the product team\u2019s life, the support team breathes it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, at times product teams might be caught with assumptions about users. And the customer support is just the opposite. They are filled with facts. Their input is significant in the product experience team. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s the customer support team that\u2019s usually exposed to user emotions the whole time. Now, who\u2019s the master?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sales team<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sales as well is another customer-facing team. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The sales team is generally aware of what persuades the customers to convert. They have the idea of customers thinking at different levels. Imagine their insights going into the product experience. Definitely a powerful addition. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marketing team<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marketing teams are well informed about the user\u2019s responses and triggers. They play a vital role in bringing the product to light. The team sets the tone for product experience through content and messaging. Their campaigns are where the pre-product experience begins. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Product<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Elements of your SaaS product experience <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It all comes down to this: creating a good product experience for your SaaS products. The experience is shaped alongside product design. However, you need a few more elements that are necessary to maintain and enhance it. They contribute to increasing the value through regular optimizations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Product<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Feedback<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Users\u2019 minds and creators\u2019 minds are entirely different from each other. Creators\u2019 thoughts are to be in line with the users\u2019 needs. And feedback is where they meet. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Feedbacks are the actual shaping hands that perfect your product. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Make regular feedback a part of your development process. Even after development, when your product is in users’ hands, you never stop improving it and elevating it. So, your doors must always be open to feedback. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s significant that you actually process the feedback, drive the insights and apply it in the process further. Feedbacks can be received through surveys and as inputs from customer-facing teams. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Products Analytics <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Asking is one thing. Observing is another. Your observations can unveil insights that might be missing in your user feedback. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Analytics is the best form of observation. It\u2019s like a live commentary of your product performance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And product analytics provides you with a powerful tool\u2014 data. The best part is\u2014 it processes insights for you! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Analytics tools can reveal both the good and bad aspects of your products like, what’s performing well and what isn\u2019t. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can make decisions easier as data backs them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

All you have to do is initiate actions to improve the bad ones\u2026.well, good ones as well! Constant improvement is a necessity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Engagement<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

While the other two elements are associated with improvements and tweaking, engagement is something you build into the experience. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Well, if they don\u2019t engage, what will they experience? But what\u2019s getting discussed here is the product being engaging enough. That\u2019s when it levels up the experience. If the engagement is poor, it will be termed boring. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Better the engagement, better the experience!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Engagement comes only with proper product understanding. Understanding means \u2060\u2014 easy to use, explore, and intuitive. And this understanding can be enhanced by in-app guides and notifications. Loop in customer success teams if your functionalities are complex for the users to figure out at first.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Factors influencing SaaS product experience<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Many things make up the product experience. And many influences it. To ensure a good product experience, you have to know the factors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n