It’s no secret that the SaaS space is booming. But with so many industries to choose from, how do you know which one is the right fit for your product?
It’s not always easy to decide, but there are a few factors you can consider to narrow down your options. The most important thing is to think about what you’re trying to achieve with your product. Are you looking to solve a specific problem or make life easier for your customers? Once you have a better idea of your goals, you can start thinking about which industry your product would be the best fit for.
This article will explore a few things to keep in mind when choosing an industry for SaaS development. It will also provide a few examples of industries that are ripe for disruption with SaaS solutions.
Why the industry you choose matters
For one thing, certain business areas are more willing to spend money on new technology than others. Currently, the most technologically oriented industries are software (of course), tech hosting, the financial sector, retail, and e-commerce. Transportation, healthcare, consumer goods, and industrial products are slightly behind but still spend significantly on IT and improve their services with emerging technologies.
Certain industries are also more likely to be early adopters of new technology. So, if you’re selling a cutting-edge product, you’ll want to find an area that’s willing to take a chance on new products and services. For example, if you are creating BPA software you may want to focus on banks, logistics firms, and industrial enterprises. If you develop a marketing tool, your target audience might be retailers and service providers. And if you build a video conference tool, you may reach educational institutions, medical practice organizations, and international enterprises.
Finally, you’ll want to consider the potential size of the market in each industry. Some industries are simply larger than others, which means there’s more potential for growth.
How to research SaaS industry
It can be tough to know which industry your SaaS product should be in. After all, you don’t want to limit yourself unnecessarily, but you also don’t want to waste time and money building something that no one wants to buy.
The best way to figure out if an industry is a good fit for your SaaS product is to do some research. First, ask yourself some basic questions about the industry:
- What are the big trends?
- What are the pain points?
- What are the challenges people in this industry face?
Then, take a look at your product and see how it compares. Can you solve any of the pain points or challenges in this industry? Does your product cater to the trends in this industry?
For example, if you are going to come up with an EdTech product, your industry research may look as follows:
The more you know about your product and the industry, the easier it will be to make an informed decision.
How to test your SaaS product in multiple industries
It can be difficult to know when your SaaS product is ready for market. You want to make sure you’re catering to the right industry, but you don’t want to limit your product’s potential by focusing on a single market too early. So how do you test your product without limiting your potential?
One strategy is to test your product in multiple industries. This will help you understand how your product performs in different settings and identify any potential issues before they become a problem. It also allows you to gauge customer interest in your product and determine which industries are most receptive to your offering.
Of course, this approach requires some careful planning. You need to make sure your product is versatile enough to be adapted to different industries, and you need to target the right industries with your marketing efforts.
Imagine, for example, that you develop office management software. This would include everything from dealing with employees to tasks management to financial reporting. Such a program can be used across various industries. Hospitals, shops, and manufacturers can adopt it to enhance business processes and translate workflow into digital format.
However, in the process of working with your program, companies may notice shortcomings and ask you to implement extra functions.
For example, clinics may need the ability to book appointments with doctors online. Retailers may want to add warehouse management functionality. And industrial companies may conclude they cannot do without shipping tracking.
When you collect feedback from different industries, you will understand where your product gets the best match. You will also be able to assess the customers demand and compare the costs required to improve the product in the context of different business fields.
Having a complete picture of your product entry into the market, you can choose the most promising industry for your SaaS.
Best industries for SaaS startup
There are a lot of factors to consider when starting a SaaS startup. However, choosing the right business niche is already half the success. A recent study found that there are 21 industries that benefit the most from using cloud and SaaS.
Such products as Slack, Zoom, HubSpot, Freshworks, Salesforce, Xero, and others have already taken their place in promising business niches for SaaS. If you want to repeat their success, don’t waste your time and start developing your own SaaS product now.
Conclusion
The SaaS industry is constantly evolving, and it’s important to stay ahead of the curve by choosing the right industry for your startup.
You need to think about your customer and what they need. What are their problems and how can your SaaS product help them solve them?
You also need to think about your target market. Who are you selling to? What’s their budget? What’s their pain point?
Once you have the first version of your product developed, you can test it in multiple industries. By doing so, you’ll gain valuable insights into what works and what doesn’t, and you’ll be able to make the necessary adjustments to ensure that your product is successful in the ever-changing world of SaaS.
At Softensy, we have 6+ years of experience in developing SaaS products for the financial sector, education, real estate, business intelligence, logistics, and more. If you need qualified help from our marketing team, software development specialists, or business analytics experts, don’t hesitate to get in touch.
This article was originally published at Softensy
