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Accepting Payments as a SaaS Business Collecting the money.WHAT RECURRING PAYMENTS REQUIREStored payment credentials, held by a... Accessibility in a SaaS Product Software more people can use.WHY IT MATTERS COMMERCIALLYPublic bodies and large organisations... Accounts, Teams and User Management Who can do what.WHAT THE MODEL USUALLY NEEDSAn organisation or workspace Users belonging to it... Acquiring Customers Getting people to find and buy.WHAT CHANNELS EXISTSearch, through content and optimisation Direct... Authentication Options How people sign in.WHAT THE BASELINE ISEmail and password, with a reset flow that is secure.WHAT... Automating Business Operations Running the company efficiently.WHAT TO AUTOMATEInvoicing and receipts Payment retries Onboarding... Backups and Disaster Recovery for SaaS Surviving the worst case.WHAT MUST BE RECOVERABLEThe database Customer files Configuration... Being On Call in a Small Team Responding out of hours.WHAT IT REQUIRESSomeone reachable Alerts that reach them Access to fix... Billing and Subscription Management Charging correctly, every month.WHAT THE SYSTEM MUST HANDLEPlans and their prices Trials Upgrades... Building Against Buying Components What to write yourself.WHAT TO ALMOST ALWAYS BUYPayment processing Email sending Error tracking... Building Documentation Helping customers help themselves.WHY IT MATTERS COMMERCIALLYIt reduces support cost, shortens... Building Integrations Connecting to other systems.WHY THEY MATTERProducts that fit into existing tools are adopted;... Building Trust as a Small Provider Overcoming the size objection.WHAT BUYERS WORRY ABOUTThat you will disappear That their data is... Building a Community Around a Product Users helping each other.WHAT IT PROVIDESSupport volume reduced Feedback that arrives unprompted... Building a Landing Page Before the Product Testing before building.WHAT IT IS FOREstablishing whether anyone wants what you intend to... Building a Product Roadmap Planning without committing to dates.WHAT A ROADMAP SHOULD COMMUNICATEDirection and priority.WHAT... Building a Product Website The page that sells.WHAT IT MUST DOExplain the product quickly Establish credibility Answer... Building and Running a SaaS Business: Everything That Matters, Briefly The whole category in one page.THE MODEL RESTS ON RETENTION, NOT ON SALESEach customer is... Case Studies and Social Proof Evidence that it works.WHAT PROSPECTS WANT TO KNOWThat someone like them succeeded.WHAT A CASE... Changing Prices Raising and restructuring.WHY IT IS NECESSARYCosts rise, the product improves, and early prices... Changing the Database Without Downtime Schema changes on a live system.WHY IT IS DIFFICULTThe application and the schema must both work... Choosing a Technology Stack Deciding what to build with.WHAT TO CHOOSE ONWhat you and your team can build and maintain... Common Mistakes in SaaS Businesses What goes wrong repeatedly.BUILDING BEFORE VALIDATINGMonths spent on something nobody pays... Communicating With Customers Keeping people informed.WHAT TO COMMUNICATENew capability Changes affecting them Planned... Competing With Established Products Selling against incumbents.WHAT NOT TO DOCompete on feature count.WHYYou will lose, and features... Compliance and Certifications What larger customers demand.WHAT COMES UP IN SALESSecurity questionnaires Requests for... Controlling Costs Keeping the business efficient.WHAT THE MAIN COSTS AREPeople Infrastructure Software and tooling... Customer Success for Larger Accounts Managing accounts that matter.WHAT DIFFERS FROM SUPPORTSupport responds; success anticipates.WHAT... Customer Support for SaaS Helping people use the product.WHY IT AFFECTS REVENUE DIRECTLYSupport quality influences renewal,... Deciding What to Build Choosing the problem.WHAT TO LOOK FORA problem people already spend money or effort on A group... Deciding What to Build Next Prioritising development.WHAT COMPETES FOR ATTENTIONCustomer requests Defects Technical debt... Defining the Minimum First Version What to launch with.WHAT IT SHOULD DOSolve the core problem completely for one kind of user.WHAT... Deploying and Releasing Changes Shipping without breaking things.WHAT TO AUTOMATEBuild Tests DeploymentWHYManual deployment is... Designing a SaaS Product Interface Usability for recurring work.WHAT DIFFERS FROM OTHER SOFTWAREUsers return repeatedly, so... Distribution Through Marketplaces and Directories Being listed where buyers look.WHAT THEY PROVIDEVisibility to people already looking Credibility... Email Marketing for SaaS Messages that bring people back.WHAT TO SENDOnboarding guidance, tied to what the user has done... Expanding Revenue From Existing Customers Growing without new sales.WHY IT IS THE EFFICIENT ROUTEThey already trust you, and there is no... Finding the First Customers The hardest stage.WHY IT IS HARDYou have no reputation, no proof and no audience.WHAT DOES NOT... Funding a SaaS Business Paying for growth.WHAT THE OPTIONS ARERevenue, reinvested Other income while building Loans... Handling Customer Data as a SaaS Provider Obligations and expectations.WHAT ROLE YOU USUALLY HAVEProcessing data on behalf of your... Handling Difficult Customers When things go wrong with people.WHAT SITUATIONS ARISEUnreasonable demands Anger about a genuine... Handling Feature Requests Managing what customers ask for.WHAT TO DO WITH EVERY REQUESTRecord it, with who asked and... Handling Multiple Currencies Selling across borders.WHAT THE OPTIONS ARECharge in one currency everywhere Charge in local... Handling Poor Connectivity Building for unreliable networks.WHAT TO ASSUMEConnections drop mid-action.WHAT THAT MEANSAny... Handling Scale and Performance Growing without degrading.WHAT DEGRADES FIRSTThe database, almost always.WHAT CAUSES ITQueries... Handling a Security Breach as a Provider When customer data is exposed.WHAT TO DO FIRSTContain it: stop the access, before anything... Hiring for a SaaS Business Bringing in the first people.WHEN TO HIREWhen a specific constraint is limiting the business and... Hosting and Infrastructure for SaaS Where the product runs.WHAT THE OPTIONS AREManaged platforms, handling deployment and scaling... Importing Customer Data Getting them moved in.WHY IT MATTERS MORE THAN IT SEEMSExisting data elsewhere is the largest... Legal Foundations for a SaaS Business The paperwork underneath.WHAT AGREEMENTS YOU NEEDTerms of service A privacy notice A data... Localising a SaaS Product Supporting other languages and regions.WHAT TO SEPARATE FROM THE STARTText from code.WHY FROM THE... Logging and Observability Knowing what the system is doing.WHAT TO LOGRequests, with timing and outcome Errors, with... Making Sure Product Emails Arrive Deliverability for transactional messages.WHY IT MATTERS ACUTELYPassword resets, invitations and... Managing Cash Flow in a SaaS Business Surviving the gap.WHY IT IS DIFFICULTCosts arrive before revenue, and monthly billing spreads... Managing Environments Development, testing and production.WHAT ENVIRONMENTS ARE NEEDEDLocal development A shared... Managing Technical Debt in a SaaS Product Keeping the product changeable.WHAT IT ISConsequences of earlier decisions that make current... Managing Vendors and Dependencies Services your product relies on.WHAT TO MAINTAINA list of every service, what it does, what it... Measuring Product Usage Understanding what customers do.WHAT TO INSTRUMENTSignup and activation Reaching the core value... Mobile Access to a SaaS Product Working away from a desk.WHAT TO ESTABLISHWhether customers actually need it, and for what.WHAT... Multi-Tenant Architecture Serving many customers from one system.WHAT MULTI-TENANCY MEANSOne running system serving many... Naming a SaaS Product Choosing what to call it.WHAT A NAME MUST DOBe sayable Be spellable after hearing it Be findable... Notifications and Digests Telling users what happened.WHAT TO NOTIFY ABOUTThings requiring action Things affecting them... Offering Service Level Commitments Promising availability.WHAT A COMMITMENT STATESA target availability, and what happens if it is... Offering White-Label and Reseller Arrangements Others selling your product.WHAT WHITE-LABELLING MEANSThe product presented under the reseller's... Offering a Public API Letting others build on you.WHAT IT PROVIDESCustomers automating their own work Partners building... Onboarding New Customers The first days decide everything.WHY IT MATTERS MOSTCustomers who do not reach value early do not... Packaging and Plans Structuring what is sold.WHAT PACKAGING DECIDESWhich capabilities belong to which tier.WHAT... Positioning and Messaging Explaining what you do.WHAT POSITIONING ESTABLISHESWho it is for, what it replaces, and why it is... Preventing Abuse and Overuse Protecting the service.WHAT ABUSE LOOKS LIKEAutomated signups Trials created repeatedly Excessive... Preventing Data Leakage Between Customers The failure that ends businesses.WHY IT IS CATASTROPHICIt is a breach, it is reportable, and... Pricing a SaaS Product Deciding what to charge.WHAT TO PRICE AGAINSTThe value to the customer.WHAT NOT TO PRICE... Recovering Failed Payments The cheapest revenue you will find.WHY IT MATTERSA substantial proportion of cancellations are... Reducing Customer Churn Keeping the customers you have.WHY IT DOMINATES EVERYTHINGGrowth is new customers minus lost... Refunds and Goodwill When to give money back.WHAT TO DECIDE IN ADVANCEYour policy, written.WHY IN ADVANCEDeciding case... Reliability and Uptime Keeping the service available.WHY IT MATTERS MORE THAN IN OTHER SOFTWARECustomers pay... Removing Features and Sunsetting Capability Taking things away.WHY IT IS NECESSARYEvery feature costs testing, support, documentation and... Reporting and Dashboards for Customers Showing them their own data.WHAT CUSTOMERS WANTAnswers to specific questions they already... Responding to Competitor Moves When the market changes.WHAT HAPPENSA competitor launches something Someone undercuts your price... Running a Referral Programme Customers bringing customers.WHY IT WORKSA recommendation from a user carries weight advertising... Running a SaaS Business From Nigeria Local realities.WHAT THE ADVANTAGES ARECost base substantially below competitors abroad Software... SaaS Business: Everything That Matters, Briefly The final summary.RETENTION IS THE BUSINESSCustomers become profitable only by staying, and every... Search Visibility for a SaaS Product Being found by people looking.WHAT PEOPLE SEARCH FORTheir problem Alternatives to a product they... Search Within a Product Helping users find their own data.WHY IT MATTERS MORE AS ACCOUNTS GROWNavigation works at small... Security Expectations for SaaS Providers What customers require of you.WHAT YOU ARE HOLDINGOther organisations' data, on their behalf.WHAT... Selling a SaaS Business Exiting.WHO BUYSCompetitors Larger companies entering the market Individuals and small groups... Selling to Businesses Higher-value sales.WHAT DIFFERS FROM SELF-SERVICESeveral people involved A procurement process... Serving International Customers From Here Selling abroad.WHAT IT PROVIDESRevenue in stronger currency A far larger market Prices that... Setting Prices for the Local Market Selling software here.WHAT THE CONSTRAINT ISPurchasing power relative to international... Shutting Down Responsibly Ending a product properly.WHY IT DESERVES CARECustomers built their work on it, and their data is... Status Pages and Transparency Communicating about availability.WHAT A STATUS PAGE PROVIDESA single place customers check before... Talking to Customers The most valuable ongoing activity.WHY IT MATTERS CONTINUOUSLYAnalytics show what happened;... Tracking and Fixing Errors Finding what breaks.WHAT ERROR TRACKING PROVIDESErrors collected, grouped and counted, with... Trials and Demonstrations Letting people evaluate.WHAT A SELF-SERVICE TRIAL SUITSProducts that can be understood without... Understanding SaaS Metrics The numbers that describe the business.WHAT RECURRING REVENUE MEASURESPredictable revenue per... Using Open Source in a Commercial Product Obligations that come with free code.WHAT LICENCES REQUIREVaries substantially, and must be... Validating an Idea Before Building Testing demand cheaply.WHY IT MATTERSBuilding something nobody wants is the most expensive... What Makes a Business a SaaS Business The model, and what follows from it.WHAT IT MEANSSoftware delivered over the internet, paid for... Working as a Solo SaaS Founder Running it alone.WHAT YOU WILL DOBuild Support Sell Market Invoice Operate infrastructure...
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