Build SaaS for people - A user interface is like a joke...

"A user interface is like a joke. If you have to explain it, it's not that good"
 Martin LeBlanc, Founder IconFinder

Designed for the user - Crail Pottery

You build SaaS products for people not companies. You sell to people not companies. SaaS for the enterprise is only different because you have a lot of people. All with the same logo on their business card. You get one large sale for a lot of yesses. Selling to SME is one small sale for each yes.
 
One of the health problems my wife has faced is with her kidneys. We are very lucky that she has had excellent treatment. In the end a kidney transplant has allowed her a full recovery.
 
She is still under the watchful eye of the renal unit at our local hospital. This gives her access to something called PatientView. It allows her to look at results of blood tests and some other specialist medical information. An example of digital health in action.
 
My wife has been using the product for several years so is familiar with how it works. But on at least two occasions in the past year she has been asked for help by doctors or pharmacists. They don't understand the system or the data. Think about that. A software product designed for patients that is not even intuitive for medical professionals.
 
Its a common problem. A recent survey by Digital Health focused on the IT priorities for the NHS. There was a sting in the tail. On social media one tweet called out the elephant in the room “most clinical systems in clinical settings are unusable by clinicians”.
 
The same disease afflicts B2B SaaS and software of all kinds. Even some of the best are vulnerable. I find Xero simple to use but I am a qualified accountant. I always have a suspicion that the layman does not have things so easy. 
 
There is not shortage of advice on good UX design. Good people are hard to find but not that hard. The root cause is much more basic. Too much software is designed for companies not people.

"You want to deliver to the world what you would buy at the other end."
Charlie Munger

Companies don’t use software, people do. When you sell a thousand licences to a large enterprise you do not gain one user. You gain 1,000 users with one sale. The success of your software will depend engaging each of those users and helping them succeed.
 
Lincoln Murphy’s recent article on customer success identified the key question. What has to happen for your customer to be successful? And followed on with the specifics:

• What do they need to do in your product? 
• What do they need to do outside of your product? 
• What does your product need to do for them behind the scenes? 
• What do you need to do for them?

 
They and them in these questions mean people. The leaders, managers and workers in your customers that use your product. 

Sell it to the people

The same principle applies to sales in spades. Enterprise sales leaders. Enterprise sales teams. How to move up to selling to the enterprise. And so on. Nope. You are selling to people.
 
An enterprise is a way of organising a large group of people in a combined economic unit. To some extent there will a common purpose and goals. That varies quite a bit from company to company in practice.
 
In every case though its still a group of people. To sell 1,000 SMB customers you might need to convince 100 people. You might only talk to 10 of them and the rest would be self serve. The numbers for selling 1,000 licence enterprise SaaS deal are much the same. Talk to around 10 people. Help them convince their teams, bosses etc so maybe 100 people in the loop. 
 
There are two differences. In the enterprise deal, everyone has the same logo on their business card. The enterprise deal is one big decision rather than 100 small decisions.
 
But that decision is the result of a complex set of interactions. Every user, every influencer, every buyer has their own individual needs. Your SaaS needs to serve many people. Be careful it doesn’t become a hybrid monster along the way. 

A change is gonna come

And we come back to the key to all business success. Change. You can’t solve a real world problem unless something changes. Lincoln Murphy has it dead right. Customer success only happens if the customer changes. Nir Eyal is on the same band wagon. A hook is mechanism for change.
 
The value in your SaaS is in change. Change in any business of any size happens because folk change what they do. Make different decisions. Follow different processes. Talk a different talk and walk a different walk.

The Chairman's View

This is simple. Focus everything you do on the individuals who will buy and use your SaaS. Help them achieve their goals. Make their lives easier. Deliver the change through the people.