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Whether it’s marketing, customer support, finance, or accounting, there are hundreds, probably thousands, of SaaS apps to choose from. This leads to organizations making some grave mistakes while selecting a SaaS application, which costs them money and time. However, you don’t have to be one of those organizations. Here are the top 4 mistakes that organizations usually make with SaaS purchases. Acquaint yourself with the pitfalls you must avoid and save your company both time and money the next time you buy a SaaS app.
4 Mistakes to Avoid When Purchasing SaaS Apps for Business
- Not Understanding the Critical Business Requirements
Several times, decision-makers at companies don’t pay attention to whether the SaaS app is satisfying the critical business requirements. They just look at the app's features on the go and make the crucial purchase decision.
However, such poor buying decisions can wreak havoc on the organization. It not only leads to loss of productivity and inability to meet critical requirements but also costs the organization money, especially if it has to start from scratch again to make things right.
How to Avoid This Mistake
Ensure that there’s a set process and a team that takes care of software selection. The team must analyze mission-critical business requirements and share the same with the vendor. This way, you can find the right SaaS app that perfectly meets organizational needs and drives value for your business.
Pro Tip: Don’t list hundreds of requirements to your SaaS vendor. If you do this, the vendor might consider only those requirements for which their SaaS app can provide value, and that’s not what you want.
Therefore, list around 25–30 requirements and ask the vendor whether their app can meet the same.
Another thing you can do is ask your SaaS vendor for a pre-purchase test. You can set up a team of IT engineers who’ll use the SaaS product to determine whether it’s meeting your business needs before making the purchase. Also, ensure that the app does only what it’s supposed to and nothing else.
- Not Comparing Different Vendors
Whenever a company thinks of buying a SaaS app, it’s often an urgent requirement. To adhere to this urgency, the decision-makers/leaders make the mistake of choosing the first vendor they find without comparing.
While this might save the company some time, it might end up paying extra or paying for features they don’t need.
How to Avoid This Mistake
You should understand that competition is both healthy and financially sound for your organization. Therefore, while searching for SaaS apps, don’t choose the first vendor you come across. Instead, list your requirements and ask for quotes from the suppliers you shortlisted.
This will help you find:
- The SaaS apps that actually meet your business requirements
- The vendor who’s offering the service at the lowest possible price
Check out: Top 6 SaaS Pricing Models and How to Choose the Right One?
- Lacking a Far-sighted Approach and Not Checking Customer Reviews
While some decision-makers do consider the needs of the day, they fail to consider the future when purchasing a SaaS application. Doing this won’t cause any problems initially but could be a hassle for the organization when it updates/upgrades and their needs change.
After all, organizations don’t switch SaaS apps every now and then. It’s a lengthy process that requires time, money, and effort. The bigger the organization, the harder the process.
What’s more, decision-makers often compare different vendors based on their prices and features but fail to check customer reviews. This usually leads them to purchase SaaS apps that promise great features but have been tested to fall short and have been poorly rated by the customers.
How to Avoid This Mistake
Always be far-sighted when purchasing SaaS apps for business. Consider your current requirements, but also try to predict what requirements you might have in the coming years. List all these requirements to your vendor and ask if their SaaS app can accommodate the same.
Doing the above will help you make an informed decision. Also, you’ll save your organization tons of money, time, and effort. After all, they won’t have to scrap the existing SaaS app and purchase a new one when the requirements change.
Furthermore, check the client testimonials, reviews, and ratings on the internet. This will help you determine how the experience of the previous clients was. If you can, get in touch with these users and enquire about their overall experience. While this may seem a tad long-winded, these personal testimonials will help you make a better decision.
- Not Using the Trial Period to the Fullest
The trial period exists for a reason. You pay a small amount to access and try the application. If you like it, you can continue with the subscription. And if you don’t, you can cancel the subscription – within the trial period – and the money you paid initially will be refunded.
Unfortunately, decision-makers at most companies don’t use the trial period to its full potential. Instead of implementing and using the product for free for 15–90 or more days, they hastily make the purchase as soon as the vendor calls. This increases the risk of SaaS apps failing in the future, costing the company a lot of money.
How to Avoid This Mistake
With a free trial, you’ve got nothing to lose. So, make sure to take the free trial and don’t upgrade until the last day of the trial. During this period, implement the SaaS app in your organization and ask your IT engineers or other employees to use it to solve your business's problems.
This will help you determine whether the SaaS app is indeed meeting your business requirements. If it is, you can upgrade the subscription and if it isn’t, consider an alternative SaaS app.
Bonus Mistake: Not Including Users in the Decision-Making Process
Ultimately, these SaaS apps are for the users. However, decision-makers often don’t include the users in the decision-making process. They make the purchase decision and want everyone to start using the SaaS app as if nothing has changed.
Unfortunately, that’s not how it works. Practicing the above leads to user dissatisfaction and eventual user non-adoption. This further hampers the organization’s productivity.
How to Avoid This Mistake
Set up a dedicated team of experts who’ll represent the people using the apps. Include them in the early purchasing process so they can understand what the new application might feel like.
Also, talk to your HR to understand how adopting a new SaaS application might change the existing job roles. This way, users will be able to extract the full potential of the application.
Pro Tip: If you were unable to include users in the early purchase process, train them. You should know that users will take time to get along with the new apps completely. So, understand the SaaS app on your own and prepare a tutorial on how each employee can use it in their favor.
Now that you know what mistakes to avoid while purchasing SaaS apps for business, you can make an informed decision.
Check Out: Metrics Every SaaS Company Should Care About
Can’t Find the SaaS App You Need? Here’s What You Can Do
If you can’t find a reliable SaaS app that can meet all your business needs, you can get your own SaaS software developed. However, hiring in-house developers would cost you a fortune and a lot of time to get your SaaS app ready to use. So, what’s the solution?
That’s where American Technology Company (ATC) comes into the picture. We are a renowned IT consulting company with offices in the USA and India. Our dedicated team for custom SaaS development can help you craft exactly what you need. So, whether you need to integrate blockchain, business intelligence, cloud, chatbot, or voice assistance, ATC can offer custom SaaS application development from scratch. Get your very own complete ready-to-implement application from us.
Conclusion
Purchasing SaaS apps for business is a critical decision requiring all your attention and focus. However, if you have the right information and avoid these apparent mistakes, you can make the right choice and ensure your company’s growth.
And if you face a problem finding the right SaaS apps for your business, you can reach out to reliable IT consultants like our team at ATC. We can help you craft a robust SaaS application that can efficiently mitigate your problems, which you may sell further as a service.
Want to know more about how we can help you? Contact us now!
