What should I do if I have built a product without asking users what they want?
Hello, I building a Saas product, https://proagentboard.com . Is an web app which helps you to create proposals, invoices, get paid online and manage your customers. I worked at this product 10 month, and a month ago i launched. I posted on reddit, facebook, forums, everywhere … etc.
The common problem is that people enter, but do not register. I started advertising on Facebook, but here people don't even get to the site. And those who arrive, leave quickly. Because users do not register, I do not even know what I could improve inside the application.
I mention that I am new to the Saas world. Can anyone give me some advice on how I can stimulate at least a little attention of users? I at least want to understand if the product I created is useful for someone.
I'm not an expert on the field but I have some thoughts worth sharing.
Invoicing is difficult to sale. I'd think that most companies are already using another platform so maybe you can try to focus on how easy it is to migrate to your product and the benefits they'll have. Also, being a B2B you should try to talk with the procurement/sales department of the companies as those are your target audience.
Hope that helps ✌️
This is one approach, if you haven't tried it yet:
- Find a similar app/software/service to your product, which has already been on the market
- Find out who uses that app/software/service
- Ask those people what's their biggest problem in using it
- Find out how your product can solve that problem
- Pitch your product to them as a viable alternative
Another idea you can try is:
- call/email/talk to small businesses in your city, and see if they're willing to try your product for X days at no cost
- for the ones that try out your product, get them to write a review (hint: use Testimonial) and build a Wall of Love that you include on your site
I'd give these a try, especially if online methods don't seem to be working.
Personally, invoice systems are a dime a dozen. The one way you could compete is with the pricing, I personally hate software with the pay-per-user model as it is hard for a small business to afford at the start. I think the product would be appealing if you made it free for a single user, a flat monthly payment for up to 5 users, and then go to per-user billing after that. Just my 2 cents :)
@keoir Ok, thanks for reply. I will review the prices.
But, the main feature of my product is not Invoices, but Proposals. Invoices System, i did only to complete the product.
The first step towards fixing this is admitting that there's a problem, so congrats on that. So many founders I see are doing this and not realising that this a problem.
You've got a service that every freelancer needs, invoicing and payments. If I was in your shoes and wanted to find out more, I'd be going to small business Facebook groups and asking the questions there.
Alternatively, reach out to some freelancers on Twitter. People love giving feedback and helping others (There's a psychology behind this and people wanting to be felt as a source of knowledge, but that's for another day)
What do you struggle with most when doing research?
@Mike_Miner Thank you for the advice. The biggest struggle when doing research is to identify the right group of users. I have the impression that I always go the wrong way.
I was sitting and thinking, Clubhouse, a platform that doesn't easily get an account (by invitation only) managed to have such a popularity. What were their promotion channels, what methods did they use to make so many users want to register? Just for podcast? Seriously … I'm just curious.
@lao9s The easiest way to find a target market, is by speaking to everyone. Speak to 50-100 people, work out who likes your product, who it suites and their background.
I get where you've come from, I love developing things and hated the market research side (until I learned to love it!). If your product is built, you spend at least as much time doing market research as you spend developing new bits or iterating. Adding another feature will rarely get you a customer, but a cold email/tweet/call might!
Clubhouse is an interesting one, they've grown because they are invite-only. They launched at a perfect time and saw rapid growth during the pandemic, as people need to socialise. Clubhouse is the exception and the rule, so I wouldn't try and compare to them!
@Mike_Miner I will take in account all what you said. Thank you for your time.
At this stage in your journey, you can’t rely on people to sign up on their own. It’s not an issue of anything being wrong with the product, it’s an issue of potential users not knowing why they should sign up.
This is where you have to get out there and talk to people, one at a time. Who is your target user? Where do they hang out online? How will you get in contact with them? What problems of theirs is ProAgentBoard solving? These questions are all very important.
This is the point at which each early user, you’re going to have to acquire manually. Start with one, then 5, then 10. Get the product in front of them, then get feedback and iterate. Momentum is a hell of a thing.
Good luck!
@rcharpentier thank you for the advice. I think, I will start with one, then 5…etc.
What prompted you to build it? You don't necessarily need to ask people what they want (although it's better) if you know the problem from years of experiencing it yourself.
@dagorenouf I always sent proposals, invoices to our clients. I wanted an software which I can to compose proposal price from sections price, and from different price types(fixed/hourly). At that time, i didn't found an software like I want. So 2 years ago i developed internal app for me. After that I decided to make a product Saas.
Hi, i had checked your application. Usually in most established b2b there will be a CRM and ERP for managing all sort of proposals, invoicing, and payment. My Suggestion you can pivot it for freelancers and small agencies and target them while promoting the platform. That will be more promising prospects for this.
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