How SaaS Vendors Can Redfine Implementation And Change The Game

Grazed from FutureState. Author: Shannon Adkins.

Software as a Service (SaaS) is revolutionizing the software industry. Roughly a decade after the first SaaS suites emerged, even giants like Oracle, SAP and Microsoft are jumping on this new paradigm. SaaS is also changing the way software vendors interact with end users. When subscriptions are everything, success depends more on adoption and retention — and less on acquisition.

My colleagues and I work with both SaaS vendors and end users on a daily basis and can say from firsthand experience that inactive users quickly become lost customers. That’s a scary prospect, but it also represents the potential in the SaaS market that’s waiting to be unlocked. First, vendors will have to redefine implementation. The old “sell, train, support” model just isn’t working. What’s needed is a more proactive approach that treats clients like partners, focuses on adoption and includes them in the development process…

Here are five ways we think SaaS vendors can build relationships that last and tap into their full potential:

1. Start measuring success by adoption, not acquisition. Usage and behavior change are the new metrics for success — and they are critical to long-term retention and profitability. Vendors are increasingly recognizing the importance of playing a role in driving the adoption of the software and the new behaviors that truly transform the business, not just supporting implementation. In our estimation, that will soon be the cornerstone of every SaaS business model…

Read more from the source @ http://www.futurestate.com/uncategorized/saas-implementation-best-practices/