SaaS product design is the process of creating user-friendly software/applications that give customers a solid reason to keep returning.
Thomas Watson, Jnr, a retired IBM CEO rightly pointed out; “good design is good business”.
That’s to say if you don’t have a good design for your product, I’m sorry to say, you may have killed your SaaS product even before its launch date.
From my research, I realised that top companies invest heavily in product design. They spare no cost to understanding what makes their target market tick – no assumptions, 100% verified data. Then they create a product design in line with their findings; and voila!
As we proceed, I’ll share my unique perspective on how to build a SaaS product design that will engage and retain customers, with an appealing ROI.
Build a Dream Life for Your SaaS Customers – Know Your Customers
You’ve heard it before: “Know your customers” – that’s the only way you can build a dream SaaS product design for them.
This reminds me of when I was a teenager, I disagreed with my parents a lot, mostly because I didn’t know any better. The older I get, the more that I see… (yeah yeah) that my parents knew better. All they did was “try” to build a dream life for me because they knew me (as their child) and what was best for me in anticipation of a dream future.
When it comes to business, you (the founder) are the “parent”, your product is your “parenting effort”, and your customers are your “kids”. You need to spend quality time and resources knowing your customers. That way, you can create a product design that can connect with them at a deeper level, making their lives easier.
Victor Papanek, designer, educator, and author, said: “The only important thing about design is how it relates to people.”
Get the Flow Before the Aesthetics.
Do you know TikTok? Silly question, right? Who doesn’t?
Well, TikTok has undoubtedly ranked as one of the most downloaded apps in the whole world for four years and counting. Do you know why? Because it has a functional interface – full-screen videos, uncluttered grid, and seamless navigation – the design is just perfect.
Do not sacrifice a perfect design on the altar of aesthetics. Your focus should be on designing a functional product as opposed to a visually appealing one.
Former CEO of Apple, Steve Jobs, once said: “Most people make the mistake of thinking design is what it looks like. People think it’s this veneer – that the designers are handed this box and told, ‘Make it look good!’ That’s not what we think it is. It’s not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.”
Unique Tips on How Not to Kill Your SaaS Product with a Terrible SaaS Product Design
Here are some unique tips that can help you build an irresistible product design.
If you can’t recognise the problem, from a peculiar perspective (if I may add), then you have no business creating a product design. This also applies to already existing products – they need constant redesign, update, and evolution to get users to keep coming back.
Take Vine for instance; founded in 2012, and shut down in 2017. This social media app had great potential and made a great impact. It shut down partly because it failed to evolve beyond its core six-second looping video format – and that is a design error.
Pro tips:
- Use surveys, interviews, and industry insights to find details about the problem in question.
- Refer to your customer service records for any complaints or compliments that may be in line with your idea.
- Collaborate with cross-functional teams to get their perspectives on the problem. “A problem shared is half-solved.”
- Have a visual representation of the problem to help with in-depth details about the problem.
When you are well aware of what the problem is, then you can confidently approach your product design from a unique and well-informed perspective.
Step back a bit and take a look at your “SaaS idea” again in light of your recent findings from stage one above. The picture should begin to form by now. Compare your findings to your competition and take notes.
Pro tips:
- Compare your findings to similar products in the market and take note of any shortcomings or strengths.
- Brainstorm possible design solutions and explore every alternative.
- Collaborate with cross-functional teams to refine and enhance your analysis.
This is the ideal stage to study brands with similar ideas but did not succeed. Learning from their mistakes can give you an edge.
- Create a user journey map:
Now that you’ve analysed the problem in line with your idea, the next step is to factor in the usability of your product. To do that, you need to create a detailed user journey map.
A user journey map is like a navigating tool for your customers, showing their first point of contact with the product, their level of interaction, and the point of exit.
Pro tips:
- Note down how users feel about your existing product and similar products in the market. Find out how often and how long they interact with these products.
- Next, show how your idea can solve current pain points and increase usability without sacrificing seamless user experience.
- Check for practicality and demand. Ensure your product design has integrated features that fit into your customer’s daily routine.
- Create a service blueprint showing every skill and role required to bring your idea to life.
A user journey map is basically anticipating customer experience from top to bottom.
Now you’re almost halfway there. The key thing at the prototype stage is not to put all your eggs in one basket. Try different approaches before making a final decision.
Pro tips:
- Don’t stress over aesthetics just yet – functionality comes first.
- Do not be scared to fail fast – the earlier you fail, the faster you get to your best option.
The prototype stage allows you to, not just create, but also to experiment and tweak your product layout and interactions.
The LA school system ran into a $1.3 billion problem in 2013 all because of a design error. The school system planned to give each school kid and teacher an iPad, geared towards a massive expansion of classroom technology.
This problem would have been averted if Apple and Pearson had taken their time to test and iterate the iPad applications before releasing them to the schools. That way, teachers wouldn’t have struggled so badly to teach with the iPads.
Pro tips:
- Set up usability testing with real users to find out if they have any issues with your prototype.
- Pay attention to the human-to-system interactions and try to identify any gaps using the Human Factor principles.
- Every test is a step towards perfection, embrace user feedback and craft an exceptional product.
