SaaS is an ever-changing field, with new developments coming fast. And to survive in this industry, your startup business should be ready to ride these trends. So, it is that time of the year again when we look at the trends to expect for next year. Find out what to expect and how you can better ride these towards success.
2023 SaaS Trend no. 1: The Growth Of Vertical SaaS companies
In most cases, SaaS companies develop their products for a wide range of audiences. After all, the more customer groups they can cover, the bigger the business can be. However, there is a growing number of companies that instead focus on developing products for a limited audience.
Image from Data & Storage Asean.
These vertical SaaS companies develop services these niche markets can utilize for longer. Often, the goal is to provide a more extensive product for these companies that covers different aspects of their operations. While the customer base is small, that deeper involvement in the client’s operations means they get a larger revenue.
How Your Startup Business Can Take Advantage
Experts note that many vertical SaaS companies start as horizontal ones. That is, they serve more varied clients during their early days. However, limited resources can hamper their ability to cover such markets. Thus, instead of trying to stretch their resources for these different markets, they concentrate their efforts on the ones that would generate the most revenue.
Image from Cyclr.
But switching to a vertical SaaS business model will require you to reassess your whole business. In particular, you will need to understand what features your target audience uses and how they use these. From there, you have to reorient these features to meet market needs. You will also need to predict what other features the market needs and how you can integrate these in the future.
2023 SaaS Trend no. 2: The Entry Of Micro SaaS
Another new trend in the industry is the birth of what is known as micro SaaS businesses. These are smaller ventures focused on specific niches. Such products are often run by a team of few people, sometimes even just a single person.
Micro SaaS tools often serve as companion products for bigger services. They augment these services by expanding their capabilities or adding new features. Because of that nature, micro SaaS businesses can have a significant market from users of the larger provider.
These products can be an offshoot of the company producing the service they supplement. However, third-party developers make up a larger section of the industry. These independent developers play a significant role in the success of the major developers.
How Your Startup Business Can Take Advantage
Opting to go with the micro SaaS route requires you to know the user base of the product you want to supplement. Being a user yourself is always a good idea. A lot of micro SaaS ventures started this way. With that, you have an idea of the features that the market wants to see.
Image from UserGuiding.
Building a micro SaaS business is relatively simple than its larger counterparts. That is because you only need a smaller amount of resources. However, you have to market it aggressively. In particular, you need to demonstrate that it is better than the available ones.
2023 SaaS Trend no. 3: More Diverse Payment Schemes
One of the biggest challenges for SaaS users is paying for their subscriptions. Here, they want more options to make things easier for them. As such, you can expect new payment methods to fill that demand.
Some of the new schemes that have grown in popularity in the last few years include:
- Buy now, pay later: This scheme gives customers greater flexibility, since they can structure their payment schedules as they prefer. It is a popular option even for small purchases and is expected to grow by as much as 20.8% by 2028.
- Digital wallets: These apps let users quickly access different payment methods in one place. That convenience made it a popular choice for on-premise purchases.
- Biometrics payment: Payment verification through biometrics has been around for several years. But it is only now that it is becoming more accessible for people wishing for more secure transactions.
- The use of cryptocurrency: Despite cryptocurrency still being controversial, many SaaS businesses are already offering payments using it.
In 2023 you can expect more SaaS developers to incorporate these options in their payment infrastructure. There will also be novel approaches that would better integrate these options and add user convenience.
How Your Startup Business Can Ride The Trend
While adding as many payment options as possible is good for your SaaS startup business, you need to be more discerning about which ones to go for. Remember that each payment option requires its own system that you will have to manage.
Image from CourseMaker.
As such, you want to choose options users most prefer. Take surveys to learn about these preferences. You should also ensure that these can be readily integrated into your existing payment system. Virtua Solutions can help you manage these options. We will provide additional agents to handle the processing.
2923 SaaS Trends no. 4: The Popularity Of Low-Code And No-Code Platforms
Coding is one of the most tedious parts of running a SaaS startup company. The work can sometimes take several months to complete. And that can impact development time and release schedules.
Image from AppInventiv.
Thus, low-code and no-code platforms are fast becoming popular options. As their names imply, these solutions require little effort in developing code. Instead, they rely on more intuitive approaches such as visualization to simplify the process.
That means even less experienced developers can create their software. The method has also been popular for companies during the pandemic, encouraging faster deployment even with restrictions. Because of that, the industry is expected to grow more in the next few years.
How Your Startup Business Can Benefit From IIt
Using low-code or no-code solutions will make it easy for your startup company to develop its software concept. It also lets you run a smaller development team. However, you should still consider how it will fit into your development strategy.
Image from Teleport.
In particular, consider which areas can be done in low-code environments and which ones require more in-depth coding work. That will help you better segment the project and ensure that the team can complete all parts accordingly.
But you will need to coordinate with the different development teams more effectively. Virtua Solutions’ project management experts are ready to help you with the task. Our managers can guide both the low-code and high-code teams to ensure that they are in sync. We also facilitate the exchange of information.
Keep Your SaaS Startup Business On Top Of These Trends
Ensuring your SaaS startup company succeeds this coming year isn’t just about riding these trends. You also want to know how to use these to catapult your business. Virtua Solutions is ready to help you succeed here. Sign up with us today and let’s get started towards a more fruitful 2023.