Creating a micro-SaaS product is actually a lot simpler than you might think. Here's a quick overview of the steps you'll need to take:
- Identify a problem or need in your target market.
- Develop a solution that meets that need.
- Start with basic planning.
- Create a minimal viable product (MVP) and launch it.
- Test and iterate on your MVP based on feedback.
- Market and sell your micro-SaaS product.
- Scale your micro-SaaS business.
Now, let's take a closer look at each of these steps.
1) Identify a very specific problem or need in your target market.The first step to creating a micro-SaaS product is to identify a problem or need in your target market. You can do this by:
- Researching your target market and talking to potential customers to find out what their biggest pain points are.
- Going through reviews and checking out what’s lacking from the products in the niche you’re competing in.
- Using Ahrefs to see queries in your target niche that people search for.
- Assessing a problem that you’re facing yourself in your workflow.
If you're looking for more guidance about how to identify potentially profitable problems, I can help! My coaching program is designed to teach developers how to analyze different industries and niches for opportunities they can pounce on. Don't worry if you're new to SaaS development, we'll teach you the skills you need to brainstorm profitable solutions!
In the meantime, check out
How To Come Up With Ideas For Great SaaS Products for a rundown of the idea generation process.
2) Develop a solution that meets that needOnce you've identified a problem or need, it's time to develop a solution that meets it. This will involve coming up with an idea for your micro-SaaS product and then developing it into a working prototype.
Generally, there are two ways this can play out:
- If there is a passable solution on the market, much of the hard work has already been done. Your primary goal is finding ways to improve it in meaningful ways—unless you can think of an entirely new way of approaching the problem.
- If there isn’t a passable solution already on the market, you’ll probably need to put more effort into coming up with a solution that fully solves the problems people are having. However, the lack of competition might mean you’ve stumbled upon an untapped market!
Note: In the second scenario, it’s crucial that you validate any solutions you come up with before launching into the development phase—there might be a reason no one has developed a solution yet!
3) Start with basic planningOnce you've brainstormed a solution, it's time to start planning your micro-SaaS product. This is where you'll decide on the features you want to include, the target market you're going to focus on, and the overall direction of the product.
It's best to paint with a broad brush to start with—that means:
- Wireframes
- UI Sketches
- Feature Lists
- App Maps
Slowly (but surely) the plans for a functional micro-SaaS product will begin to crystallize.
4) Create a minimal viable product (MVP) and launch itOnce you have a prototype of your micro-SaaS product, it's time to launch it as an MVP. An MVP is a version of your product that is good enough to start selling, but which may not be fully polished or feature-complete.
Focus on core features that address the main pain points of your audience without getting bogged down by perfectionism. If you find yourself saying, “it would be nice if I added…”, the thing that follows should
probably get pushed to a later stage of development.
Once you have the MVP, you can start selling access. However, you'll probably want to limit your marketing expenditure until you have a more polished product.
5) Test and iterate your MVP based on feedbackOnce you've launched your MVP, it's time to start gathering feedback from your users. This feedback will be essential for shaping the future development of your product.
There are a number of ways to gather feedback from users:
- Direct Emails
- Widgets like Feedback Lane
- User Surveys
- Customer Interviews
- Product Reviews
Don't be afraid to make changes to your product based on user feedback. Remember, at this stage, your goal is to create a product that people actually want to use.
6) Market and sell your micro-SaaS productNow that you have a polished micro-SaaS product, it's time to start marketing and selling it!
There are a number of channels you can use to reach your target audience:
- Social media
- Content marketing
- Paid advertising
- PR/media outreach
- Community building
- Word of mouth
It's important to experiment with different marketing channels and find the ones that work best for your product. There is no one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to marketing, so don't be afraid to try new things!
7) Scale your micro-SaaS businessOnce you've found a formula that works for marketing and selling your micro-SaaS product, it's time to start scaling your business. This will involve hiring new team members, investing in growth hacking initiatives, and expanding your marketing efforts to reach new audiences.