I’ve read a lot of SaaS company reviews in the past year. I read them for my job and when I help out other organizations with their marketing.
One thing that I’ve noticed is that, no matter how well a company is doing, they’re always worried about the future. Even if a company has 4.5 stars on G2 Crowd, the CEO is going to be worried about how they can maintain that rating in the future. If a company has a 4.9 star rating, the CEO is going to be worried about how they can get to 5 stars.
This fear of the future is why so many companies have been so quick to embrace artificial intelligence. According to a 2019 report from PwC, 54% of businesses have already implemented AI in some form. That’s up from 34% in 2018, and it’s expected to grow even more in 2020.
But, while SaaS companies are quick to embrace AI, they’re also quick to make mistakes. They don’t think about how they can use AI to future-proof their platforms. Instead, they just try to use AI to solve their current problems.
If you’re a SaaS founder, you should be worried about the future. But you can also use AI to future-proof your platform. Here are 10 ways you can do that.
1. Embrace data science
Data science is the foundation of AI. If you want to build a platform that uses AI to give your customers a competitive edge, you need to hire a team of data scientists.
Data scientists will help you understand how to collect and use data in a way that is valuable to your customers. They will also help you build AI models that can automate tasks and make predictions that will help your customers succeed.
If you don’t have data scientists on your team, now is the time to start hiring.
2. Add AI/ML to your product roadmap
Adding AI and machine learning to your product roadmap is easier said than done. It’s not as simple as just deciding to do it. You need to have a clear understanding of where it can be used and how it will benefit your customers.
You also need to consider the cost and time it will take to develop AI/ML capabilities. This can be a significant investment, so it’s important to think about how you will fund it.
One option is to raise capital specifically for developing AI/ML capabilities. Another is to phase it in gradually, starting with a smaller investment and building on it over time.
3. Stay ahead of your competition
The SaaS market is one of the most competitive markets in the world. There are thousands of SaaS companies out there, and new ones are popping up every day.
By leveraging AI, you can stay ahead of your competition by quickly and efficiently identifying trends and opportunities in your market.
Many fast-growing HR tech platforms are already using AI recruiting tools to predict hiring trends, identify talent gaps, and optimize sourcing decisions before their competitors even notice them.
For example, you can use AI to analyze your competitors’ websites and social media pages to see what their customers are saying about them. This can help you identify areas where your competitors are falling short and where you can improve.
Another idea is to use AI and automation to strengthen customer relationships. With ReferralCandy, SaaS founders can automatically reward users who bring in referrals — blending AI-powered insights with marketing automation to reduce churn and increase engagement.”
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4. Make sure your data is ready for AI
In order to build AI into your SaaS platform, you need to make sure you have the right data in place. This means collecting data from your users and ensuring it is clean, structured and labeled correctly. Tools such as employee engagement survey tools can help you gather structured feedback from your team, providing valuable insights into user behavior and engagement.
If you don’t already have a data strategy in place, now is the time to start. Begin by collecting data on your users and their behavior within your platform. Then, work on cleaning and structuring your data so that it is ready to be used in machine learning models.
Building a data strategy can be a complex and time-consuming process, but it is essential for any SaaS company looking to build AI into their platform. If you don’t have the in-house expertise to do this, consider working with a data consultancy to get started.
5. Create a culture of innovation
Innovation is a crucial part of any successful SaaS business. Without it, you run the risk of falling behind the competition and losing customers. However, creating a culture of innovation is easier said than done.
One way to do this is by using AI to automate repetitive tasks so your team can focus on more strategic work. This can help you stay ahead of the competition and ensure that your platform is always up-to-date with the latest technology. Moreover, understanding customer needs and leveraging strategic insights can significantly reduce subscription churn, enabling your SaaS platform to provide enduring value.
In addition, you should also encourage your team to experiment with new ideas and take risks. This can help you stay ahead of the competition and ensure that your platform is always up-to-date with the latest technology.
6. Don’t try to do everything at once
The number of ways you can use AI to improve your product is vast, but if you try to do all of them at once, you’ll end up with an unfocused and unscalable product. Instead, identify the most important use case and build out a feature that solves that problem really well. Once you’ve done that, you can use customer feedback to inform what to build next.
This is exactly what we did at my company. We started by building a simple NLP model that could extract key data points from a text-based document. We then used customer feedback to help us understand what other types of documents we should be extracting data from, and what other types of data we should be extracting. This helped us build out a road map of what to build next.
7. Focus on the most impactful use cases
Not all AI use cases are created equal. Some will be much more impactful for your customers than others. For example, a CRM platform might use AI to automate data entry, identify leads or analyze the sentiment of customer interactions.
Founders should focus on the use cases that will be most valuable to their customers. This will help you prioritize your AI initiatives and make sure you’re building the right features.
Once you’ve identified the most impactful use cases for your platform, you can start to think about how you can use AI to improve them.
8. Choose the right AI/ML partner
AI is a complex technology that requires a lot of expertise to implement effectively. As a SaaS founder, it’s unlikely that you have the time or resources to build your own AI models from scratch. Fortunately, there are a lot of great AI/ML platforms and APIs on the market that you can leverage to add AI to your SaaS platform.
When choosing an AI/ML partner, it’s important to look for a company that has a lot of experience in your industry and has a track record of success. You should also look for a company that has a good reputation and offers competitive pricing.
9. Invest in your team
AI is a team sport. It’s not just for data scientists. As a SaaS founder, you should be thinking about how to upskill your team to work with AI, not how to replace them with it. The most successful AI companies will be the ones that can build a strong, diverse team that can leverage AI to its full potential.
This means investing in training and development for your existing team, as well as hiring new team members with AI expertise. It also means creating a culture of learning and experimentation, where your team feels comfortable trying new things and taking risks.
By investing in your team, you can future-proof your SaaS platform and set yourself up for long-term success.
10. Be patient
Most importantly, be patient. As with any new technology, it takes time to see results, and AI is no different. It may take a few years before you see the fruits of your labor, but the companies that are patient and invest early will have a significant advantage over those that don’t.
AI is the future of software and will be the key differentiator in the next decade. Companies that don’t embrace AI will get left behind, while those that do will thrive. Follow these tips to ensure your SaaS platform is well-positioned for the future.
Conclusion
We are in a new era of AI-first businesses, and the SaaS companies that push AI to the forefront will be the ones that set the standard for success. By embracing AI today, you can future-proof your business, create a competitive edge and deliver value to your customers for years to come.
