ENABLING 2-SIDED SAAS MARKETS

Many new SaaS platforms connect two groups of people.

For example, DoorDash connects food vendors and consumers.

These are two sided markets and they create complications and additional costs.

So, how do you avoid the pitfalls?

Those who’ve read enough of my content will know that I always start by asking 2 questions –

First, what’s the problem you’re solving?

Second, whose problem is it?

Answering these is easy enough for many platforms such as the myriad CRMs, but what if there are two targets?

Who are you really writing the software for?

Do you have to favour one over the other?

From a sales and marketing perspective, the answer is yes.

One will be harder to get on board than the other, so they’ll take the lion’s share of your efforts.

But what about development of the platform itself?

It has to serve two masters, so how do you choose where to focus your scant resources?

Well, as ever, technology is an enabler.

When it does its job right, it delivers value.

So if you follow the value, your path forward becomes much clearer.

A little technology and some manual systems can get you to market, but scaling requires expensive automation.

So, before you spend big on technology to feed two mouths, start by feeding one first.

Which one?

The one that delivers the best value to your people.

#MrSaaSSays