How do I evaluate the quality of my SaaS products?

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Most entrepreneurs know that offering quality products and services is one of the main success factors for any type of business. However, it is not so easy to deal with quality standards and the most common question is: how do I evaluate the quality of my SaaS products?

We recognize that this can be a somewhat difficult task, as quality is relative overseas chinese in uk data and depends on several factors that must be determined for each specific case. Luckily, there are ways you can find out what the consumer's perception of your product is in the market. This makes things easier.

If you are in the SaaS (Software as a Service) product sector , you should know that the evaluation is carried out differently, since it is a digital service. That is why in this post we are going to tell you how to evaluate the quality of this type of service.

Keep reading!

What are the definitions of quality?
What defines the quality of a SaaS product?
Why is the satisfaction survey important?
How can I evaluate it in an efficient way?
What are the definitions of quality?
Quality can be defined from the perspective of several approaches, the main ones being:

Focus on manufacturing
Quality is measured based on the suitability and compliance with the standards and regulatory specifications of the sector. Each country is governed by its own legal standards and has its own regulatory body, but there are international standards as a reference, such as the ISO 9001 certifications of the International Organization for Standardization.

Focus on the product
Quality is measured based on comparable attributes. If the product or service belongs to a branded line, it must maintain the quality standards of products in the same family.

As an example, we have Adobe . The company is famous for the high quality of the software it offers, which always follow the same standard.

Focus on the user
Quality is measured by usefulness. That is, it aims to adapt solutions to the needs of the consumer. This means that the more it helps the user to solve a problem or a specific need, the higher its quality.

One company that does this very well is streaming giant Netflix , which offers customized solutions at affordable prices for its online users.

Focus on transcendence
It is when the product or service stands out from all others on the market due to the extremely high quality standards. These standards are universally recognized and the consumer has the feeling that the brand always exceeds their expectations.

For this definition, it is fair to mention the transnational technology company Microsoft , which is recognized worldwide for its high-quality software.

Focus on value
The product is considered quality when it is very useful, but the price is adjusted to the public, being accessible to all social classes.

In this case, a great example is Spotify , a music, podcast, and video streaming service that offers everything from free plans to different premium modes that are paid for.

What defines the quality of a SaaS product?
To be more specific, there are 8 elements that determine whether a product is of quality and, therefore, well accepted or not in the market. They are the following:

Satisfactory performance
To be considered quality, the product must perform as promised in the advertisements, contract, user guide, etc. A watch exemplifies this well: if it keeps time correctly and needs few adjustments, it is a sign of good performance.

Complementary functions
If the product offers additional operational features, it will positively surprise the customer. Even knowing that this benefit is additional, as in the case of a smart TV, which accesses the Internet, the customer expects all the functionalities to work correctly.

Complementary features add value to the product or service, changing the way the consumer views it.

Perceived quality
Perceived quality is associated with how consumers view your entire product line on the market. If your brand is known for its quality and acceptance, you can launch a new product that will quickly be associated with the product family and also perceived as high quality.

Another technology company that does very well in this regard is Google Apps , which stands out as an example of perceived quality.

After having success with the search engine, it started to create the most diverse software. In this way, the public tends to believe that all the quality of Google will also be inserted into these applications, maintaining the credibility of the brand.

Technical assistance
It may not seem like it, but customer service and technical support are also considered quality requirements for products and services.

If a warranty is not honored, service is delayed, support does not permanently resolve the problem and high repair prices are charged, the brand will gain a bad perception, changing user opinion to negative.

Reliability
Reliability in a product or service means believing that it will not fail when we need it over a period of time. That is, if the brand offers a 2-year warranty, but there are often defects in the product during this period, it is not so reliable in the eyes of the consumer.

Accordance
The quality of a product or service is measured in two ways. The first is to assess whether manufacturing complies with the standards, regulations and specifications existing in the project design. The other is to measure the number of failures that the process registers, resulting in defective products.

Durability
Durability represents the average time that a product is active (functional) until it deteriorates and finally stops. You can even confuse durability with reliability, but they are not the same thing.

While reliability refers to the minimum time that a product cannot be defective, durability refers to the product's lifespan until it loses its market value completely. Thinking about it, a product has good durability when the investment is recovered.

Aesthetics
In addition to all the requirements mentioned so far, the appearance of the product also counts a lot. If it is beautiful, has a good texture, is made of resistant materials, has good security levels and is intuitive, it produces an impression of good quality.

Why is the satisfaction survey important?
Research is one of the most important means of assessing consumer satisfaction with a specific brand, product or service in the market. It objectively and accurately demonstrates how the public views your business in comparison to competitors in the same segment.

That is, if the research is well prepared, the entrepreneur will be able to clearly understand the public's opinions regarding the most important aspects, such as packaging, design, performance, application, durability, etc., in addition to the image and value perceived by them.

With this information, the entrepreneur can invest in strategies to improve the product and make branding more efficient.

How can I evaluate it in an efficient way?
To measure the quality of your SaaS product and obtain a reliable result that can serve as a basis for making assertive decisions, you must follow some rules:

Prepare an objective survey
To create a survey that is useful for your business and, at the same time, enjoyable and quick for users to complete, pay attention to the number and type of questions. The questionnaire must be clear and objective so as not to discourage your audience and make it easier for them to give you exactly the information you need.

For example, instead of asking, “What do you think of the product or service?”, ask them to rate it from 1 to 5, where 1 is very bad and 5 is excellent. Closed questions, which lead to only 2 answers (yes or no), are also valid. You can use them in questions like, “Would you recommend the product or service to a friend or family member?”

Finally, reserve a special space for receiving criticism, complaints, suggestions and praise from users. This is information that the interviewee would like to share, but cannot because of lack of opportunity. This is what will help you see the big picture of opportunities for improvement.

Defines the medium by which the survey will be conducted
The channel through which the survey will be conducted depends greatly on the type of business. In the case of SaaS products, for example, it can be done by the tool itself (via a voluntary or mandatory access link upon login). In this case, it is important that the survey is available for future changes in responses.

In addition to this method, you can use social media. The tool is ideal for getting closer to the user, building relationships and measuring the degree of happiness or dissatisfaction they have, through interactions.

Tools like Likealyzer and Klout help you monitor what people are saying about your business on social media and find out whether opinions are more positive or negative, as well as what influences those thoughts.

The blog is also a good research tool. You can, for example, have them answer the questionnaire, in landing page format , whenever they want to have access to exclusive content.

Finally, you can use the online service (via chat) to request that they answer the questions once the communication and email of the users is finished, offering something in return (prize) for participation.

Measure the results
There's no point in having data if it's not analyzed to obtain insights that lead to concrete actions . That's why it's important to establish metrics to know what users' responses say. A lot of information is subjective and hidden in raw data and must be discovered in the analysis.

When formulating questions, you must know what you want to discover with the answers to facilitate both measurement and analysis.

For example, if you want to find out which feature is most important in your SaaS product, ask the user which features they find essential and why. The most important feature will be the one that is most present in all the answers.

It is good to remember that the questionnaire should always be administered at the most convenient time possible for the respondent. In addition, he should have the feeling that he is contributing to something great, which will benefit others and himself.