Table of Contents
- What is SaaS?
- Types of SaaS products to include in your Stack
- 10 of the Best SaaS products for 2021
- The Latest SaaS Trends for 2021
- Conclusion
Over the past decade, companies have continued to move their sales, marketing, and operations further to the cloud. With the continuous development of SaaS products, it has never been easier to power businesses from anywhere.
- According to Blissfully’s SaaS Trends Report, compared with 2018, each company’s total SaaS spending in 2020 has increased by 50%
- Companies estimate 70% of the business apps they use today are SaaS-based. By 2025, 85% of business apps they use will be SaaS-based
- Statista predicts that the worldwide SaaS market size will reach $138 billion by 2022, a significant increase over the $101 billion market size is estimated in 2020.
Even the smallest companies are not thinking too much when using SaaS products, whether it is CRM, email marketing tools or automation software. For larger enterprises, SaaS is a breeze to keep your team independent and collaborative on track. As we enter the new decade, here are the SaaS trends, tools, and best practices you need to understand in 2021 and beyond.
What is SaaS?
Software as a Service (SaaS) is a software distribution model that allows customers to access applications over the Internet without the need for physical media and custom installations. Because the software is centrally hosted and maintained by the provider, updates are automatic and instant. You don’t need to download anything to use SaaS products, and you can log in via web and mobile browsers.
Types of SaaS Products to Include in your Stack
The growth of SaaS spans every department, and the selection and implementation of technology is no longer IT’s job. SaaS has become so accessible that anyone in the company can select, subscribe, and implement new applications.
- Cisco estimates that by 2021, 75% of workloads will be used only for SaaS.
In order to create the most comprehensive SaaS stack, the following are the types of SaaS products that most types of businesses are worth investing in:
- Marketing-including email marketing, design, social media, lead generation and marketing automation tools
- Sales – including tools for prospecting, nurturing, and closing deals
- Customer relationship management or CRM customer service
- Development
- Proposals and contracts
- Finance, billing and invoicing
- Data collection and contact enrichment Analytics
- Operation
- Communication and VoIP
- Project management
- E-commerce
- Events
Which SaaS Tools should your business try in 2021?
Here are some of the most popular SaaS products.
1. Slack
Collaboration software for centralized team conversations.
2. Mailchimp
The email marketing software ranked highest based on user satisfaction on G2.
3. Shopify
Shopify is an ecommerce platform that provides everything you need to sell online, social media, or in person.
4. SurveyMonkey
A Popular survey creation and sharing tool.
5. HubSpot
HubSpot is one of the most popular CRMs with an excellent free plan that can be extended to advanced software for sales, marketing, and support.
6. Active Campaign
ActiveCampaign is a top-notch marketing automation software for improving user satisfaction, which simplifies your workflow and email sequence.
7. Zoom
A software for online meetings, webinars, and meeting rooms. Zoom has gained popularity during the proliferation of remote work in 2020.
8. Canva
Whether you are a beginner or an expert, a team or an individual, you can create beautiful designs with just a few clicks.
9. RingCentral
RingCentral is an easy-to-use and powerful telephone system with many additional features.
10. Freshdesk
Freshdesk is an intuitive, feature-rich, and affordable customer support software trusted by more than 150,000 businesses of all sizes.
The latest SaaS trends for 2021
What is Changing in SaaS in 2021? What is worth investing in your budget? Here is our summary of some of the most important SaaS trends in 2021…
1. Customer Experience will become the main Competitive Advantage
In the past decade, customer experience has received increasing attention. But for the company, it will become more important to use customer experience as the main differentiating factor in 2021. In the past few years, customer experience programs in support organizations have become the focus of attention of approximately 50% of marketers. But now, they are more concerned about the customer experience, than just generating potential customers.
2. By the end of 2021, Cloud Application Services (SaaS) will reach US$126 billion
The market value of the SaaS industry in 2020 is approximately US$110 billion and is expected to grow by 14.5% next year. By 2022, it is expected to reach 143 billion U.S. dollars. The services most used by companies include cloud consulting, implementation, migration, and management.
3. The Company will Invest more in Additional Services
As the trend indicates, the company is expected to invest more in additional services and products. Tech giants such as Salesforce have established standards that provide customers with more value. It is only a matter of time before others start to follow the same trend. Customer success, business acceleration, management assistance and other services will be some of the main areas that the new company will adopt.
4. Inbound Marketing Strategy is going to Grow for all SaaS Firms
Although inbound marketing has changed a lot in the past few years, the bottom line remains the same-organically attract customers and convert them into loyal customers. Public relations will become a major focus area of ​​inbound marketing in 2021. The company will strive to become a thought leader in its niche and eventually generate more potential customers.
5. More Investment in Marketing Automation Tools
Companies are increasingly realizing the benefits of using marketing automation tools. It saves more time and helps scale to run large events. Therefore, more and more companies are preparing to invest in such tools, which are expected to reach US$25 billion by 2023. These tools enable companies to implement more effective marketing strategies, such as conducting personalized campaigns for different customer groups.
6. Customer satisfaction and Retention is going to be major focus
For any SaaS business, there is no need to explain the importance of customer satisfaction and retention. Companies are increasingly qualified to implement strategies for these goals. Turning ordinary customers into loyal customers for life is a goal that every SaaS company desires more than ever. Over 62% of companies are willing to invest in solutions that provide a positive customer experience. If you are considering investing in customer success in your organization, this is an important SaaS statistic.
Conclusion
With the rapid changes in business, their needs are also changing. The only feasible solution is to adapt to SaaS software. The above mentioned SaaS trends and tools will continue to disrupt the industry. The trends last for two to five years, and then Change completely. Since SaaS software is very flexible and can be changed as needed, it can withstand this challenging terrain.
Deepak Wadhwani has over 20 years experience in software/wireless technologies. He has worked with Fortune 500 companies including Intuit, ESRI, Qualcomm, Sprint, Verizon, Vodafone, Nortel, Microsoft and Oracle in over 60 countries. Deepak has worked on Internet marketing projects in San Diego, Los Angeles, Orange Country, Denver, Nashville, Kansas City, New York, San Francisco and Huntsville. Deepak has been a founder of technology Startups for one of the first Cityguides, yellow pages online and web based enterprise solutions. He is an internet marketing and technology expert & co-founder for a San Diego Internet marketing company.
