Awesome SaaS

Category: Product

  • Democratize Design by Balancing 5 Pillars

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    awesaas
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    Tactic Description:IKEA balances 5 elements in every product: form, function, quality, sustainability, and low price. No single element can dominate – all must harmonize to deliver value at scale. Priority: Long-termDifficulty: HighBest Stage: Scaling Example / Use Case:A chair could be stronger with metal, prettier with color, greener with bamboo – but it must also…

  • Use In-Home Research to Discover Real-World Problems

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    awesaas
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    Tactic Description:IKEA teams regularly visit real homes around the world to study how people actually live – not how they claim to. This grounds design in behavior, not aspiration. Priority: Mid-termDifficulty: MediumBest Stage: Product Discovery Example / Use Case:Researchers observed that most people don’t open wardrobe drawers fully, leading IKEA to design sliding doors and…

  • Design Products by Starting With a Target Price

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    awesaas
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    Tactic Description:Fredrika shares that IKEA’s design process begins with a price tag, not a prototype. The team defines the maximum acceptable price for customers and works backward – reverse-engineering materials, components, and logistics to stay within that constraint. Priority: Short-termDifficulty: HighBest Stage: Product Planning Example / Use Case:IKEA set a €29 target for a table.…

  • Bundle Services + SaaS to Increase ACV Early On

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    Tactic Description:Castos offered podcast editing services alongside its hosting SaaS – allowing them to monetize early customers with a higher average contract value (ACV) while validating deeper user needs. Priority: Mid-termDifficulty: MediumBest Stage: Early Growth Example / Use Case:Their editing add-on created sticky, high-LTV customers. It also gave them insight into customer workflows, content strategies,…

  • Compete on Performance and Craft, Not Just Features

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    awesaas
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    Tactic Description:Tuple took a stand: they wanted to be the fastest, smoothest pair-programming tool – and obsessed over audio latency, screen quality, and memory usage. This technical edge helped them win hardcore developer fans. Priority: Mid-termDifficulty: HighBest Stage: Growth Example / Use Case:They ran benchmarks against Zoom and Slack, highlighting Tuple’s performance superiority in developer-specific…

  • Compete with Curation, Not Complexity

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    Tactic Description:Corey shares that in a crowded space, like design inspiration tools, SwipeWell won by offering curation and focus – not feature bloat. The goal wasn’t to be “better” than competitors, but to be clearer and simpler. Priority: Short-termDifficulty: MediumBest Stage: Launch to Growth Example / Use Case:Instead of chasing dozens of features, SwipeWell focused…

  • Solve a Pain You Deeply Understand – Then Design for UX Superiority

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    awesaas
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    Tactic Description:Derrick built SavvyCal because he hated the rigid, impersonal feel of tools like Calendly. Instead of chasing feature parity, he obsessed over making scheduling feel collaborative, not transactional. Priority: Short-termDifficulty: MediumBest Stage: Idea to Early Growth Example / Use Case:SavvyCal introduced features like overlay availability (instead of hide-and-seek) and easy calendar comparisons — designed…

  • Charge From Day One – and Charge What It’s Worth

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    Tactic Description:Justin warns against free plans and underpricing. Transistor launched with paid-only pricing to set a tone of value and seriousness, avoiding low-intent users. Priority: Long-termDifficulty: MediumBest Stage: Launch to Growth Example / Use Case:Instead of freemium, they offered a 14-day free trial followed by paid plans starting at $19/mo – converting a high percentage…

  • Build Around the Habits of Your ICP, Not the Industry Norms

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    awesaas
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    Tactic Description:Hack Chinese succeeded by aligning itself with the daily habits of its users – instead of trying to “stand out” in the flashy SaaS way. It became part of a routine, not a trend. Priority: Long-termDifficulty: MediumBest Stage: Growth to Scaling Example / Use Case:Daniel prioritized speed, mobile access, and short-session design – ideal…

  • Let the Product Replace the Sales Team With Self-Guided Motivation Loops

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    Tactic Description:Daniel intentionally avoided building a sales team. Instead, he focused on making the product experience so self-motivating that users onboarded, retained, and upgraded on their own. Priority: Mid-termDifficulty: MediumBest Stage: Growth Example / Use Case:Hack Chinese featured streak tracking, learning milestones, and daily reminders that created an internal reward loop – driving up engagement…