Sep 08 2022 49 mins
Building great products starts with a strong desire to solve a problem you have encountered in your own experience. But there is more to it than that; you have to think about what makes it different, the value it brings to people, your brand's messaging, and much more.
Matthew Barnett knows what it takes to build SaaS products that thrive. Matthew is the Founder and Papa Bear of Bonjoro, and today, he shares what SaaS founders need to do to develop products that people will love and help them grow successful businesses.
In this episode, we discuss:
- Why are industry experts more likely to build successful startups?
- Biggest fears and challenges startup founders experience
- How can you drive customer loyalty?
- How should founders approach brand building?
The Right Founder for the Right Product
Industry experts are more likely to succeed when building a business. They are the ones who experience and understand industry problems, thus developing products that solve them is much easier.
I think a lot of the most successful startups you see come from people who have a problem in a specific industry - Matt Barnett
Prioritize Your Growth Strategy
From day one, think about your specific growth mechanism, which depends on your company. Every business is different. Some are sales-driven, marketing-led, or ads-led. What works for one company doesn't mean it will work for you.
I think it's extremely important…you have a mechanism that can do that - Matt Barnett
How Can You Drive Customer Loyalty?
When people mention loyalty, they think about loyalty cards, discounts, and other benefits. However, loyalty is the ability to increase the lifetime value of your customers and generate advocacy, which leads to net new customers.
If you nail loyalty, you increase the lifetime value of every customer. So every customer spends more and stays longer, and then you increase that by basing your customers as its growth channel - Matt Barnett
Your Brand is More Than the Logo
Many founders don't understand what a brand represents. Most just think about the logo and stop there. Besides visual elements, a brand is also how you talk to customers, what you stand for, your views, values, and people.
A brand is basically like the external facing piece of your culture - Matt Barnett
For more interviews from the SaaS Origin Stories podcast, check us out on Apple, Spotify or your favorite podcast player!