No universal SaaS rules: dropping mandatory demos, requiring Search Console
Running a SaaS product called LLaMaRush revealed that very few rules apply universally across SaaS es. At first, every new signup was required to book a demo call before getting access, with no available. The idea was to properly explain the product and answer questions upfront.
In practice, people didn't want to wait a day for a scheduled call just to spend 30 minutes discussing a product that didn't cost hundreds of dollars, and few people even booked demos in the first place. Removing the mandatory demo and adding a instead caused signups to rise immediately. Around the same time, the opposite kind of change was made elsewhere in the product: connecting became mandatory before users could generate content.
That added friction, and some users were expected to leave rather than connect it. But without data, recommendations would just be guesswork; with it, they're based on real search data. In the end, removing friction in one place and deliberately adding it in another both improved the product.
Key points
- Requiring a mandatory demo booking with no led to weak signup numbers
- Dropping the mandatory demo in favor of a caused signups to jump immediately
- Making connection mandatory before content generation intentionally added friction
- data lets recommendations be based on real search data instead of guesswork
- Removing friction in one area and adding it in another both improved the product, depending on context