Customer Identity & Access Management and Customer Experience become Attractive Qualities for Software as a Service Provider
Software as a Service (SaaS) is the future for many software solutions – there are many reasons for this, including quick and easy setup, low maintenance, and fast availability of new features. There is much to be said for the use of SaaS solutions. But what do SaaS providers have to do to inspire customers? Enthusiasm (also known as Attractive Qualities) decides today more than ever about winning and losing customers.
Why Attractive Qualities Win and Keep Customers?
The big platforms such as social networks and search engines have led the way, and the successful SaaS providers are following suit. Good usability, a clear user interface and intuitive user guidance are crucial for a successful Software as a Service – they ensure ease of use by the user, leading to fun instead of frustration, which also results in better efficiency.
How attractive qualities positively influence the SaaS environment can be seen very well in the sales process. With Software as a Service, the classic software demo has been replaced or at least supplemented by the free trial, and many SaaS providers now offer potential customers a free version of their service – sometimes limited in terms of time and/or functionality. Potential customers do not only rely on a demo of the software solution, but also try it out themselves, whether they only click through the application or even carry out a complete proof of concept, varies from customer to customer. The fact is, the experience that potential customers gain with the software solutions in the sales process is determined no longer by a good demo but by a good customer experience with the software as a service solution itself. With good user guidance and clear user interfaces, a solution feels modern, innovative, and easy to use.
The same applies to customer retention because you can lose customers just as quickly as you win them. A bad user experience creates frustration and sometimes a bad reputation. This starts with the IT department (which takes care of the Software as a Service solution) and extends to end-users (whose feedback can very quickly cast a bad light on a Software as a Service solution). – “The song ‘Killing me softly’ was originally written by an SAP customer.” 😉
In an evaluation, potential customers look at the features they need, some are exclusions, others are important or often nice-to-have. However, it is the attractive qualities that ensure that the customer decides on a specific SaaS solution and overlooks one or the other missing feature.
Which attractive qualities does a modern Customer Identity & Access Management provide?
A modern Customer Identity & Access Management is crucial for a SaaS provider, technically it creates the basis for managing the customers and the associated users. Good group management and features such as delegated admin for self-administration of the group are particularly significant (more on this in our second blog). It goes without saying that (Cloud) Identity & Access Management is itself obtained as SaaS.
However, Customer Identity & Access Management can also make a significant contribution to an excellent user experience and customer journey. It starts directly at one of the first touchpoints in the sales process – the onboarding to the free trial. Almost all free trials or free offers from SaaS providers require registration, and are thus inbound lead source and figurehead at the same time. If the registration is bumpy and the process is complex, this is already the first bad impression on the customer and in the worst case the customer cancels the onboarding. However, with a simple and intuitive onboarding, you can set the first exclamation mark with the customer and, in the best case, generate valuable leads that look forward to a personal demo.
The journey of a potential customer through the free trial continues with a few well-placed personal notes, the personalization of the free plan by uploading their own profile picture and the opportunity to invite other team members to the free trial. Customer Identity & Access Management makes the user data perfectly available for the applications of the SaaS provider and creates a nice opportunity for personalization and enhancement of leads in the sales process via functions such as inviting users or extending the user profile.
The Single Sign-On is almost a matter of course – the users, especially in the private sphere, are familiar with the providers creating a unified identity across all channels and a single login for all services is sufficient.
Trust in the SaaS provider is also strengthened by IT security features such as Multi-factor Authentication.
Identity & Access Management – No Compromises in Customer Experience or Security
If you take a look at the attractive qualities, it quickly becomes clear that the customer experience is crucial for winning as well as for retaining customers. Nevertheless, IT security remains a must-have, even if customers are not enthusiastic about it, it is a disaster if an IT security incident occurs. Conversely, IT security must not have a negative impact on the customer experience.
The balance between IT security and customer experience is difficult to strike. Functions of a modern Customer Identity & Access Management help with this and create a great customer experience without compromising on security. The key factor here is the ability to detect identity theft, with extensive fraud detection. Ideally, fraud detection can be linked to Multi-factor Authentication, as is the case with cidaas. The cidaas FDS (Fraud Detection System) and the cidaas Multi-factor Authentication are perfectly integrated and offer e.g., with the Smart MFA the possibility to request a Multi-factor Authentication in case of suspicious behaviour. In this way, a high level of security is created without bothering users with complicated login processes. At the same time, transparency is created for the user, who is usually aware of why a Multi-Factor Authentication was requested, whether it is a different location, a new device or similar occasion.
A modern Customer Identity & Access Management becomes a decision-making factor for Software as a Service providers and is the basis for many must-haves as well as attractive qualities with which the SaaS provider can stand out.