Let’s extend out a year from now.

You've been crushing it as an AI Business Consultant.

You've been building custom AI solutions for various, let’s say, e-commerce companies, helping them optimise their inventory management and supply chain processes. Something juicy like that.

One day, while working on yet another inventory management system, you have an epiphany. You realise that the core problems you're solving are remarkably similar across different clients. Like…the same damn thing every time.

The AI models you're building, while customised, share a common foundation.

You think, "Why am I rebuilding this wheel for every client? What if I could package this AI solution into a product that any e-commerce business could use?"

SAAS time!

Let’s get started:

Verified Demand

By working directly with clients as an educator, automator, implementor and consultant (busy you!), you've already validated that there's a market need for your solution.

You've seen firsthand the problems businesses face and how AI can solve them. You’ve been at the coalface and have intel that very few others have.

You know what the market wants. This reduces the risk of building something that won’t sell.

Transitioning from a service to a SaaS (Software as a Service) allows you to scale your impact. Instead of constantly trading time for money, you're now creating a scalable asset that can serve multiple clients simultaneously.

Never heard of a SaaS? No worries- it's a software distribution model where a provider hosts applications and makes them available to customers online. Instead of installing and maintaining the software, users can access it via the web, paying a subscription fee.

Slack, Dropbox, Canva etc. are all SaaS companies. Probably heard of them!

Starting a SaaS is complex but you’ve solved the biggest problem. As a consultant turned SaaS founder, you've already done the hard work of understanding customer needs and validating your solution.

Now, let's look at the two pillars of building a successful AI-based SaaS business:

Building Your SaaS

1. Start with a No-Code MVP: Begin with a no-code solution like Bubble. It'll let you validate your idea quickly and cost-effectively before investing in custom development.

2. Find a Beta Tester: Ideally, build your SaaS with a client who knows it'll become a product. Be transparent about your intentions. They get a custom solution, and you get valuable feedback and a real-world use case.

3. Scale When Proven: Once your MVP gains traction, consider a custom build. Don't rush into complex development before you've validated your concept.

I've written a comprehensive guide on app development in another Playbook, so refer to that for more detailed information on the building process.

Here’s a prompt for now that will help differentiate:

You are an AI product strategist specialising in SaaS development. Your task is to help prioritise features and determine the level of customisation needed for a new SaaS product. Based on the following information, provide recommendations for feature sets.

Ask the user to provide:
1. Brief description of their SaaS concept
2. Target market
3. List of 5-7 main customer problems their SaaS aims to solve

For each problem listed, ask the user to rate its importance on a scale of 1-10 (10 being most important) and explain why.

After receiving the ratings, ask follow-up questions to help further prioritize the problems. These questions should probe into:
- The frequency of each problem
- The cost (time or money) associated with each problem
- The emotional impact of each problem on customers
- The current solutions available for each problem and their shortcomings

Once you have this information, provide three feature sets for the SaaS:

1. Fully Standardised (No Customisation):
   List core features that solve the highest priority problems without any customisation.

2. Mild Customisation:
   List features from the standardised set, plus 2-3 features that allow for minor customisation.

3. Medium Customisation:
   List features from the mild customisation set, plus 2-3 features that allow for more significant customisation.

For each feature set, provide:
- Estimated development time
- Potential challenges
- Scalability considerations
- Pricing implications

Suggest 3-5 next steps the user should take based on your recommendation.

Ask if there's any part of the analysis they'd like expanded upon.

Marketing Your SaaS: From Standardised to Custom

Now that we've mapped out our feature sets, from standardised to custom, it's time to tackle the marketing side of things.

We're going to use my BATON model to create a comprehensive marketing strategy that aligns with our staged approach to product development.

We’ll start with the non-custom version first. This is our lowest price point, our foot in the door. As we expand our custom options, we'll increase our prices, with the top tier being the fully custom service – essentially, the consulting service you were already providing. It just becomes backend offer (at a premium obviously).

Let's break down the BATON model and see how it applies to our staged SaaS release:

B - Business: What core problem does your standardised version solve? How do the custom options expand on this?

A - Audience: Who needs your standardised version right now? How do we reach them?

T - Tribe: How do we capture the attention (and contact details!) of potential customers?

O - Offer: What’s the offer, price, sales strategy?

N - Network: How to expand and increase MRR?

To help you flesh out this strategy, I've created a prompt that will guide you through creating a marketing plan that takes into account both the BATON model and our staged approach to customisation. Here it is:

You are a SaaS marketing strategist specialising in AI-powered products. Your task is to create a comprehensive marketing plan for a SaaS product that will be released in stages, from a standardised version to increasingly customised options.

First, ask the user to provide:
1. Brief description of their SaaS product
2. Target market
3. Key features of the standardised (non-custom) version (or collect from above this prompt)
4. Planned customisation options for future releases
5. Suggested price point for the standardised version
6. Competitor offers and pricing (ask them to copy/paste pricing tables or similar)

Now, create a marketing plan using the BATON model (Business, Audience, Tribe, Offer, Network) that addresses the staged release of the product. For each element of BATON, provide:

1. Business:
   - Value proposition for the standardised version
   - How this value proposition evolves with custom options
   - Positioning strategy against competitors at each stage

2. Audience:
   - Ideal customer profile for the standardised version
   - How this profile changes for custom options
   - Strategies for reaching each audience segment

3. Tribe:
   - Lead capture strategies for initial users
   - Lead nurture strategies


4. Offer:
   - Pricing strategy for the standardised version
   - How to structure pricing for custom options
   - Upselling strategies to move customers from standardised to custom

5. Network:
   - Potential partnerships for the standardised version
   - Integration opportunities that become available with custom options
   - Affiliate or reseller programs for different stages

For each stage of release (standardised, mild customisation, medium customisation, fully custom), provide:

1. Key marketing messages
2. Primary marketing channels
3. Customer acquisition strategies
4. Retention tactics
5. KPIs to track

Finally, provide a high-level timeline for the marketing activities, aligning them with the planned product releases.
Present this information in a clear, structured format that a SaaS founder can easily understand and implement.

This prompt will help you create a marketing strat that aligns with the staged approach of our SaaS development.

As you work through this prompt, you'll likely find that some of your initial assumptions about your market and product are challenged. That's good! It means you're thinking it through. The prompt and the process are primarily to help you think this all out!

Obviously building and launching a SaaS is a BIG task. But remember that through working with clients and providing them a service you are already leagues ahead of any one else in the market. So take courage!

This has been a big week and not something you can follow along with day to day and implement everything. That’s fine! Consider this a survey overview. Come back to this guide as a reference as you develop your AI expert business.

P.S. If you’ve got this far we’re exploring launching a 30 Day AI Entrepreneurship Accelerator where we:

1. Hone a business idea

2. Build a focused AI tool

3. Test and refine the tool

4. Market and launch

Course, community and live sessions.

Waitlist here: https://heyform.net/f/ZCCsfMqx