Building for the Buyer

In the world of entrepreneurship, two critical questions often dictate the trajectory of a business:

1. What product do we want to build?
2. How do we sell our product?

This book delves deep into these questions by drawing on real-life experiences from SaaS (Software as a Service) product launches—successes and failures.

Product-Market Fit: Solving the Right Problem

Achieving product-market fit is often described as the holy grail for startups. It’s the moment when your product resonates so deeply with your target audience that it almost feels like it’s selling itself. Many founders chase this elusive goal with complex strategies, but at its core, product-market fit is simple: If your product solves a real problem and users find value in it, you have already achieved it.

For Postly, this realization came through one key approach—listening.

We kept our users close. We made it easy for them to talk to us, whether through customer support, emails, or community groups. More importantly, we didn’t just listen passively—we made our users feel heard.

Early on, we noticed a pattern in user feedback. Social media managers, small business owners, and agencies were all saying the same thing: "I just want an easy way to schedule my content and grow my brand." That was their core need.

Instead of trying to impress users with excessive features, we focused on refining and optimizing the essential experience—seamless post scheduling and content distribution.

Beyond solving their problem, we realized that product-market fit alone isn’t enough. You also need Product Market Acceptance—where users not only find your product valuable but also love using it.

This is where customer support became a game-changer for us.

Unlike many SaaS companies that treat support as a cost center, we made it a core touchpoint for building loyalty. Our approach was simple:

• Immediate response time: The faster we helped users, the happier they became.
• No arguments over feedback: Every suggestion was welcomed, even if we didn’t implement it.
• A friendly, approachable brand: We made sure that users saw us as partners, not just a faceless company.

This customer-centric approach earned us trust and loyalty. It’s one of the reasons why Postly continued to grow—even in highly competitive markets.

Simplicity vs. Features: The Power of Focus

One of the most common mistakes SaaS companies make is trying to do too much. It’s tempting to add feature after feature, believing that more options will attract more users. But in reality, more features often lead to confusion, complexity, and frustration.

Early in our journey, we made a critical decision:

👉 We would focus only on the features that mattered most to our users.

We already knew that users came to Postly for one primary reason—to publish content on social media and grow their business. That was their goal.

So we intentionally avoided bloating the system with unnecessary features. We had tons of feature requests, but before implementing anything, we asked:

✅ Does this help users achieve their core goal more effectively?
✅ Will this feature simplify or complicate the user experience?

If a feature didn’t meet those criteria, we didn’t build it.

The result? Postly became known for its simplicity.

Users repeatedly told us:

• "I love how easy Postly is to use!"
• "Finally, a tool that just works!"
• "No unnecessary distractions—just what I need to get my work done."

This was a massive advantage. While our competitors were overloading their platforms with dozens of integrations and complex workflows, we stood out by making Postly as frictionless as possible.

The takeaway here is simple: In SaaS, simplicity is not a weakness—it’s a superpower.

Pricing Psychology: Lessons from 3.5 Years of Iteration

Pricing is one of the most underrated yet powerful growth levers in SaaS. It affects perceived value, conversion rates, and overall revenue.

We went through multiple iterations before finally cracking the pricing model that worked best for Postly. Along the way, we learned some hard but valuable lessons.

The Free Plan Trap

Offering a free plan seems like a no-brainer—after all, free users can eventually convert to paid plans, right? Well, not always.

Here’s the reality: Many users actively hunt for free software. If your free plan is too generous, these users will stay on it forever and never upgrade.

We saw this firsthand. Our free plan attracted thousands of users, but a large portion never subscribed because they were already getting too much value for free.

Lesson learned:

👉 Free plans should be highly limited, just enough to showcase the product without replacing the need for a paid plan.

Trials: Credit Card or No Credit Card?

Another pricing debate in SaaS is whether to require a credit card upfront for free trials.

We experimented with both approaches:

• Credit card required: Fewer sign-ups, but higher-quality leads.
• No credit card required: More sign-ups, but lower conversion rates.

The insight? First impressions matter.

If you ask users for their credit card details the first time they interact with your product, it creates friction and drives many away. Unless your brand is already well-known, it’s better to let users experience value first before asking for payment.

The Danger of Pricing Too Low

We initially thought cheap pricing would drive more sales. So, we made a bold move: Unlimited social media channels for just $10/month.

The result? It backfired.

Instead of attracting more users, it made Postly seem too cheap to be valuable. Some users even complained openly about our pricing, assuming that a low-cost tool must mean low quality.

This was a critical realization: People associate price with quality. If something is too cheap, they assume it’s not worth much.

After much trial and error, we finally simplified our pricing to a model that made sense:

• ✅ Pricing per social media channel (e.g., $3 per month per Facebook page).

This approach worked for three key reasons:

1. It aligned cost with usage. Users paid for exactly what they needed, nothing more.
2. It was easy to understand. No complicated tiers—just a straightforward price per channel.
3. It eliminated the “too cheap” perception. Users saw value in what they were paying for.

By refining our pricing strategy, we were able to increase revenue, improve customer satisfaction, and remove friction in the buying process.

Final Thoughts

Building for the buyer is not about adding more features, lowering prices, or copying competitors. It’s about:

• ✔ Understanding user needs and solving real problems.
• ✔ Keeping the product simple and laser-focused.
• ✔ Using smart pricing strategies that balance value and revenue.

The SaaS world is crowded, but companies that prioritize clarity, simplicity, and customer experience will always stand out.

For Postly, these principles have been the foundation of our growth. And for any SaaS founder reading this—if you get these fundamentals right, you’ll be on the path to building a product that buyers love, trust, and pay for.