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App Development
10 minutes read

White Label Software Explained

By Robert Kazmi
By Robert Kazmi
App Development
10 minutes read

White label products are fairly common these days, including white label software. The grand majority of white label software is sold under the software as a service (SaaS) model. White label SaaS products are very common in the modern business world. There are a ton of benefits for businesses to use and sell white label software. We’ll look at the benefits associated with white label SaaS later in the piece. 

Before we explore the benefits of white label products, common examples of these products, and some of the potential drawbacks associated with them, we’ll need to clearly define white label software and white label SaaS. These concepts are very similar, but they are also slightly different too. Let’s take a closer look at the white label concept. 

How Does White Label Software Differ from White Label SaaS?

White label products are sold to a customer who then turns around and attaches their branding, logo, etc., to the product before selling it to the final customer. Common examples of this concept are the generic brand food items at grocery stores. For example, most grocery stores do not can their own corn; they simply buy white label cans of corn and attach their branding and sell it on their shelves. 

White label software follows the same concept. An app development company sells access to their software for an agreed-upon subscription term. During the subscription period, the company that is paying for the software rebrands the software as its own product. Typically, the end-user of this software product does not know that it was created by a third party.  

White label SaaS is exactly the same as white label software, but in addition to the software, there are also supported services typically included in the subscription. The supported services available under the white label can be just about anything from project management and communications to asset creation and development. The scope of the included services will depend on the white label product and what the company offers in terms of service. 

The crucial component of white label services is that the end-user does not know that they are actually using software and receiving services from a third party. Organizations that are not careful in protecting their white label products run the risk of their customers finding out they are actually using products and services developed by another company. In this case, many customers will try to cut out the reseller and get a lower price from the main provider. 

What are the Benefits of White Label?

If you’re new to the idea of white label products, you might be wondering what the possible benefits of white label could be. When it comes to software, there are a lot of advantages to the white label model, including:

  • Smaller investment costs
  • Little expertise required
  • More products to offer
  • Faster to market
  • Less financial risk

What are the goals of your organization? Depending on what your answer is, it might make more sense to skip product design and development and choose white label software. Weigh the benefits of white label software for yourself. 

Smaller Investment Costs

Developing software and mobile apps costs money and takes time. Oftentimes, the cost of development is not an insignificant figure. Instead of spending the time and money it takes to develop, test, and implement a software product, your organization could pay a licensing fee and use white label software. This is a more affordable option in the short term. Depending on your goals and business model, developing your own software might be your best option, but you need to account for the time and money it will require. If you try and take on a development project that is too big or costly for your team to handle internally, you could impact your internal business operations. 

Little Expertise Required

If you want to provide your customers with a software or service that you lack the ability or expertise to create or provide, you can take advantage of white label SaaS in order to fill that need. White label products allow your business to provide crucial software and services to your customers without requiring you to be an expert. Your organization can spend more time concentrating on the things you are experts at and lean on the power of the white label software to fill the gaps.

More Products to Offer

Meeting all of the SaaS requirements of your customers on your own can be a challenge. White label SaaS gives your organization the ability to expand the scope of your product and service offerings. Expanded offerings allow your business to be more competitive in the marketplace; they enhance your brand reputation and lead to stronger customer loyalty by giving you the ability to more fully meet their needs. This can also help your business attract new customers too. 

Faster to Market 

The business world moves fast. If you want to be a first-mover, the time it takes you to bring your products and services to market is very important. White label software can help you bring your product to market faster by removing development time from the equation. Reducing your time to market could have a large impact on your market share, long-term viability, and more. 

Less Financial Risk

There is less associated financial risk with white label SaaS and white label software. Let’s say that your customers are not interested in these services or products. You just can’t sell the software or associated services no matter how hard you try. If you spent time and money developing them yourself, you would stand to lose a lot more money when compared to the white label model. If you choose white label products that don’t sell, you can always cancel your subscription and walk away from it. You will lose the money associated with the subscription fee, but this is considerably less than the cost of development. 

Common Examples of White Label Software and SaaS

White label products allow companies to brand already established software products and sell them as their own. In order to better illustrate white label SaaS, let’s look at some common examples of these products. Common white label software includes:

  • Email marketing software
  • Digital marketing management software
  • Social media management software
  • Mobile apps 

Email Marketing Software

Modern businesses are relying on email marketing to drive revenue, retain customers, and attract new customers. Email marketing software is essential for creating email campaigns, tracking campaign performance, and obviously, sending emails themselves. This is a common white label software that companies use to further their marketing efforts.

White label email marketing software gives organizations the ability to create custom, branded dashboards that they can reference for internal purposes and share with clients. One of the most popular providers of white label email marketing software is HubSpot. 

Digital Marketing Management Software

Search engine optimization (SEO) is vital to websites. However, SEO can be a demanding and time-consuming process. Companies that don’t have the bandwidth to provide SEO services to all of their clients, especially the small and medium-sized ones, might consider hiring white label marketing services and software to expand their reach and keep clients satisfied. SEO services are a great example of a white label SaaS.

Re-sellable SEO services are just as popular as digital marketing management software, and these two things are often bundled together into one product offering. Customizable SEO dashboards allow businesses to brand website data and offer insights into client web performance, and white label marketing services give them the expanded bandwidth to complete SEO and SEM tasks that are essential to the success of their clients. Serpstat and HubShout are two examples of companies offering white label marketing services and software. 

Social Media Management Software

Social media is a powerful tool, but it can be difficult to manage multiple channels at once, especially if you are managing the social media accounts for multiple clients. White label social media management software is a popular option for digital marketing agencies.

A white label social media platform gives businesses the ability to manage and schedule posts for all of their social media channels, respond to comments, and create branded analytics reports. These platforms can also be rebranded and then resold to additional customers giving your clients the ability to manage their own social media accounts. If you’re looking for a white label product that handles social media management, Vendasta and SocialPilot are two white label social media platforms.

Mobile Apps

Businesses that want to stand out, reach more customers, and deliver great services need a mobile app. The thing about mobile apps is that they can cost a lot of time and money to develop. White label products could be the key for businesses who want an app that doesn’t necessarily have to be completely unique.

For example, white label app developers create a basic mobile payments app that can be quickly customized with new skins and brand logos. Businesses can buy a subscription or access the app and then customize it with their own branding. This mobile app can then be used to promote the business, further business objectives, accept payments, etc. In this example, the customer saves time and money on app development, they get a quality mobile app that meets their basic needs, and they can customize their app to match their brand identity. 

Potential Downsides to White Label Software

Despite the many positive aspects that organizations can gain from white label software, there are a few downsides that we should mention as well. The primary drawback is a lack of control. When you develop your own software or app, you have control over functions, features, and design. When you purchase white label software, you give up most of this control. Sure, you will be able to rebrand the software to match your branding, but you won’t be in control of updates, design elements, or key features, and you may face more difficulties integrating a white label SaaS app into your existing reporting and analytics architecture.

The other thing to think about is pricing. If you are reselling white label software, accurately pricing the product is more difficult. The last thing you want to do is attach an arbitrary price tag to the white label product. Successfully reselling white label software on a subscription basis requires an in-depth pricing strategy. This can be difficult. If your pricing is out of line with the value of the actual product, you will lose customers, or you will lose money. 

Final Thoughts on White Label

White label products can be a huge help to organizations that are looking to get off the ground fast, extend their product offerings, and increase their market share. White label software and SaaS is not right for every business. If you’re unsure what step to take, reach out to a qualified app development partner who can help you determine your needs and how they can best be met. There are a lot of different white label products available on the market, and they are not all made equally.

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