Introduction
After years of working on SaaS platforms, we have realized that SaaS on-boarding is one of the most critical initiatives you can take on. This article will help you craft better on-boarding experiences for customers.
At HyperTrends, we build custom SaaS solutions for B2B and B2C customers.
A mentor of ours used to call it the Path-to-Wow. We want to maximize the perceived value of the platform as a part of the on-boarding process.
We want deliver gratification instantly, and make an impact.
To that end, we place a great emphasis on designing the perfect on-boarding experience for our customers.
To set your customers up for success, you have to make their onboarding experience joyful and rewarding. The on-boarding process must be meaningful and educational all at the same time.
Focus on a new user’s journey
When a new user signs up for your SaaS product, they’re entering into a world of unknowns. They don’t know what to expect from the experience, how it will help them achieve their goals or even who else is using your product.
You have an opportunity to make a great first impression on them—and if done right this can go a long way toward building trust in your brand and driving more signups in the future.
The good news is that many SaaS companies already have built-in tools (such as Drift) that allow them to track user onboarding journeys through email campaigns so that they can better understand where each customer falls within their customer lifecycle funnel (i.e., are they still in trial mode? Or have they officially become paying customers?)
However not all companies will be able to afford these types of solutions so here are some ideas for creating high quality onboarding experiences without breaking the bank:
Provide quick wins
A SaaS on-boarding guide is a great opportunity to provide quick wins. Your new users will be eager to see some progress and see their work start paying off, so give them an early win that can help build confidence in their decision.
It’s important not to overwhelm users with too much information at once, but you also want them to feel like they’re making progress as soon as possible!
Make it easy for your users get started with your product: set up a free trial, walkthrough video or getting started guide with links to other resources where they can learn more about the product and its features.
This will help keep them motivated by showing them how easy it is for anyone who wants it enough just like yourself!
Practice consistency
One of the most important things you can do as a SaaS company is to practice consistency. Consistency is key in many areas, including:
- Your marketing materials
- Your support materials
- The features of your product
- The pricing plans offered by your company
Consistency matters because it helps users get comfortable with what they’re seeing and doing when they use your product, which increases their chances of becoming regular users.
Help users understand the value of your product from the get-go.
It’s important to help your users understand the value of your product from the get-go.
Provide a clear value proposition and a trial period, which will allow them to test out your product for themselves.
Showcase other customers who have successfully used your product in their business, or provide examples of how it has helped them solve their problems.
Emphasize your support team
Another way to make your SaaS onboarding process feel more human is by emphasizing the support team. That’s right—the people you are paying for!
With a platform like Zendesk or Intercom, you can provide contact information for different departments. You could even provide a live chat option if your product is set up this way.
A good example of this is Salesforce: they have an entire team dedicated to customer success and they clearly communicate that in their marketing materials and on their website.
If emailing isn’t your thing, maybe you can consider phone numbers instead and even schedule calls with specific representatives at certain times during business hours!
Help users overcome the inertia of starting something new.
You’ve made a great product, and you want to get it in the hands of your users.
But often, when people are considering whether or not they should pay for a new product or service and take on the responsibility of learning how it works, they have some initial inertia.
They don’t feel like they need it right now. Or they’re not sure if this is something that will work for them (or their business).
To help overcome this inertia, your onboarding process needs to focus on two key things: benefits and ease-of-use.
If your onboarding process isn’t easy enough for someone to understand quickly why they should start using your product right away—and maybe even benefit from doing so—they won’t sign up at all!
Here are some ideas:
Giving users a great first experience with your product can give you an edge over competitors.
You’ve heard the saying “you only get one chance to make a first impression.” While it may not be exactly true, there is some truth behind it.
The first time people use your app or product can have a great impact on whether they continue using it—and even if they recommend the product to others.
But why focus on onboarding? In short, because it gives you an edge over competitors who don’t do any kind of onboarding at all! If your users have a great experience when they first use your product, then they’ll probably spread the word about how great that experience was. And since people who try out new apps usually have many options available to them and switch between them frequently (or abandon them quickly), having satisfied customers will help you build trust in your brand and keep customers coming back for more.
Conclusion
Building SaaS products is a highly competitive endeavor, and as a result, it’s crucial for companies to differentiate themselves in the eyes of their customers. It is essential to offer them the best possible experience.
If you can successfully onboard your users, you’ll be able to grow faster and keep them around longer. That’s why we created this list of SaaS onboarding ideas: so that you can learn from others’ mistakes and successes!