There are so many software products that move so quickly, with new products being offered for digital download. The software promises to save them time, ease their work, and to increase their efficiency. They get their hopes up, and the excitement mostly dies off as they find themselves confused.
People nowadays don’t have much time to spend on learning every small thing about a product that is literally guaranteed to provide convenience and time-saving benefits, making user onboarding very necessary for SaaS success.
This article outlines the bridge between curiosity and value, and how personalization shapes the path.
A user onboarding experience is not a feature tour of a random product. It is the entire experience of the user’s first few interactions until they have their first “aha” moment, which is the moment that they realize the value that the product is going to bring to them. In that “aha” moment, they are going to know how the product is going to solve their problems.
Why do so many companies get this wrong?
It’s tough to retain customers if the entry experience for your product is not good. Often software teams spend a lot of effort and money to get prospective customers to their website, to get them to sign up for a free trial, or to buy their product. But all of that effort gets washed away if the first experience that the customer has with the product is bad. It’s like inviting guests to dinner and then leaving them to stand in the driveway.
And that’s where thoughtful strategy comes in.
Creating an intentional onboarding strategy helps guide users through the entire journey, from their first login onward. This involves creating targeted messaging through a lifecycle marketing platform to support users at the correct time. The purpose of onboarding is to create a seamless experience that guides users from signing up for a first-time account to building habits of regular use over time.
Reduce friction in the first experience by requesting the least amount of information needed to complete a registration. Long registration forms, mandatory immediate setup, and endless tours that aren’t customizable will repel users before they have a chance to experience the value of your software.
Instead, progressive guidance works best.
By providing the user with small wins within a short amount of time, you can create a lot of momentum for the user. The first action that the user completes will give them a sense of what they can do and will give them a positive experience as well. The next action will be a lot easier to complete and will be just as positive an experience. Soon enough, the user will be completing all of the actions that the system is designed for, and they will be familiar with all of the features that the software has to offer.
People signing up for software have different objectives. Some are managers and require reports at a high level, while others are individual contributors and need to manage their tasks on a daily basis.
Treating every user identically leads to disinterest.
Offering customized onboarding is possible by defining the roles of users or their interests. Thus, for example, a manager will get acquainted with reporting functions, whereas an individual contributor will understand how to manage tasks and workflow. It is very important to make users feel that you are really interested in them, because when people feel that a platform grasps their unique context, they’re going to form a stronger connection with the product.
As long as you have a solid onboarding process in place, the retention of your users will enhance, leading to sustainable growth. The cost of acquiring a new user is a lot higher than the cost of maintaining a customer relationship.
Users that have been successfully onboarded are willing to pay for upgrades, be retained for longer periods of time, and become advocates for your product by recommending it to their colleagues, friends, and family. They’ll even bring it up naturally in conversation with coworkers, the way people mention platforms like Basecamp when it comes up. On the flip side, a poor user experience will result in high churn rates, lots of negative reviews, and ultimately cost your company a lot of potential revenue.
A great onboarding process is not a cosmetic change to enhance your SaaS product. It’s actually a fundamental strategy for building a resilient and growing software business.
