Optimize Your SaaS User Onboarding for Maximum Engagement

Hello there! Have you got users who sign up daily but have yet to really engage with your product? They seem to be ghosting your product, and you just cannot understand why.

One thing you must understand about a user-product relationship is that the first face of your product that every single user will get to experience is the Onboarding Phase. This is why you must get the Onboarding Phase right. Getting SaaS onboarding right will end up being the determining factor for whether a new user will stick around or not.

If your SaaS Onboarding is confusing, even if slightly, it will be very easy for new users to dump your product for the next available competition. However, if you get it right, they will be persuaded to stick around and continue using your product, which will eventually turn them into loyal customers.

Let’s dive in to know what exactly SaaS Onboarding is all about!

What Is SaaS User Onboarding?

SaaS User Onboarding is that process whereby you guide new users through your product by highlighting key features and letting them see the value your product has to offer them.

The Onboarding process helps your users reach that moment where they can finally be at rest from the long search and think, “Yes! This is exactly what I’ve been looking for!” These moments of satisfaction in onboarding make a big difference.

Let me walk you through an Onboarding example:

• First Login:

  When users log in to your product for the first time, they should be met with ****a welcome message. The tone of the welcome message could vary depending on the product's core values. After that, you present the users with a quick tour of your product’s core features.

• Account Setup:

  Immediately follow up with a helpful email that could include resources like video tutorials or documentation that could help your users.

• Interacting With Key Features:

  Apply the use of in-app tooltips to help guide users through your product’s essential tools at places where they would need them the most.

• Completion of the First Big Task:

  When they complete an important task, make sure to celebrate them, after which you give them a checklist for what is next. The celebration gives them the motivation to keep on going.

• When Users Go Inactive:

  When users go inactive after using your product, send them automated reminders or nudges that will help to remind them about and re-engage them with your product.

The Importance of SaaS User Onboarding

The fact remains that, even if your product has the best features ever, but users are unable to figure out how to use it, then your product might as well be invisible. A proper Onboarding process helps to prevent this and allows your user to have a glimpse of your product’s value.

Without a solid onboarding strategy, you risk having a lot of new users leave as fast as they are coming. This would lead to high churn rates and a lot of lost opportunities.

Meanwhile, with proper SaaS onboarding, you can:

Boost Activation Rates

As soon as users are able to see the value in your product, they are compelled to stick around and activate key features if need be.

Reduce Churn

When your product has a solid Onboarding strategy, users are able to follow through with the sign-up process and other processes that lead them to the moment of satisfaction that they can get from your product.

Create Loyal Customers

When users have a positive early experience while using your product, it can lead to them becoming loyal users who are more likely to upgrade or recommend your product to other users.

12 Strategies To Help You Optimize SaaS User Onboarding Flows

The key to optimizing your SaaS User Onboarding is best by finding the right balance between guiding your users through your product and allowing them the chance to explore freely as well.

To do this successfully, here are 12 strategies to help improve your onboarding, boost adoption, and minimize churn:

1. Understand Users’ Pain Points and Goals

Identify the “why” of the User. Find the answers to questions like: “Why do users download your app? What problem were they trying to solve? “What were they trying to achieve when they signed up?” Use open-ended questions to gather insights through in-app surveys.

2. Map Your User Journey

From sign-up to success, a user journey map will help to show the actions users can take when using your product, as well as, point out areas of potential error. This will help you decide what to add during further onboarding processes to help users through the predicted areas of potential errors. Also, make use of lower-friction actions to enable users to see the benefit they will get from using your product.

3. Find and Eliminate Frictional Sources

Always go over your journey map to find anything making users stuck. If you find anything, work on it immediately. You should consider asking questions like: “Does this help users quickly experience value?”

4. Break Up Complex Steps Using Progressive Disclosure

Never dump the onboarding process as one big process for your users. They will be discouraged right from the beginning. Instead, break every complex task into smaller, manageable chunks. This will encourage users to go through and complete the onboarding process. Offer advanced features only when users need them so that you do not end up overwhelming them.

5. Use Templates To Reduce Cognitive Load

Apply the use of templates to help new users get their accounts up and running faster. This will help to make the experience frictionless from the start.

6. Leverage the Power of Smart Defaults

Provide smart defaults when users first sign up. Setting up useful defaults can guide them toward the best experience.

7. Create a Tailored Onboarding Experience

If you can provide a tailored onboarding experience that would meet the needs of each user, it will make the process more engaging and increase the chances of completion. You can do this by asking users about their main goal and directing them accordingly.

8. Create an Immersive Walkthrough

An onboarding wizard guides users toward their first project, blending multiple best practices into one experience.

9. Use Persuasive Copy To Communicate Value

There is power in persuasiveness. Apply this power at every step and not just on the marketing site. This will help your users understand the value that they will receive from your product.

10. Offer Clear Signs of Progress

As users go through the onboarding process, show them the progress they are making in your onboarding flow. Celebrating their small victories will help to keep them engaged and motivated to continue with your product.

11. Have Users Learn by Doing

You can also allow your users to “have a feel of your product” by encouraging them to explore your product hands-on. This will help them understand your product’s features through practice.

12. Test, Learn, Repeat

You can keep on upgrading and improving your onboarding flow. Always run continuous A/B testing on your onboarding flow and make use of the date to keep improving. This will help to ensure that your onboarding efforts aren't wasted.

How To Track SaaS User Onboarding Effectiveness

Tracking your SaaS User Onboarding effectiveness can be easily done when you set up the right measures in place to do so. When you monitor certain key metrics, you can conveniently see how users interact with your product and you can know where to make the necessary adjustments.

Let us take a look at the Key Metrics to Track:

• Establish significant onboarding milestones like sign-up completion and initial use of essential features.

• Use in-app tracking to determine where users devote the most time.

• Leverage heatmaps and user input to discover difficulty areas.

• Incorporate micro-surveys for real-time feedback on onboarding processes.

• Explore alternative onboarding flows using A/B testing.

• Determine drop-off spots in your onboarding process.

Several companies excel in their onboarding process. In this article, we will be going on to take a look at five of them. Check them out below:

Five Examples of Smooth SaaS Customer Onboarding Experiences

These companies excel in their onboarding processes because they are able to use effective techniques to keep their users engaged. Let us take a look at some things that they do.

1. Airtable: It offers a personalized onboarding experience to its users. They ask users key questions to help personalize the experience and give relevant templates based on their roles and goals.

2. Calendly: Calendly offers a simplified sign-up. They immediately link their users’ calendars to their website and guide them through creating their first event.

3. Calm also offers a personalized onboarding experience for users. It does so by focusing on why users are there and tailoring suggestions based on their goals and roles.

4. Grammarly offers an interactive tour, allowing users to learn by correcting their writing in real-time. This helps to show the users the value of the product right away and make them think: “This is what I’ve been looking for all my life!”

5. Loom: Loom emphasizes learning by practice. They allow their users to “have a feel of the product” through hands-on interaction post-sign-up. Users are to create videos right away and can grasp the value of the product quickly.

For any SaaS company, a well-designed onboarding flow is highly important and severe. If you can follow the strategies listed, you are already well on your way to improving your users' onboarding experience and increasing user-product engagement.