Customer onboarding is the first impression your new users will have of your SaaS product. It sets the stage not only for their initial experience but also for their long-term relationship with your company. The reality is customer loyalty is more difficult to earn than ever. We're in a time where effective onboarding can make all the difference. According to Wyzowl, 63% of customers consider a company’s onboarding program when making a purchase decision.
So, how do organizations onboard their customers quickly but effectively?
How can customers get value from the product or service as quickly as possible?
Is it even possible to do this if you lack the resources?
These questions (plus more) will be answered in this article!
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Understanding the Importance of Effective Customer Onboarding
Before we explore the challenges, let's talk about why effective onboarding is crucial. Customer onboarding is the process that takes a new user from account setup to proficient use of your product. This experience can shape their perception of your brand and significantly affect your churn rate. A study by the research institute Gitnux found that 63% of customers consider the company's onboarding program when making a purchasing decision.
Simply put, perfecting your onboarding process can lead to increased customer satisfaction, better retention rates, and, ultimately, higher revenue. But the question remains: what should the SaaS onboarding experience look like to achieve these results? Onboarding issues are inevitable but can be mitigated. Let’s talk about that.
Common Onboarding Challenges in SaaS
1. Unclear Customer Expectations
One of the primary challenges in the customer onboarding process is unclear expectations.
When was the last time you had a customer who didn't realize they had to do things in their onboarding process? That's not usually a fun conversation to have. Customers may also come into the onboarding process with a variety of assumptions about what your product can do, leading to misalignment and potential dissatisfaction.
These kinds of mismatches can result in frustration and decreased usage of your product. And in extreme cases, early churn.
Recommended reading: Top 5 strategies to handle customer expectations in B2B SaaS
2. Lack of Personalized Onboarding Experiences
Personalization is no longer a luxury; it’s a necessity. A lack of personalized onboarding experiences can make users feel like another number rather than a valued customer. SaaS companies often struggle to tailor the new customer onboarding process to individual needs, leading to a one-size-fits-all approach that fails to engage users effectively.
One-size-fits-all has its place especially in Digital CS but when creating an onboarding process, personalization should be a key component.
3. Difficulties in Tracking Onboarding Progress
Keeping tabs on where each user is in the onboarding process can be complex. Without proper tracking, it's challenging to identify who needs extra help, which could lead to missed opportunities for intervention and higher churn rates. SaaS companies often grapple with integrating systems that can monitor and report on onboarding progress.
And no, expensive tools are not always the answer to tracking onboarding. Stay tuned for more on this.
4. Insufficient Training Resources
A lack of comprehensive training resources can leave new users feeling overwhelmed. Even if your product is user-friendly, without adequate resources like tutorials, FAQs, and help centers, customers might struggle to fully grasp its features and benefits. This can result in underutilization of your product's capabilities.
Training resources for your customers can be a deciding factor between a quick time-to-value and a slow time-to-value. Effective onboarding programs can lead to higher product usage rates. Users who have a positive onboarding experience are more likely to become power users
5. Inadequate Feedback Loops
And finally, effective onboarding involves continuous improvement, which is impossible without regular feedback. Many SaaS companies fail to establish robust feedback loops that capture user experiences and insights during the onboarding phase. This gap hinders the ability to make data-driven improvements to the onboarding process.
Strategies to Overcome Customer Onboarding Challenges
Unclear Customer Expectations
To tackle unclear expectations, start by setting the stage right from the beginning. Develop detailed welcome guides that outline what customers can expect from your product and the onboarding process. Personalized onboarding plans can also help manage expectations by providing tailored steps based on the customer's specific needs and goals.
Zendesk offers 11 onboarding templates and best practices.
Lack of Personalized Onboarding Experiences
Implementing personalized onboarding can transform your user experience. Use customer data to create tailored onboarding journeys. For example, segment your users based on their industry, role, or specific use-case scenarios. By doing so, you can provide relevant content and features that cater to their unique needs.
K4 used EverAfter's B2B Customer Interface to cut their customer onboarding by 50% with personalized onboarding hubs. It was a seamless process, and it yielded incredible results for their customers and the overall time-to-value they experienced.
Difficulties in Tracking Onboarding Progress
Invest in customer onboarding software that offers robust tracking capabilities. Tools like OnRamp and Rocketlane can help you monitor user progress in real-time. These platforms provide valuable insights into where users are in the onboarding process, allowing you to offer timely interventions and support.
Tools like Excel and Notion are also great for internally tracking onboarding and are more affordable if you have budget constraints. In the case of Excel/Google Suite, it's totally free! These tools can create something as simple as a customer onboarding checklist.
Insufficient Training Resources
Create a comprehensive library of training resources to guide new users. This could include video tutorials, webinars, detailed FAQs, and interactive walkthroughs. Make these resources easily accessible within your platform to ensure users can find help whenever they need it.
This could start with simple Loom videos or how-to guides created by easy-to-use tools like Scribe. There is no need to overcomplicate your training resources. Simply figure out what the common questions and issues your customers face are and work from there.
Inadequate Feedback Loops
Establishing effective feedback loops is crucial for continuous improvement. Implement regular check-ins with new users through surveys or direct outreach. Use this feedback to identify pain points and areas for enhancement in your onboarding process. Tools like SurveyMonkey and Typeform can be invaluable for gathering and analyzing user feedback.
Verbit used EverAfter's no-code platform to create better internal feedback loops. They created a transparent, day-to-day view of all the customer data relevant to them from within their internal systems.
Read more about how they accomplished this.
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Real-World Examples of Successful Onboarding
Case Study 1: EverAfter.ai
EverAfter.ai simplifies the B2B onboarding process by creating interactive and personalized experiences that get customers up and running faster. We practice what we preach, of course – wouldn't want our own onboarding to be a walk in the onboarding desert, would we? 😉 Our software offers a suite of features designed to empower businesses and customers throughout the onboarding journey.
- Interactive Onboarding: EverAfter's no-code interface builder allows businesses to create engaging and interactive onboarding experiences tailored to specific customer needs.
- Self-Service Options: Customers can access self-guided learning materials, complete tasks, and track their progress independently, reducing dependence on support teams.
- Data-Driven Insights: The platform provides real-time data and insights into the customer onboarding journey, enabling businesses to identify potential roadblocks and ensure a smooth experience.
- Automated Workflows: EverAfter automates repetitive tasks and sends personalized updates, freeing up valuable time for Customer Success Managers and fostering better communication.
- Increased Efficiency & Growth: By streamlining onboarding and empowering customers, EverAfter aims to accelerate time-to-value, improve team efficiency, boost customer retention, and ultimately drive account revenue growth.
Case Study 2: Canva
Canva offers a seamless onboarding process that includes interactive tutorials and templates to help users start creating immediately. Their onboarding is focused on getting users to create their first design within minutes of signing up.
Canva’s onboarding process is meticulously designed to reduce friction and enable users to achieve results fast. Here’s how they do it:
- Immediate Engagement: As soon as a user signs up, they are prompted to choose what type of design they want to create (e.g., a poster, business card, or social media graphic). This immediate decision-making helps tailor the subsequent steps to the user’s specific needs.
- Guided Actions: Users are guided through a quick tutorial that shows them the basic functionalities like dragging and dropping elements, resizing images, and changing fonts. This tutorial doesn’t cover everything but focuses on getting users started with creating something right away.
- Templates: One of Canva’s strongest onboarding tools is its vast library of templates. By offering professionally designed templates, users can feel accomplished and creative right from their first login, significantly reducing the time-to-value.
- Progressive Discovery: As users become more comfortable with the basic features, Canva introduces more advanced features through popup tips and contextual help. This method of progressive discovery helps keep the interface simple for beginners while promoting continuous learning and engagement.
Case Study 3: Intercom
Known for its customer messaging platform, Intercom excels in onboarding through personalized welcome messages and guided product tours. Intercom uses its own product to facilitate an engaging and personalized onboarding experience. Their approach is heavily focused on communication and personalization:
- Personalized Welcome Messages: Upon signing up, users receive a personalized message through the Intercom chat interface. This not only demonstrates the product's capabilities but also makes the experience feel tailored and welcoming.
- Product Tours: Intercom offers interactive product tours that guide users through the core functionalities. These tours are interactive and allow users to learn by doing, which is effective in retaining new information.
- Targeted Messaging: Based on user behavior, Intercom sends targeted messages that suggest the next steps, further features, or actions the user might find valuable. This keeps the user engaged and encourages deeper exploration of the product.
- Resource Accessibility: Throughout the onboarding process, Intercom makes sure that help is readily available. Users can access various forms of support, including live chat, help articles, and community forums, directly through the interface.
What Will Successful Onboarding Look Like In The Future
AI and Automation
Artificial Intelligence and automation are revolutionizing customer onboarding. AI-driven chatbots can provide instant support, answering common queries and guiding users through the onboarding process. Automation can personalize onboarding at scale, delivering relevant content and resources based on user behavior and preferences.
Data Analytics
Data analytics plays a pivotal role in optimizing onboarding. Companies can identify trends and pain points by analyzing user behavior and feedback making data-driven decisions to enhance the onboarding experience. Predictive analytics can also anticipate user needs, offering proactive solutions and support.
Gamification
Gamification is an emerging trend in customer onboarding. By incorporating game-like elements such as badges, rewards, and progress tracking, companies can make the onboarding process more engaging and motivating. This approach not only enhances user experience but also encourages deeper product adoption.
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