{"id":73,"date":"2022-02-23T10:39:59","date_gmt":"2022-02-23T10:39:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/saas-heaven.com\/?page_id=73"},"modified":"2022-05-12T08:58:36","modified_gmt":"2022-05-12T08:58:36","slug":"saas-onboarding","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/saas-heaven.com\/saas-marketing\/saas-onboarding\/","title":{"rendered":"SaaS Onboarding 101"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Employee<\/p>\n

SaaS companies follow a recurring or subscription-based revenue model, which is why retaining customers is even more important than signing them. A positive onboarding experience is the key to increasing a customer’s lifetime value and reducing churn because customers can adopt experience value from your solution right away.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What Is Onboarding In SaaS?<\/b><\/h2>\n

In SaaS, onboarding refers to nurturing your new users and helping them become familiar with using your solution. The stage usually follows the period immediately after they become paying customers for the first time. Depending on the complexity of the solution, onboarding is performed through written materials, video tutorials, and or walkthroughs; alternatively, a sales or customer service rep will assist with onboarding.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Some companies may have dedicated onboarding staff to guide new customers through the solution for the first time.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The goal of onboarding is always to help transition new users to become habitual users of the solution or product by transferring sufficient knowledge so that they accomplish their goals.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Why Is Onboarding Important?\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n

\"Doormat<\/p>\n

It takes a considerable amount of time for a customer to decide to purchase your SaaS solution. They evaluate dozens of competitors, sit through countless demos and spend time tweaking their budgets before taking the leap. Onboarding teams need to reassure the customer that they have made the right decision and quash any buyer’s remorse they may experience. If done correctly, onboarding has numerous benefits, including:<\/span><\/p>\n

Lower risk of churn<\/b><\/h3>\n

The average churn rate of a <\/span>SaaS company is at 5%<\/span><\/a>. If your churn rate is higher than the industry average, you should consider reevaluating your onboarding process. Customers who have a positive first interaction with your product are far more likely to use the product and will keep using it for a longer time.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Learning to use a new tool by yourself can be difficult, especially in a business environment where operations have to keep moving. Onboarding customers with care demonstrates that you are attentive from the start, and if customers spend the time and effort to learn how to use your software, they’re invested and far less likely to switch and start the process of learning how to use a new tool all over again.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Children<\/h3>\n

Make your customers feel valued.<\/b><\/h3>\n

If you help your customers get started, they feel more valued and at ease with your product. If they are left to their own devices and make mistakes, you’ll be the one that gets blamed. Supporting customers increases trust and positive word of mouth from the start.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Gain customer advocates<\/b><\/h3>\n

Your customers may switch companies at any time. They move in the same circles and browse the same industry-related websites as the prospects you are chasing. If your customers feel happy and confident about your solution, they can become excellent brand advocates. Onboarding encourages customers to tell others about your business in a positive way, especially if they realize value right away.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Create opportunities for upselling\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n

If it’s appropriate, your team can use the onboarding stage to upsell to new customers. Many SaaS companies pitch low or basic entry-level tiers to their software solutions as a means of roping them in. Once customers start on this tier, it’s much easier to push additional features as customers recognize the value and convenience a higher tier has to offer. Make sure that the lowest tier is still practical and useful from the start and only upsell when a customer asks about it. Onboarding should be focused on training, not selling upgrades.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

How To Set Up An Onboarding Process<\/b><\/h2>\n

Creating the perfect onboarding experience takes careful planning and attention to detail. SaaS solutions vary in complexity, and so do customer needs. However, there are a few best practices to guide you along the way.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

1.<\/b> Start by researching the customer journey<\/b><\/h3>\n

Whenever a new customer starts using your software, there will be critical moments and actions in their user journey. These moments can be positive or negative. Start with the negative moments first. Where are customers hitting a wall or struggling to use the solution? Which features are they finding the least useful?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

You can gather this information through surveys, heatmaps, Google Analytics tags, or by using a customized demo software with annotations so that you can collect insights about the way customers navigate your software.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Next, work on finding the “aha” moment. This is the instant where your customer discovers just how valuable your solution is and will motivate your customer to keep using the product for years to come. You should build your marketing materials, demos, and onboarding tutorials around this moment to hook customers from the start.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Once you’ve gathered the necessary information about the user journey, from sign-in to completing actions, you can create tutorials or other onboarding materials that steer customers along the most efficient route that encourages discovery and adoption and takes them to the first moment of value realization.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

2.<\/b> Welcome your customers\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n

You have to stay in touch with your customers as they are onboarded. One of the easiest ways to do this is via an automated email series that checks in with, educates, and reassures customers as they start using your solution.<\/span><\/p>\n

This should include:<\/span><\/p>\n