Insight: SaaS (41) SaaS onboarding hands-on guide
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The value proposition and the need proposition were explored in the previous article ‘Insight: SaaS (40) Customer Value Proposition’.
I read the previous SaaS articles in the series before writing this one. In the relevant posts on SaaS client acquisition and renewal, I discovered that I had overlooked the important connective link ‘Onboarding.’ I covered Onboarding in the post Standardizing Sales Processes and Standardizing Sales, but only briefly and did not go into detail about it. Let’s speak about SaaS onboarding in this article.
Between WIN and Referral, onboarding is part of the sales process. It is an important aspect of Success from the customer’s standpoint. To summarize onboarding in a single phrase, it allows users to begin to experience the product’s functions and understand the value of SaaS.
We rely on humans to complete Onboarding in the traditional software industry. Onboarding also includes building the Service on the client’s server, installing software for the customer, and assisting the customer with processes like account registration at this time. The present state of SaaS onboarding is to automatically guide consumers through the program’s design to get them to utilize the product.
Through a series of subtle designs, customers can be guided to accomplish certain actions. Users can feel the value of SaaS products and progressively become familiar with the interface and usage of SaaS if they follow the instructions and finish the operation step by step. That is exactly what Onboarding must accomplish.
Designing a checklist or a stepper or a progress is a good idea.
Here’s Zapier’s welcome page, in the form of a stepper:
This stepper does not ask for extra information, and the stages are straightforward. Users learn which apps they can connect to in Zapier with this Stepper and get their first opinion of the product. It is a very successful stepper.
Through this stepper, Zapier also collected critical client information and prepared for the next customized plan and scene-based onboarding.
What are the principles of designing Onboarding?
1. Simple
Make the onboarding process as straightforward as possible. Stepper, for example, cannot have more than 5 steps, and the checklist cannot have more than 5 checks. New users must be guided through the onboarding process to fulfill the most fundamental functions. Bitbucket, for example, is used to build a workspace and the initial coding project. Those advanced, difficult capabilities can’t be included in the initial onboarding.
Setting up elaborate product tours is not advised.
2. Zero bugs
Onboarding is the process of guiding users through the proper use of a product and avoiding unforeseen scenarios. Because faults are unavoidable with SaaS, it is common for consumers to discover bugs while using the service. Bugs, on the other hand, are not tolerated throughout the onboarding period. Onboarding flaws can sabotage user trust.
You will not get twice the outcome with half the effort if you master these two ideas when designing onboarding.
When does the onboarding begin?
When a user registers for an account, the process of onboarding begins. From a SaaS company’s standpoint, the more consumer information they collect, the more initiative they have in future interactions. From the customers’ perspective, they don’t want to give over too much personal information to unknown organizations. There must be some compromises in the middle.
Fill in no customer-related information on the account registration form, as this will have a significant impact on the registration rate. This section of the information can be completed on the welcome page.
The signup form should not contain any personal information.
When will the onboarding end?
In fact, onboarding will never end. Let’s get into the meat of this article: continuous onboarding.
Onboarding for the first time is merely a minor portion of the process. Onboarding is a long-term project.
At different levels of product usage, onboarding has varied objectives. AHA moment, activation, adoption, retention, and expansion are the stages of an onboarding mission.
AHA moment is the first aim to surprise and gratify users.
Activation represents that the user has used the most basic product features.
For the first onboarding, the AHA moment and activation are the objectives. Onboarding, we often say, is about allowing people to have an AHA moment with our product and get activated.
Adoption refers to users gradually integrating SaaS with their existing workflows over time. Adoption is best expressed when SaaS becomes a part of the job.
Retention is an exam of SaaS products and services before the next payment cycle. Onboarding should aim to eliminate all issues that affect the renewal at this time and complete the renewal.
Expansion is when customers buy more advanced plans or other cross products. Onboarding is the process of assisting consumers in perceiving (or experiencing) the features of advanced plans that can help them be more productive at work.
For continuous onboarding, the goals of adoption, retention, and expansion must be met. To achieve adoption, retention, and expansion, we must continue to guide users to use non-basic functions of the product after initial onboarding.
So, in the first onboarding, what features should be guided and used? In continuous onboarding, what are the cups involved?
In my SaaS series of articles, I discuss how to upsell and how to design the distribution of features in our different plans so that customers are motivated to upgrade.
Borrow a chart inside:
The most basic functions that characterize the product and the brands are Feature A and Feature B. In the Free plan of MailChimp, for example, customers can send an email or set up a marketing campaign. Box’s free plan allows users to upload and download one file at a time. These are what I refer to as basic features. A SaaS can contain as many as five fundamental functionalities, but ideally no more than five.
The functions that need to be led during the initial onboarding are known as basic features. Users will experience an aha moment and activation as a result of the introduction of these features.
The Pro plan’s features C, D, and E are functions that consumers can activate in their daily SaaS use. Multiple persons can edit a document at the same time in Google Docs, for example. These aren’t the most important traits, but they’re possibly the most valuable. Because of one feature, customers will be able to increase their job efficiency significantly. These are more advanced features.
Advanced features are functions that customers are continually experimenting with during continuous onboarding, and CSM has no idea which advanced features users are interested in using. After CSM’s constant recommendations, the user may be able to locate the advanced function that he is entitled to. Customers can activate using the basic feature, but they can also adopt and retain using the advanced feature.
In the Enterprise package, features F, G, and H are more complicated and advanced capabilities including data encryption and hybrid deployment. Professional engineers or experts are in charge of these functions. It guarantees the company’s security, strategy, and data operations are all running smoothly. These are geek features.
In continuous onboarding, a geek feature is the one triggered by chance. Leveraging some geek features to solve some potential client problems will likely be part of the communication process between consumers and CSM. This is the ideal time for Expansion once the geek feature is on the table for negotiation.
We now know which features should be loaded first and which should be loaded later. So, how do you feel about the new features? The new functionality is another initial onboarding for our existing customers.
Customers are frequently notified of new feature upgrades via email. There is frequently no onboarding guidance on how users utilize the product. Notifications and documentation changes alone are insufficient.
Some of the new features are basic, necessitating a new user onboarding guide. Some functions, however, are simply advanced features. Do you wish to provide an onboarding guide to all of your customers? — — No. At this point, we must learn to assess the relationship between features and then integrate the user’s usage habits to determine whether or not to provide SaaS product onboarding assistance. If a client utilizes feature C and the new feature D is closely related to C, providing an in-product onboarding tutorial has little effect on the customer’s usage.
Customers should be able to transition from unfamiliar to familiar with our solutions through onboarding, and customers should be able to rely on SaaS to succeed. Onboarding is often referred to as marketing in the product.
Please send me an email (jasperhanlingyi@gmail.com) if you have any questions or suggestions.
The next article ‘Insight: SaaS (42) Bridging the Chasm: From Active to Renewal’ is published. Simply send me some claps and feedback if you enjoyed my article.
