Which are the top 7 ultimate strategies for customer onboarding for SaaS companies?

 Once you designed your groundwork, it is time to dig deep into your initial efforts to create a seamless experience - needs to prepare with strategic resources & insights to prevents delays in tackling customers’ friction points.

Top 7 Ultimate Strategies For Customer Onboarding for Saas Companies

1. Understand Your Customers.

The moment you decide to think about your customers, you might end up categorizing them according to their ranks or positions, swot analysis, geography, or even age criteria. And at last, you will end up with more data that doesn’t conclude anything apart from what you already know.

Essentially, understanding here means - Seek their expectations, their winning aha-moment, their choices, how they feel while using your product (Is there any extra effort?)

Here are few quick questions you must if you’re unsure how to start:-

• What is your customer’s first win?
• Is there any friction in your sign-up process?
• Is your product or service complex for customers?
• What devices do your customers prefer?
• What is your customer’s final goal?
• Is there too much attention asking content on your customer’s screen?

Over 90 percent of customers think that companies “could do better” when onboarding new customers

-Wyzowl

2. Show Them What To Expect.

Your customer has an idea about how it is with your product - your sales process must lay out the specific qualifying pointers for each customer during the onboarding process. Preparing the customers for expected setbacks makes them aware that you are with them throughout.

The clear picture you will draw in front of your customers, the better prepared they will be & will not give up on your product.

3. What Are Your Competitors Up to?

To remain competitive means - you know every possible option available for your customers in the market. It doesn’t necessarily have to be an “it worked for them - lets’ try it out”. Instead, it is about your awareness through the customer lens, understanding you need to cater to those demands as well.

Once you travel down the competitive journey, it will put you ahead of a sizeable number of SaaS companies.

Here is the framework template to get you started with your competitive analysis:

4. Layout a roadmap for Customers. (Personalized Value)

In the recent sales analysis, Totango found that out of total web visitors, only 2% sign-up for the free trial, and within 2% - Only 15-50% becomes paid customers. This means, If you’re getting 1000 visitors, then you’re likely to have 30-100 prospects.

Here are few reasons pointed out by Crackitt for the low conversion rate (post free trial) :

• They lost interest in SaaS products.
• They couldn’t envision future value. (to continue after trial period)
• The customer is considering a competitor SaaS solution.

Essentially, your customers need to experience the personalized value they get from your product. They need a journey, their winning vision, their progressing steps, their road map!

To create your customer’s personalized road map - Disseminate your content into segments slowly & selectively. The more you tailor your solutions to their need in small steps, the easier they win.

Provide your customers with clear instructions before each task & ask them to accomplish one task at a time. Try to dedicate your customer with constant guiding support - your customer shouldn’t feel abandoned.

And, don’t forget to celebrate small wins - Acknowledging customer’s effort after each milestone encourages them to achieve more.

5. Design Customer-Centric Content.

How would you seek your customer’s attention? What are the most attractive UX designs? What are the perfect templates to use? If these questions are in your content checklist - You must re-think your content goals.

Because your marketing efforts landed up customers to sign-up with your product - Now they need to see the clear picture. So, avoid getting into the trap of attractions & align your content goal with your customer’s unique solution.

Allow them to define success, help them with AI chatbots, create measurable milestones, and have benchmarks to boost their efforts.

6. Stay in Touch With Your Customer.

Once your customer starts their journey with your product, stay in touch with them using emails throughout to acknowledge their daily progress, to assist if they need anything while they progress in their content-specific.

Heres how Hubspot stay in touch with their customer during the initial stage:

1st Step: Onboarding Survey.

Hubspot uses the initial customer survey to get basic information about customers like company size, the team they will use the tool for, industry type, etc. This information helps them to customize their platform according to the customer’s needs.

2nd Step: Navigation to Set Clear Expectations.

A clear understanding for customers to see the road ahead. It reduces churn rate & maximizes customer retention.

3rd Step: Sample Data to Get Through The Blank-Slate.

Hubspot keeps it crystal clear for customers, entitling each sample data to how & where a customer can use it as a resource.

4th Step: A Subtle Push to Verify Email.

Hubspot uses the time-value frame to exercise the verification push. They provide value and wait for the customers to grasp the understanding before the given action.

7. Don’t Forget to Ask. (Feedback)

Employing an email strategy in asking feedback, building surveys, and welcoming new users will always make you a one-step forward with your customers’ expected friction point.

Have a look at how Groove handles its email campaigning while onboarding new customers:

It includes an objective of welcoming - informing - about the follow-up emails and point of notice is - It is coming directly from the CEO.

You can use 2-3 content-specific emails each week for new customers & 1-2 emails for old customers to stay in the loop with the process.

Remember, it is about your customers finding value in their inbox - Not spotting your mail out of attention. So, plan out your feedback smartly to make your customer feel encouraged each time you reach out to them.

CXcherry is a modern, AI-enabled, purpose-built Customer Learning Management System. CXcherry LMS for SaaS Companies is on a mission to redefine the way you onboard, engage and retain your customers. CXcherry Software for Customer Training help you to accelerate your product adoption and increase customer retention through continuous customer education.