7 Strategies to improve the customer onboarding process in a SaaS enterprise
Blog by: Priyadarshini Natrajan
Customer-centricity is the skeleton of all enterprise SaaS businesses and onboarding is the heart of it. You have to buckle up and incorporate strategies that help you improve your onboarding program.
It’s 2022! If you still don’t give enough attention to your customer onboarding and
implementation program then I’m sorry my friend you are living under a rock or you are late to the industry. You need to improve it ASAP
Customer onboarding in an enterprise SaaS is like a first date. It can maketh or mar the relationship. It is very important that you take care of your customer after they come on board since it can affect your customer retention rate. The customers also expect the process to be short.
According to wyzowl 63 percent of customers consider the onboarding process offered by the SaaS enterprise before purchasing the product. This shows that customers feel inclined towards SaaS companies that have an efficient customer-centric system put in place.
Customer onboarding plays a major role in customer retention, brand loyalty, and NRR. It minimizes customer churn to a great extent. Your customer retention also determines your brand expansion.
These are the basic outcomes of a good customer onboarding program but how do we achieve that? Though many enterprise SaaS businesses have a decent onboarding system in place they do not yield the expected results. There is always room for improvement. So let’s start from the first step.
Ideas for a better onboarding process
Start ASAP
It doesn’t matter whether the customer pays for your product or subscribes to a free trial. You have to start the onboarding process for them.
It might be through a call or an automated email but it shows that you care for your customers.
It doesn’t matter whether they are already your customers or potential customers, the effort and hard work you put in will definitely reap benefits.
Some of the ways through which you can make the first contact with your customers are:
Easy Sign-Up Process
- It is important since it is the first stage of contact that you create with your customer. Think before you create the form. Do not bombard them with questions.
- Asking for too much information like their second name and their need to use your product may actually bore the customer.
- In fact, if it’s a free trial, you can try and avoid asking for the credit card number during the sign-up process. This shows that you trust your product to have value and that customers will buy after the trial period gets over.
- Keep your sign-up as simple as it can be. A social sign-up button can come in handy as it is simple for the customer and you get the needed information.
Welcome Email
Email is a little more personal than the sign-up process. Welcome emails have 4 times more open rates when compared to other mails. So, create a template that expresses gratitude and excitement to have them on board. There are various platforms that let you generate automated emails for free.
You can share the number or email of SPOC or CSM and ask the customers to get in touch with them if they need any help. You can also attach the link to your blogs or tutorial videos that can help your customers.
And do not forget the thumb rule. Do not overwhelm them with too much information.
Have an adaptive onboarding
Onboarding is an actual process that you need to customize for every customer. You can always have a basic roadmap of the process but you may need to give an additional overdo of it based on your customer. Highlighting the important features according to your customer’s requirements will reinforce to the customer that your product will solve their problems.
You need to analyze what type of training would suit your customer. They may be beginners or power users. Depending upon their skill set you need to tailor your training methods.
Setting up the product
You need to have an easy and understandable step-by-step guide that helps the customers to set up your product.
DIY onboarding
Many customers feel the need to explore the product themselves at first. So give them a fair chance. Many enterprise SaaS businesses build onboarding programs integrated with UI elements such as coach marks, modals, and tooltips to guide the customers through.
- Videos are considered to be the best onboarding tutorial for your customers. 72 percent of people showed interest in learning through a video rather than an overloaded text document.
- Still, ‘how-to’ blogs, FAQs, and search functions also support the onboarding process.
- Fill the empty states with dummy data as examples for them to fill.
- Highlight the features using a tip banner. Add explanatory messages for those features.
- Make the entire process skippable. Your customer may have already used your product and hence might get annoyed with onboarding again and again so keep them in mind.
Engaging walkthrough of product tours
It is mandatory for every enterprise SaaS organization to give customers a walkthrough of their product. However, is it engaging enough?
- Make it interactive by asking them to do simple tasks after showing them how to use your product. This also clarifies doubts that they may have in the initial stage.
- Teach how it can be used effectively to achieve value for your product.
- It might be your product and you have all the rights to show it off but please hold. Leave the customers to experience some surprise features that get them excited.
Consistent Communication
This is one important practice that should be done throughout and after the onboarding process. You need to have regular follow-ups with the customer to know what they feel about your product and how you can add more value.
Sending notifications about a newly added feature or sending some tips for more efficacy shows that you truly care about your customer. Try to have one on one meetings with your customer to discuss the next milestone. Send follow-up messages and emails to check whether their issues get resolved. You can also get immediate feedback from your customers.
Congratulate your customers
Always appreciate your customer for achieving milestones or short-term goals. It keeps them motivated and inclined towards your product.
For instance, you can turn your onboarding process into a game and whenever they cross a level congratulate them. It gives them the satisfaction of accomplishing things. It shows that you really care about their success.
Get Started
Providing a good onboarding service does not represent your product but rather it represents the experience that you give us as a brand to your customers. Better strategies for onboarding mean better retention of customers and low churn out.
So what are you waiting for! Get started with an improved onboarding program now.
