You have just landed a new customer for your product - congratulations! The first step toward product adoption is now behind you, but there’s a lot more to come. How you onboard your new user, especially during the early stages of the adoption process, will have a huge impact on how long they are going to stay with you, how enthusiastic they are about new features in the future and how often they refer your tool to other people.
Everyone needs time to adapt to new things. Most people feel somewhat lost on the very first encounter with a new tool. If they seek support but struggle to find it, they will become frustrated with the new solution and will likely abandon it altogether. It’s important to be aware of the challenges a user may face with your solution and take action to counter them in order to prevent your customer retention rates from plummet.
As an organization conducting onboarding for your SaaS tool, your job is to guide the new user through the workflow in order to demonstrate the tool’s functionalities and teach them how to benefit from them as quickly as possible.1 Your mission is to convince your new customer that it was worth purchasing your product. The following 9 tips will help solve the problems your new customers may face throughout this learning process, increasing your chances for product adoption and success.
Have an Onboarding Plan Ready Before Launch
Having your onboarding plan and materials ready before you land your new customer is critical to successful adoption. As soon as you conclude a new sale, you want to start communicating to the customer the value of your product and how to use it. It’s important to strategically plan the order of information that you pass on to new users. Begin with an actionable welcome email - the rest will depend on the nature of your tool.
Impress with Best-in-Class UX
Poor UX will inevitably lead to skyrocketing churn rates; no customer will believe in your product or solution if they are having a hard time using it. People are generally reluctant to change, so in order to succeed with product adoption, you have to ensure simple and straightforward navigation. If your tool makes the customer’s life noticeably easier, they will appreciate the value of your product much faster.2
Include Interactive in Product Walkthroughs
Learning to use a new product is most effective “on-the-go”, as your customer actually uses the product. This is why in-app walkthroughs can serve as an effective training method. New users will likely have no clue where to begin, so these “dry runs” will ease the initial pain of familiarizing specific features and ensure that they’re introduced in the right sequence.
Ensure Customer Support is Fully Mobilized
New product users will certainly have some urgent questions and issues to be addressed. The customer support team must stay informed about the product and its features in order to be able to answer any questions. Providing exceptional customer service is yet another opportunity to shine, and the better the impression you make, the more likely you are to turn your customers into ambassadors. The following two tips will also enhance your customer service team’s performance during peak operation.
Support Your Product with Relevant Content
Because content is king! Blog articles, infographics and product demos together will serve as a great knowledge base your customers could refer to whenever necessary.3 Make sure that your content clearly demonstrates how to achieve specific goals with your tool. Consider webinars and live demos to educate your existing users about new functionalities. Whatever piece of content you decide to focus on, make sure it is available in different formats to accommodate as many modes of consumption as possible.
Ensure a Platform to Learn More
Your customers may not be ready to begin using the product or some of its features directly after the onboarding process. Hosting a documentation portal online where release notes are stored and FAQs are answered will ensure the customer gets the necessary support. Salesforce went the extra mile with their resources and invested heavily in building a community of its advocates. It was a long-term effort which paid off extremely well for the company; the community often answers questions from customers before their Customer service department does!
Communicate Regularly and Strategically
It’s as important to educate your customers about the product in a consistent manner, as it is to deliver the information in strategically aligned chunks. Your customers are busy people and will find it difficult to go through lengthy release notes; give them relevant educational material in chunks that are easy to digest as and when they are ready for them. You can also use your communication tools to solicit feedback about specific features and make necessary improvements to your product.
Ensure “Mini Product Launch” for Every New Feature4
While you keep on improving your product and adding new features, even your most loyal customers may become confused. Make sure that users are informed about the availability of new add-ons. Provide relevant guidance on how each new feature will further ease their lives, just like you did right after they purchased your product. Remember that the product adoption process is about enabling your users to not just use the tool, but to make use of it to the best extent possible.
Personalize Follow-ups Based on Relevant Onboarding Metrics
It’s important to have a tracking system that will inform you about how customers use and understand specific features of your new product.5 This will allow you to not only solicit feedback from those who are already benefiting from specific product functionalities, but also to distribute relevant information to a target group that needs it. For instance, it could be an invitation to a webinar in which you outline the benefits of a feature that is being underused.
Remember that the product adoption process is about enabling your users to not just use the tool, but to make use of it to the best extent possible. Prepare and plan ahead, so you can celebrate success later.
References:
https://academy.whatfix.com/product-adoption-process-strategy/
https://www.appcues.com/blog/improve-product-adoption
https://useriq.com/user-adoption-barriers/
https://www.appcues.com/blog/improve-product-adoption
https://labs.openviewpartners.com/5-pillars-successful-product-release-adoption/#.XGriTc9KhQI
