If you have to improve the adoption rate of a SaaS product, where would you start?

A common pitfall when trying to improve feature/product adoption is to jump straight into tactics. This often results in emails and in-product messaging that doesn’t have the intended impact, and annoys users. I like to start by better understanding the users that have adopted a feature/product. Ideally, I can look at product usage data in addition to talking to users. I want to know who they are, how often they’re using the feature, what they use it for, and what they like/dislike about it. In ...Read More

I'd start with the data! This may mean tapping your data analysts, marketing analysts, basically anybody who is knee-deep in the metrics. What I would do first is attempt to map out the funnel for the product in question (if this doesn't already exist) - figuring out how people get to your website, what they do once they arrive, and where any significant drop-offs may be occurring.  In this case, if you are more focused on retention then I'd look at what users are doing once they are in the prod ...Read More

At Asana, customer empathy and experimentation are not only how we build our product, but who we are. I would start with deeply understanding the customer - what are their needs and motivations? What problems are is your product solving for them?  I would then connect with data science and user experience teams to review product usage data. When comparing highly engaged users to those who drop off, can you identify any demographic/firmographic differences or product usage trends among each segme ...Read More

Oh, man, big question! It really depends on the product and company. But if I have to generalize...First, I’d try to get crystal clear on what we mean by adoption rate. Is that net-new free signups? Is that activation of those signups? Let’s say it’s it’s activation of those signups for discussion purposes. The second thing I recommend is sign up for free (if you're PLG) for your company’s product using a burner email and record your screen going through the first-time user experience. What scre ...Read More

Partner with digital marketing to understand the source that drove the user to your property, the actions they took before converting, and the page they converted on (or where they dropped off). Map out the customer journey from when landing on the website to sign up to active/conversion. Look for the biggest drop-offs and partner with the growth team to A/B test the experience and messaging. Measure time to conversion. For example, if 10% of new signups are converting to paid in the first week, ...Read More

The first thing I would do is ensure I have a solid understanding of my target audience and their needs, pain points, and expectations of the product. You can start by gathering feedback from your existing user base to identify areas for improvement and/or features that can enhance adoption. Surveys are great for that. ;) This, in combination with analyzing existing user data to identify friction points will likely guide your initial focus. Other likely areas to look at next (in order of logical ...Read More