Insights from SaaS Expert Micah McGuire
User onboarding and activation can make or break your SaaS product’s success. But how do you create an onboarding experience that not only welcomes users but also sets them up for long-term engagement? In a recent episode of Talking SaaSy, host Caryne Say sat down with user growth expert Micah McGuire to unpack the intricacies of effective onboarding and activation strategies.
From Microbiology to SaaS: An Unlikely Journey
Micah’s path to becoming a SaaS expert is as unconventional as it is inspiring. With a background in microbiology and health coaching, she brings a unique perspective to the world of user psychology and growth. Her experience as a health coach, using cognitive behavioral therapy techniques, laid the foundation for understanding user behavior and experimentation – skills that would prove invaluable in her future SaaS career.
The Overlooked Aspect of User Onboarding
One of the most striking insights Micah shared was about the often-overlooked aspect of user onboarding. While many marketers and founders understand the importance of reflecting the user’s needs in their marketing materials, this user-centric approach often gets lost during the onboarding process.
“We just sit there and go, okay. We’ve got you in the product now. We’re just going to bombard you with question after question, not really paying attention to how this is affecting you,” Micah explained. This disconnect can lead to a poor first impression and, ultimately, user churn.
The solution? Maintaining that user-centric focus throughout the entire onboarding journey. Every question asked, every piece of information requested, should serve a clear purpose in enhancing the user’s experience or personalizing their journey.
Balancing Invasiveness and Value in User Questions
A critical aspect of effective onboarding is striking the right balance between gathering necessary information and respecting user privacy. Micah emphasized the importance of considering the “invasiveness” of questions against their perceived value to the user.
She used the example of fitness apps, which often ask for personal information like height, weight, and fitness goals. While these questions might seem invasive in other contexts, users are willing to provide this information because they understand its relevance to their fitness journey.
In a B2B context, the same principle applies. Every piece of information requested should have a clear purpose that benefits the user. As Micah put it, “What’s the minimum you need to know about the user in order to serve them?”
The Power of Conversational Copy
When it comes to onboarding copy, Micah advocates for a conversational approach. Many B2B companies fall into the trap of using stiff, corporate language in an attempt to appear professional. However, this can create a barrier between the product and the user.
“If you wouldn’t speak like that to somebody at a dinner party, then that’s not going to work in your B2B copy,” Micah advised. By using more natural, conversational language, companies can create a warmer, more engaging onboarding experience.
Low-Cost Methods for Gathering User Insights
For bootstrap founders and lean teams, Micah shared practical, low-cost ways to gather meaningful user insights. She emphasized the power of interviews and surveys, with a caveat about sample sizes for surveys.
“You can get away with almost 80% of what you need to know through either interviews or surveys,” Micah explained. However, she cautioned that surveys can be dangerous with small sample sizes, as they may not provide representative results.
Interviews, on the other hand, can provide rich insights even with a relatively small number of participants. Micah referenced a study suggesting that 7 to 12 interviews per user segment are often sufficient to gather the majority of insights needed.
The Art of User Interviews
Micah shared valuable tips for conducting effective user interviews:
The Importance of Documenting and Sharing Insights
One of the biggest pitfalls in user research is failing to document and share insights across the organization. Micah stressed the importance of analyzing each interview immediately after it’s conducted and looking for larger patterns across multiple interviews.
She also emphasized the need to share these insights with all departments, as different teams may find value in different aspects of the data. This cross-functional sharing can lead to improvements in various areas, from product development to customer service.
Identifying Authentic User Personas
Micah provided valuable tips for identifying when a user persona isn’t grounded in real insights.
Red flags include:
Authentic personas, on the other hand, should be based on real user data and focus on the user’s psychographics, their specific jobs-to-be-done, and the unique challenges they face.
Three Steps to Incorporate Research into Your Process
For founders looking to start incorporating user research into their process, Micah offered three key steps:
The Role of Quantitative and Qualitative Data
Micah emphasized the importance of using both quantitative and qualitative data in your research. Quantitative data can help identify gaps and areas for improvement, while qualitative data can provide the “why” behind these numbers.
She shared an example of how this combination led to a significant improvement in activation rates for one of her projects. By identifying a low activation rate through quantitative data and then using qualitative interviews to understand why users were getting stuck, they were able to implement a simple fix that resulted in a 7% improvement in activation rates.
The Ongoing Journey of User Understanding
As our conversation with Micah McGuire demonstrated, effective user onboarding and activation is an ongoing process of learning and improvement. It requires a deep understanding of your users, a willingness to ask the right questions, and the ability to turn insights into action.
By focusing on user-centric design, leveraging both quantitative and qualitative data, and continuously refining your approach based on user feedback, you can create an onboarding experience that not only welcomes users but sets them up for long-term success with your product.
At the heart of every successful SaaS product is a deep understanding of the user. As Micah put it, “We are dealing with people no matter what business you’re in. You are dealing with people. There is a level of irrationality and psychology… that goes into this that is inexplicable and not easy to define and not tangible.”
Embracing this human-centered approach to onboarding and activation helps you create a product experience that resonates with your users, drives engagement, and ultimately leads to business success.
Whether you’re a founder just starting out or a seasoned SaaS professional looking to refine your approach, the insights shared by Micah McGuire offer a valuable roadmap for improving your user onboarding and activation processes.
Click here to subscribe to our channel on YouTube to get more of Talking SaaSy!
And, if you’re ready to take your SaaS company to the next level, click here to learn more about how to work with us.
