90% of Trial Users Never Get to the Activation Point

Failure of Activation and Solution to fix it

In actuality, up to 90% of trial users never get to the activation point—the moment when they encounter the fundamental value of your product. This is a serious leak in your growth funnel, and in this post, we'll look at why activation doesn't work and how to fix it with smarter messaging and onboarding.

You've undoubtedly been frustrated by new users signing up for a free trial and then leaving if you're running a SaaS product.

The Real Importance of Activation

Activation ≠ Sign up.

Only after completing the essential steps that demonstrate the value of your product is a user activated. This could be inviting a teammate, uploading a file, or sending the initial email campaign.

Up until that point, your trial users are merely interested site visitors rather than actual leads.

The Main Reasons Why Most SaaS Users Don't Activate

1. They Immediately Get Lost
   Users are presented with an empty dashboard without any instructions after registering. They depart in a matter of minutes because they are unsure of what to do next.
2. Delays in Onboarding
   Developers are busy, but founders want better onboarding. Tasks related to onboarding are delayed for weeks or even months.
3. User Experience Generic
   Onboarding doesn't resonate when it feels the same for everyone, regardless of user role or use case. Relevance is crucial.
4. Too Much, Too Soon
   Before users perceive any benefit, they are overwhelmed by intricate processes, multi-step forms, and necessary integrations. They also churn.
5. No Timely Nudges
   Users lose momentum in the absence of follow-up or contextual guidance. A little prodding at the appropriate moment can have a huge impact.

Three Simple Steps to Correct It

1. Smart Checklists for Onboarding
   Give users brief, easy-to-follow checklists that are specific to their role or goals and spell out exactly what they must do after registering.
2. Contextual Messages Within Apps
   Eliminate unnecessary emails and confusing user interfaces by using user behavior to determine when to display tooltips, banners, or modals.
3. Real-Time Activation Analytics
   Keep an eye on drop-off points, message performance, and onboarding progress to improve your flows and boost conversion.

Five-Minute Triggerbox Solution

The good news is that this isn't as complicated as it looks. Triggerbox is a zero-code solution that SaaS companies can use to improve activation without relying on developers.

It functions as follows:

• One script takes five minutes to embed.
• To create onboarding flows, use a visual builder; no code is needed.
• Utilize user behavior and metadata to send tailored messages.

It supports all of the main auth providers, such as Clerk, NextAuth, and Auth0, and offers an unlimited number of checklists, campaign messages, users, and analytics for a single, set price.

SaaS teams using Triggerbox have seen activation rates rise by 200–300%, sometimes within a few days.

Remarks:

If users don't activate, they don't convert. It doesn't matter how good your product is or how many people visit your website. The first five minutes define the user relationship as a whole.

Don't wait for developers, then. First, stop losing customers. Optimize your activation funnel to begin turning trials into paying customers.