111 | Overcoming the Challenges of Customer Onboarding with Sujan Patel
Adding new customers is the name of the game. There are many moving parts to growing a SAAS (Software As A Service) business to add those new customers. It takes savvy marketing and the ability to really solve a problem. Sujan Patel, VP of Marketing for When I Work, talks about the challenges of onboarding trial users-what not to do and the important aspects of success. Sujan shares the ins and outs he has learned to add 250,000 users in four years. Discover the fine line in marketing that Sujan had to learn the hard way.
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Sujan’s Target Audience: Small businesses seeking for more organization and ease within the workplace.
Sujan has been in digital marketing for the last 10 years. Currently, he is the VP of Marketing at When I Work . The SAAS product developed (available both in desktop and mobile from) uses powerful technological tools to help small businesses and customers schedule their employers and employees headache free. This helps people save time (our most valuable asset) through technology.
In just 4 short years, the company has witnessed a monthly growth rate of 20- 30%. This has impressed so many since the product was virtually built from nothing and a pricing strategy wasn’t firmly established. 10,000 new trials are assigned every month and this occurs mostly through facebook and word of mouth. Currently, there are exactly 7,000 customers with 250,000 users in total (across the 7,000 companies)
Free trials are given away- but how do they convert those people into actual customers? Sujan says, there is a fine line in being savvy. It is also being aware that this line moves around! Sujan adds that communication must take place in the medium they communicate in. Since word of mouth and Facebook have been so powerful in attracting clients, the demand for the product is already there. Their current and primary concern now is about onboarding in helping them use the product. What Sujan’s team aims to do is pick up on where people get stuck during the onboarding process and put efforts into simplifying those areas.
Connecting with the onset of new people every month demands a lot of manpower. It involves educating them on how to use the product. They have found that providing a “how to” video before getting into the education piece has caused conversion rates to increase.
Their Customer service team is called the “Success Team.” The CEO is adamant about not coming from a “selling” place but trying to help people succeed. Constant improvements for the onboarding process are made. They do this by testing and taking into account real life interactions.
Sujan has also found that when people are in an “AHA” moment – it is when they are at their most emotional state and that is when customers have the most questions because it means they are using the product and most willing to take action. This is the best time to ask them to purchase the product.
Sujan makes it very clear that the product is not for everyone. Preliminary questions are provided to determine if the customer is a right fit for the product. The product is then carefully tailored to each business because every business is unique.
An important lesson Sujan learned is to never ask someone to do something he hasn’t done. Sujan feels it is important that he has experienced something before telling his team about it. He doesn’t want someone doing something he wouldn’t want to do. That sounds fair enough!
In this episode we’ll cover:
- How quickly When I Work was able to convert customers
- How every customer is unique and services and products must tailor to that
- Why coming from a place of helping your customers succeed is powerful
- The importance of communicating through your client’s preferred medium
- The importance of “re-testing” for current effectiveness
- Why not every product is not for every customer and why that’s ok
Resources and Links
- When I Work Website
- Sujan’s Website
- Sujan on Twitter
- Still having trouble with your sales?
- Share the LOVE and TWEET about this episode.
Practical and Actionable
Sujan says to constantly test different theories and weed out the things that are “bad.” Test what works in your industry. Take best practices for general and you’ll find not everything applies to you. Re- test things. Things that don’t work 6 months ago might work now. Keep yourself updated.
To give Sujan a shout out, follow him and send him a message. Connect with m too on LinkedIn or Twitter at @genehammett.
Do you have questions about today’s episode?
Did you know that you can apply to chat with me by phone? This is a limited time offer to help anyone that is serious about refining their business as well as developing a clear & compelling strategy that will drive them forward. Complete the questions and our team will follow up with you to schedule time for your “Vision Breakthrough Session”. These are limited to 30 minutes, completely free and oh, so valuable. Apply Now!
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