Getting more trial users to the “aha” moment
Behaviour-based onboarding and lifecycle email that lifted trial-to-paid conversion for a SaaS product.
- Client profile
- Invoicing and finance-automation SaaS for SMEs
- Region
- India
- Timeline
- 4-month programme
Where they started
The product worked best once a company had imported its customers and sent its first invoice, but most trial users never reached that point. The marketing team could see sign-ups, and the sales team could see churn, but nobody owned the days in between.
Emails that did exist were generic announcements that ignored what each user had or had not done in the product.
What we did
- 01
Define the activation moment
Analysed product data to find the actions that most strongly predicted paid conversion, and agreed on “first invoice sent” as the activation event.
- 02
Build behaviour-based journeys
Designed onboarding flows that trigger on what a user did or skipped, with short, practical emails, in-app prompts and a helpful nudge to book a setup call.
- 03
Re-engage and win back
Created a sequence for stalled and expired trials built around the problem each user said they wanted to solve at sign-up.
- 04
Test and tune
Ran subject-line, timing and content tests with a holdout group so uplift could be attributed to the programme, not to seasonality.
What success looks like
- Clear ownership of the journey from sign-up to first value
- Onboarding that adapts to what each user does
- A win-back programme that recovers trials that would otherwise be lost
- A measurable view of the revenue influenced by lifecycle email
Numbers you can check
- Trial-to-paid conversion compared against a 10% holdout group that receives the old experience
- Activation tracked as the share of trials reaching “first invoice sent” within seven days
- Email metrics reviewed alongside in-product behaviour, not opens alone
Want a plan like this for your own company?
Share your product, your market and your numbers. We’ll come back with a baseline, a target and an honest view of how we’d reach it.