Lifecycle Automation: Onboarding, Retention, And Engagement with Email
May 25, 2023
Onboarding, retention, and engagement are all important aspects of lifecycle automation — and they can all be perfected via email.
It is crucial for a SaaS company to regularly communicate with their customers at key moments throughout their lifecycle of using and integrating with the product.
These communications, specifically emails, should be sent based on specific events or triggers. Doing so will not only keep your users engaged but also perform the anticipated actions that will drive them towards your product goals.
This is often referred to as “Lifecycle Automation”.
What Is Lifecycle Automation?
Lifecycle automation is the programmatic sending of emails after a customer has signed up for your product.
This typically involves a series of automated email campaigns triggered by specific actions or behaviors that customers take, such as signing up for a newsletter or upgrading to a paid account.
These email campaigns are designed to deliver targeted and timely messages that address the specific needs and interests of customers at each stage of their journey.
The automation aspect of these messages are key as it helps with customer retention and engagement while also limiting the manual work or intervention from your customer success and sales teams.
There are many key moments or triggers that a SaaS customer will come across throughout this “lifecycle” that are worthy of these timely prompts or emails. This chapter will cover many of them.
What Is Email Product Marketing?
Email product marketing is a type of marketing that leverages email to promote and sell products to potential and current customers.
Email product marketing typically involves a series of campaigns that focus on specific products or product categories. These campaigns can include promotional emails that offer discounts to upgrade an account as well as informational emails that provide content like new product information or customer reviews.
The key to effective email product marketing is to consistently create engaging and relevant content that resonates with your subscribers or customers. This can include compelling subject lines, unique images, and creative copy that highlights the unique benefits of your product.
If done right, email product marketing can be a highly effective and cost-efficient way to drive new sales, build a strong relationship with current customers, and build brand awareness.
Lifecycle Automation Simplified
At Loops, we have ready-to-go (and proven to work!) templates for you to integrate throughout your SaaS email flow to ensure that your customers are always up to date and using your product as intended.
While your SaaS may not necessarily need all of the prompts above, here are some of the key emails you should be sending to your customers to ensure that they remain active and engaged with your product.
At Loops, we organize these emails around the six essential stages of the user lifecycle.
Acquisition
Onboarding
Aha Moment
Retention
Reengagement
Reactivation
We’ll dive into each of these sections below, along with the relevancy of the stage and the types of emails you should send.
Acquisition Email
This is your first interaction with a user. This is before a user officially onboards on to your product, so they can enter this stage by joining your newsletter, waitlist, a webinar, event, lead form or any other acquisition channel that’s not your platform.
It's best practice in this stage to send users confirmation emails to show that they joined your list along with product updates and occasional prompts to join your platform.
Waitlist management / welcome email
An email that welcomes a potential customer to your waitlist or a new customer to your product is likely the first official communication they will receive from you.
This is a great opportunity to let them know what to expect going forward, introduce yourself as a face of your company, or let them know the next steps needed to fully use your product.
Experian has found that welcome emails have a staggering 57.8% open rate and “five times the click rates compared to other bulk promotions”.
From personal experience, I can confirm that number and it might even be on the low end! Typically your users will expect to receive an email from you when they join and in the next few days at a minimum. This is a great chance to make a first impression for your users.
We’ve had a ton of success at Loops by sending an email directly from one of the founders of Loops with a call to action to reply to the email to get early access to the product. It starts an early line of communication with your end user while also serving to improve open rates and deliverability as Gmail learns that the email is valuable and should be delivered since users often respond to it!
This highlights the importance of a well crafted welcome email as it may be the email that pulls a potential customer into your product for good.
Onboarding Emails
The onboarding stage is when a user starts using your product. This could be the first time they log in, start a trial or start paying for your product. Once a user hits this stage, it’s important to engage them with content that’s relevant to them.
Now that your customer has officially signed up for your product it is important to highlight the key features of your product that will benefit them as they navigate unfamiliar territory.
Onboarding your new customers with a personal touch as an early SaaS company is a great way to develop a personal relationship with the customer which will help reduce early churn and wasted efforts on acquiring the new customer in the first place.
These emails should be educational, showing the user how to use your product and what value they can get from it.
Intro (ex. to your new CSM)
It is a great time to introduce your customer support options while your new customer is fully integrating themselves into your product, especially if they will have a dedicated CSM or Customer Support Manager that they will be able to reach out to. While this email should definitely have a personal touch as it will be the start of an important relationship between the customer and your company, it can be automated in such a way that the initial outreach happens without taking away from the CSM’s time.
New feature updates / company news
It’s important to keep your loyal customers in the loop (pun intended) when it comes to new feature updates and company news. New features may pave the way for additional usage from the customer or even require them to upgrade their account in order to take full advantage.
Upgrade account
There are plenty of other reasons outside of a new feature that may require a customer to upgrade their account. Whether they have reached their usage limit, pageview limit, team member limit, etc… setting up an automated email ready to inform them of the need to upgrade saves your CSM time as well as prevents the customer from being shocked at a new dollar amount on the invoice or certain features being paywalled going forward.
Invite team members
If your SaaS is made for teams, having a trigger for the first team member onboard to invite the rest of their colleagues will increase the stickiness of your product throughout their organization. Be sure to clearly inform the recipient who is inviting them to use your app and why it’s in their best interest to join.
Renewal reminder
No one wants to be shocked when it’s time to renew their paid account for your company. Setting up an automatic reminder x days out is a great way to ensure that your customer is aware and prepared to make the necessary payment in order to keep their account in good standing.
Sending a renewal reminder is also a great way to ensure the customer has updated their payment information if needed to prevent any issues going forward.
Payment issue
Unfortunately, payment issues do happen. When they do, promptly send an automatic email to attempt to resolve the issue with hopes of retaining the customer.
This is also a good time to offer any personalized help if the customer needs it in order to keep their account in good standing.
Request feedback / testimonials
Social proof is a great way to convince potential customers that your product is as good as advertised.
After a current customer has shown heavy usage of your product, send them an automated email asking for a testimonial of why they love the product.
Outside of the social proof that a testimonial will bring, asking for periodic feedback is a great way to see what you are doing right and wrong as well as generate future product ideas from your current customers.
Aha Moment Emails
The Aha Moment is that moment when a user realizes the value of your product. This could be the first time they achieve a goal with your product, or when they realize how much time and effort your product can save them.
Aha Moment emails should be sent to users who have hit that milestone in your product.
These emails should be celebratory, showing the user how they’ve benefited from your product and what else they can achieve with it.
Double-tap / Congratulations
Your customer just completed the first important step in becoming a power user of your app. Take this opportunity to encourage this sort of use as well as offer tips and tricks to improve their experience going forward.
Retention Emails
The Retention stage is when a user is actively using your product on a regular basis. This is when a user is engaged with your product and deriving value from it.
Retention emails should be sent to users who are actively using your product.
These emails should be focused on providing value, such as tips on how to use your product, new features that may be relevant to them, or case studies on how other users have benefited from your product.
Encourage additional use
It is likely that your new customer heard about your product through someone else other than yourself. Use the social proof of others to highlight what your product can be used for to encourage your new customers to push the boundaries and up their overall usage of your product.
Re-engagement Emails
The Re-engagement stage is when a user has stopped using your product. This could be for a variety of reasons, such as losing interest, not finding value in your product, or simply forgetting about your product.
Reengagement emails should be sent to users who have stopped using your product. These emails should be focused on getting the user interested in your product again, such as highlighting new features, case studies or special offers.
Check-ins
When a user has stopped using your product either altogether or simply less than they once were, take a moment to check in with them. Not only could this be a great way to bring them back into your product but it may also spark a conversation that leads to valuable feedback on what you may need to improve for them to increase their usage.
Reactivation Emails
The Reactivation stage is when a user has started using your product again after a period of inactivity. This could be because they’ve received a Re-engagement email or they’ve heard about a new feature that’s relevant to them.
Reactivation emails should be sent to users who have started using your product again. These emails should be focused on providing value, such as tips on how to use your product, new features that may be relevant to them, or case studies on how other users have benefited
Monthly update
You successfully reactivated a customer and they’re thrilled to give your product another shot. That’s great! Take a moment to show them your recent updates through a monthly update. This will not only show updates that they may have been requesting in the past but also provide some comfort that these updates will be a regular occurrence and that your product will continue to improve and that the customer’s feedback will be heard and taken seriously.
Sending lifecycle automation emails like these (whether through Loops or not) will greatly benefit your SaaS in the long-run. While they will take some time and effort up front to setup and perfect, they will ultimately help guide your users through your product in a more hand’s off approach than if you had to throw additional customer support resources at these steps along the way.
Lifecycle Automation: Onboarding, Retention, And Engagement with Email
May 25, 2023
Onboarding, retention, and engagement are all important aspects of lifecycle automation — and they can all be perfected via email.
It is crucial for a SaaS company to regularly communicate with their customers at key moments throughout their lifecycle of using and integrating with the product.
These communications, specifically emails, should be sent based on specific events or triggers. Doing so will not only keep your users engaged but also perform the anticipated actions that will drive them towards your product goals.
This is often referred to as “Lifecycle Automation”.
What Is Lifecycle Automation?
Lifecycle automation is the programmatic sending of emails after a customer has signed up for your product.
This typically involves a series of automated email campaigns triggered by specific actions or behaviors that customers take, such as signing up for a newsletter or upgrading to a paid account.
These email campaigns are designed to deliver targeted and timely messages that address the specific needs and interests of customers at each stage of their journey.
The automation aspect of these messages are key as it helps with customer retention and engagement while also limiting the manual work or intervention from your customer success and sales teams.
There are many key moments or triggers that a SaaS customer will come across throughout this “lifecycle” that are worthy of these timely prompts or emails. This chapter will cover many of them.
What Is Email Product Marketing?
Email product marketing is a type of marketing that leverages email to promote and sell products to potential and current customers.
Email product marketing typically involves a series of campaigns that focus on specific products or product categories. These campaigns can include promotional emails that offer discounts to upgrade an account as well as informational emails that provide content like new product information or customer reviews.
The key to effective email product marketing is to consistently create engaging and relevant content that resonates with your subscribers or customers. This can include compelling subject lines, unique images, and creative copy that highlights the unique benefits of your product.
If done right, email product marketing can be a highly effective and cost-efficient way to drive new sales, build a strong relationship with current customers, and build brand awareness.
Lifecycle Automation Simplified
At Loops, we have ready-to-go (and proven to work!) templates for you to integrate throughout your SaaS email flow to ensure that your customers are always up to date and using your product as intended.
While your SaaS may not necessarily need all of the prompts above, here are some of the key emails you should be sending to your customers to ensure that they remain active and engaged with your product.
At Loops, we organize these emails around the six essential stages of the user lifecycle.
Acquisition
Onboarding
Aha Moment
Retention
Reengagement
Reactivation
We’ll dive into each of these sections below, along with the relevancy of the stage and the types of emails you should send.
Acquisition Email
This is your first interaction with a user. This is before a user officially onboards on to your product, so they can enter this stage by joining your newsletter, waitlist, a webinar, event, lead form or any other acquisition channel that’s not your platform.
It's best practice in this stage to send users confirmation emails to show that they joined your list along with product updates and occasional prompts to join your platform.
Waitlist management / welcome email
An email that welcomes a potential customer to your waitlist or a new customer to your product is likely the first official communication they will receive from you.
This is a great opportunity to let them know what to expect going forward, introduce yourself as a face of your company, or let them know the next steps needed to fully use your product.
Experian has found that welcome emails have a staggering 57.8% open rate and “five times the click rates compared to other bulk promotions”.
From personal experience, I can confirm that number and it might even be on the low end! Typically your users will expect to receive an email from you when they join and in the next few days at a minimum. This is a great chance to make a first impression for your users.
We’ve had a ton of success at Loops by sending an email directly from one of the founders of Loops with a call to action to reply to the email to get early access to the product. It starts an early line of communication with your end user while also serving to improve open rates and deliverability as Gmail learns that the email is valuable and should be delivered since users often respond to it!
This highlights the importance of a well crafted welcome email as it may be the email that pulls a potential customer into your product for good.
Onboarding Emails
The onboarding stage is when a user starts using your product. This could be the first time they log in, start a trial or start paying for your product. Once a user hits this stage, it’s important to engage them with content that’s relevant to them.
Now that your customer has officially signed up for your product it is important to highlight the key features of your product that will benefit them as they navigate unfamiliar territory.
Onboarding your new customers with a personal touch as an early SaaS company is a great way to develop a personal relationship with the customer which will help reduce early churn and wasted efforts on acquiring the new customer in the first place.
These emails should be educational, showing the user how to use your product and what value they can get from it.
Intro (ex. to your new CSM)
It is a great time to introduce your customer support options while your new customer is fully integrating themselves into your product, especially if they will have a dedicated CSM or Customer Support Manager that they will be able to reach out to. While this email should definitely have a personal touch as it will be the start of an important relationship between the customer and your company, it can be automated in such a way that the initial outreach happens without taking away from the CSM’s time.
New feature updates / company news
It’s important to keep your loyal customers in the loop (pun intended) when it comes to new feature updates and company news. New features may pave the way for additional usage from the customer or even require them to upgrade their account in order to take full advantage.
Upgrade account
There are plenty of other reasons outside of a new feature that may require a customer to upgrade their account. Whether they have reached their usage limit, pageview limit, team member limit, etc… setting up an automated email ready to inform them of the need to upgrade saves your CSM time as well as prevents the customer from being shocked at a new dollar amount on the invoice or certain features being paywalled going forward.
Invite team members
If your SaaS is made for teams, having a trigger for the first team member onboard to invite the rest of their colleagues will increase the stickiness of your product throughout their organization. Be sure to clearly inform the recipient who is inviting them to use your app and why it’s in their best interest to join.
Renewal reminder
No one wants to be shocked when it’s time to renew their paid account for your company. Setting up an automatic reminder x days out is a great way to ensure that your customer is aware and prepared to make the necessary payment in order to keep their account in good standing.
Sending a renewal reminder is also a great way to ensure the customer has updated their payment information if needed to prevent any issues going forward.
Payment issue
Unfortunately, payment issues do happen. When they do, promptly send an automatic email to attempt to resolve the issue with hopes of retaining the customer.
This is also a good time to offer any personalized help if the customer needs it in order to keep their account in good standing.
Request feedback / testimonials
Social proof is a great way to convince potential customers that your product is as good as advertised.
After a current customer has shown heavy usage of your product, send them an automated email asking for a testimonial of why they love the product.
Outside of the social proof that a testimonial will bring, asking for periodic feedback is a great way to see what you are doing right and wrong as well as generate future product ideas from your current customers.
Aha Moment Emails
The Aha Moment is that moment when a user realizes the value of your product. This could be the first time they achieve a goal with your product, or when they realize how much time and effort your product can save them.
Aha Moment emails should be sent to users who have hit that milestone in your product.
These emails should be celebratory, showing the user how they’ve benefited from your product and what else they can achieve with it.
Double-tap / Congratulations
Your customer just completed the first important step in becoming a power user of your app. Take this opportunity to encourage this sort of use as well as offer tips and tricks to improve their experience going forward.
Retention Emails
The Retention stage is when a user is actively using your product on a regular basis. This is when a user is engaged with your product and deriving value from it.
Retention emails should be sent to users who are actively using your product.
These emails should be focused on providing value, such as tips on how to use your product, new features that may be relevant to them, or case studies on how other users have benefited from your product.
Encourage additional use
It is likely that your new customer heard about your product through someone else other than yourself. Use the social proof of others to highlight what your product can be used for to encourage your new customers to push the boundaries and up their overall usage of your product.
Re-engagement Emails
The Re-engagement stage is when a user has stopped using your product. This could be for a variety of reasons, such as losing interest, not finding value in your product, or simply forgetting about your product.
Reengagement emails should be sent to users who have stopped using your product. These emails should be focused on getting the user interested in your product again, such as highlighting new features, case studies or special offers.
Check-ins
When a user has stopped using your product either altogether or simply less than they once were, take a moment to check in with them. Not only could this be a great way to bring them back into your product but it may also spark a conversation that leads to valuable feedback on what you may need to improve for them to increase their usage.
Reactivation Emails
The Reactivation stage is when a user has started using your product again after a period of inactivity. This could be because they’ve received a Re-engagement email or they’ve heard about a new feature that’s relevant to them.
Reactivation emails should be sent to users who have started using your product again. These emails should be focused on providing value, such as tips on how to use your product, new features that may be relevant to them, or case studies on how other users have benefited
Monthly update
You successfully reactivated a customer and they’re thrilled to give your product another shot. That’s great! Take a moment to show them your recent updates through a monthly update. This will not only show updates that they may have been requesting in the past but also provide some comfort that these updates will be a regular occurrence and that your product will continue to improve and that the customer’s feedback will be heard and taken seriously.
Sending lifecycle automation emails like these (whether through Loops or not) will greatly benefit your SaaS in the long-run. While they will take some time and effort up front to setup and perfect, they will ultimately help guide your users through your product in a more hand’s off approach than if you had to throw additional customer support resources at these steps along the way.
