Customer Onboarding Checklist Completion Rate: 2024 Benchmark Report
Which SaaS industry has the highest customer onboarding checklist completion rate? Which has the lowest? Do larger companies perform better than smaller ones? How do product-led ones compare with sales-led ones?
These are the main questions we tackle in our latest Product Metrics Benchmark Report 2024, which evaluates company performance across six different metrics in over seven industries. This article will also share best practices for designing effective onboarding checklists.
Overview:
An onboarding checklist guides new users through essential activities to uncover the value of a product and help them achieve their goals. Such checklists are critical for driving product success as user activation impacts key metrics like retention and revenue.
Our 2024 benchmark report analyzed customer onboarding checklist completion rates from 188 SaaS companies across seven different industries. The overall average completion rate was 19.2%. FinTech and Insurance topped the list with a 24.5% completion rate, while MarTech lagged at 12.5%. Interestingly, the smallest companies ($1-5M revenue) had the highest completion rate (27.5%) followed by the largest ones at 21.04%. Sales-led companies showed a slightly higher completion rate (22.1%) compared to product-led ones (19%).
Why does it matter?
Activation of key features is essential for product adoption, customer retention, and revenue growth. For instance, Fairmarkit found that a 25% increase in activation could boost revenue by 34%. Customers are unlikely to continue using a product or upgrade unless it solves their problems effectively.
Industry Insights:
The average onboarding checklist completion rate varies significantly by industry. FinTech and Insurance had nearly double the rate of MarTech (24.5% vs. 12.5%). This makes sense since in high-stakes fields like finance, understanding and properly implementing software is crucial to avoid financial and reputational damage. On the other hand, MarTech tools tend to be less complex, allowing users to start benefiting from them without completing the full onboarding process.
Here’s how other industries stack up:
– Healthcare: 20.5%
– EdTech: 15.9%
– HR: 15%
– AI & ML: 14.7%
– CRM & Sales: 13.2%
Company Size Insights:
Completion rates also differ by company size. Smaller companies ($1-5M in revenue) had the highest completion rate at 27.1%, possibly due to their closer relationship with users, allowing for more tailored and effective onboarding checklists. Interestingly, large companies with revenue over $50M also had higher completion rates (21.04%), likely due to having more resources for onboarding.
Acquisition Model Insights:
Sales-led companies outperformed product-led ones in checklist completion rates (22.1% vs 19%). This could be because, in sales-led models, users are more motivated to make the product work after investing money, whereas in product-led models, many users might be on free trials or freemium plans, leading to less commitment.
Creating Effective Checklists:
Using no-code growth tools like Userpilot can make creating onboarding checklists easier. The primary challenge, however, is selecting the right tasks. The checklist should include only a few essential items (up to seven) that are crucial for user activation. Focus on features that are closely linked to user retention. An effective checklist might have tasks like logging in for another session or repeatedly using a key feature. Adding a progress bar and interactive walkthroughs can make the checklist more engaging and useful.
Conclusion:
Customer onboarding checklists are vital for helping users set up software and discover its most relevant features. Coupled with interactive walkthroughs, these checklists can significantly enhance product value perception and usage in real user contexts. To learn more about crafting effective onboarding checklists, book a demo with Userpilot today!