Streamlining Startup Success: The Ultimate Customer Onboarding Software

Managing customer onboarding can become increasingly challenging as a startup expands. What may have started as a simple welcome email and a few manual follow-ups can quickly spiral into a disorganized process with scattered forms, unanswered requests, missed handoffs, and confused customers unsure of their next steps.

Effective onboarding software should streamline coordination efforts while helping customers achieve value more efficiently. However, it’s crucial to choose the right tool that aligns with the specific needs of your startup. For instance, a service-oriented startup onboarding clients will require a different system compared to a SaaS company guiding users through its product.

In this article, we will explore five customer onboarding platforms that startups should consider based on their unique onboarding processes.

1. Onthen for Structured Customer Onboarding

Onthen is an ideal solution for startups where customers need to complete a defined series of actions outside the product itself. It offers branded onboarding pages where customers can fulfill tasks, upload documents, complete forms, schedule meetings, sign documents, and communicate with the team within a structured workflow. The platform also sends automatic reminders for overdue tasks.

Customers access their onboarding process through secure links, eliminating the need for creating additional passwords and reducing unnecessary friction. Moreover, Onthen integrates seamlessly with HubSpot, allowing for synchronization of activities such as task completion, comments, uploaded files, and form data with CRM records.

Best Fit

• Collect information or documents from customers
• Have multi-step onboarding processes
• Require collaboration between customers and internal teams
• Desire automated follow-ups
• Use HubSpot or need webhook-based integrations
• Prefer the onboarding experience to reflect their branding

Onthen is particularly beneficial for agencies, professional services firms, financial businesses, implementation teams, and B2B companies with high-touch onboarding processes.

2. Userflow for In-App SaaS Onboarding

Userflow focuses on guiding users through the onboarding process within a software product itself. The no-code platform supports product tours, checklists, surveys, banners, and contextual guidance, allowing startups to tailor onboarding experiences based on user behavior or product signals without the need for manual development.

This makes Userflow an excellent choice for SaaS businesses where the primary onboarding goal is user activation. For example, a project management platform can lead new users through creating a project, inviting team members, and completing their initial task.

Unlike document-heavy client implementation, Userflow is more suitable for product-led onboarding experiences happening directly within the application.

3. Appcues for Product Adoption and Guided Experiences

Appcues is a robust option for SaaS startups focusing on product adoption. The platform supports various onboarding patterns such as product tours, checklists, tooltips, modals, hotspots, and contextual walkthroughs. It emphasizes measuring activation and identifying where users disengage from onboarding flows.

This approach is particularly useful when a startup has a clear understanding of its activation milestones. Instead of overwhelming users with every feature, Appcues enables teams to create concise experiences guiding users toward specific actions that deliver product value.

For instance, an analytics startup might concentrate on helping users connect their first data source rather than explaining every reporting feature. Appcues is most effective when product and growth teams aim to continuously test and enhance the onboarding experience.

4. Intercom for Onboarding Combined With Customer Support

Intercom is a suitable choice for startups looking to integrate onboarding, customer messaging, and support within a unified platform. Its Product Tours feature enables interactive multi-step tours to introduce new users to essential parts of an application without requiring custom-coded walkthroughs. These tours can be targeted to specific users or triggered in designated sections of the product.

The advantage of Intercom lies in the seamless connection between onboarding and communication. If users require assistance post-tour completion, the business can continue supporting them through the same customer communication ecosystem. Intercom is particularly relevant when onboarding and support activities overlap significantly, offering a comprehensive solution beyond basic onboarding checklists.

5. HubSpot for CRM-Led Customer Onboarding

HubSpot is a valuable option for startups seeking onboarding solutions closely integrated with sales, customer service, and CRM data. CRM-based onboarding ensures that customer information, tasks, milestones, and communication history remain consolidated within the same customer record, eliminating data silos across multiple tools.

HubSpot supports workflow automation related to contacts, companies, deals, tickets, and other CRM records, making it beneficial for startups where onboarding initiates immediately post-deal closure. Workflows can automate tasks like creating onboarding tickets, assigning customer success owners, sending welcome emails, scheduling follow-up tasks, and updating lifecycle information as milestones are achieved.

HubSpot is most effective when the CRM system serves as a central component of the company’s operational model, ensuring seamless integration and data continuity.

Decide Whether You Need Client or Product Onboarding

One common mistake in software selection is treating all customer onboarding processes as identical. There are two primary models: client onboarding and product onboarding.

Client onboarding involves guiding customers through tasks, documents, meetings, approvals, configuration, and implementation, emphasizing external interactions.

Product onboarding focuses on helping users understand software functionalities and achieve an activation milestone within the application, prioritizing internal interactions.

Certain companies may require both approaches. For example, a B2B SaaS provider might utilize structured external onboarding for administrators while providing in-app guidance for individual users. Understanding this distinction is crucial to avoid investing in software with features that do not align with the specific onboarding workflow.

Compare Automation Capabilities

The primary reason for adopting onboarding software is to streamline repetitive coordination tasks. It is essential to assess the level of automation offered by each platform.

Key Automation Features Include

• Triggering onboarding post-sale
• Assigning tasks to customers or team members
• Sending reminders for overdue tasks
• Updating CRM fields automatically
• Automating email communications
• Collecting and organizing documents
• Monitoring milestone completion
• Segmenting users based on behavior
• Implementing contextual product guidance

Automation should aim to eliminate predictable administrative tasks, allowing employees to focus on addressing queries and handling exceptions effectively.

Measure Onboarding Performance

Effective software should enable easy tracking and measurement of onboarding processes. For service-based onboarding, metrics such as completion time, overdue tasks, customer response times, and common bottlenecks are critical.

In the case of SaaS products, metrics like activation rates, time to first value, checklist completion rates, and user flow drop-off provide valuable insights. Platforms like Appcues emphasize measuring activation and onboarding progression rather than assuming completion of a product tour equates to successful onboarding.

Ultimately, the success of onboarding should be evaluated based on whether customers successfully achieve the desired outcome the onboarding process was designed to facilitate.

Choose Software Aligned With Your Startup’s Workflow

There is no one-size-fits-all onboarding platform for every startup. Each tool serves a specific purpose based on the startup’s unique requirements. Onthen is ideal for structured external customer onboarding, Userflow and Appcues excel in in-product SaaS onboarding, Intercom integrates product guidance with customer communication, while HubSpot caters to companies seeking CRM-centric onboarding solutions.

Start by analyzing your current onboarding process before selecting a software solution. Identify bottlenecks, repetitive tasks, customer needs, and successful onboarding criteria. Choose a tool that addresses these pain points effectively, enhancing the onboarding experience for both customers and internal teams.

Remember, the best onboarding system isn’t the one with the most features but the one that simplifies customer understanding and accelerates the onboarding process without increasing manual workload exponentially.