In a perfect world, people would use your product the second they download it or sign the dotted line.
Newsflash: We don’t live in a perfect world.
In our reality, product adoption isn’t an issue that’s going to disappear anytime soon, given the learning curve and constant evolution of technology.
The need for companies to make it abundantly clear how to use their products, realize their value and evolve with them is precisely why we’re seeing the explosive growth of education programs.
But not just any education programs — ones built on the back of SaaS education software that gives companies the power and flexibility to effectively and efficiently educate their customers, employees, channel partners and gig workers at scale.
If you’re already using SaaS education software (aka a learning management system (LMS)), you’ve seen its product-adoption power. Nevertheless, here are a few tips you should know if you want to increase product adoption even more.
If you’re still in the beginning stages of your online learning journey, these tips will help you lay the foundation to build something that drives product adoption today, tomorrow and every day in the future.
Increasing Product Adoption With Learning Technology
Tip #1: Empower Your CSMs, Don’t Replace Them
Using learning technology and employing customer success managers (CSMs) aren’t mutually exclusive.
You can — and should — have both.
Whether you’re just getting started with SaaS education software or far beyond the implementation stage, don’t ever let your learning technology exist in a silo.
Instead, use the technology as an extension of existing CSM-driven tactics — think one-on-one onboarding training with new customers.
When implemented correctly, learning technology should free your CSMs and support teams up to have more impactful conversations with customers, like creating a six-month success plan vs. showing them how to use the basic features.
Whatever you do, don’t view education software as a replacement for your people. I don’t care how much technology takes over our lives, the human part of the customer experience will always be important and a big part of the product adoption process.
Tips #2: Update, Update, Update
…and update.
Just like you can’t flip the switch on the technology and sit back while it does its thing, you can’t just upload content and expect it to provide value forever.
Things change too much for that to be the case.
Think about where your product is now vs. where it was when you launched the MVP.
They’re probably radically different, so would the onboarding documentation you created at the beginning help people using your SaaS education software today?
Probably not.
Below is an example of a course in The HubSpot Academy aimed at increasing the adoption of workflows.
If a HubSpot customer completed this course but then went to apply it to a live campaign, everything was different.
See the problem?
This is why updating your content as frequently as possible is so important.
Tip #3: Pave a Two-way Street
Using SaaS education software is a customer-first initiative, but that doesn’t mean you can’t get value from it, too.
The intersection of technology and learning means you can automate and scale easier than ever, but you can get previously unobtainable insights into how people are doing and how your content is performing.
Don’t forget this as you continue using the technology to increase product adoption.
Are people using your product or a feature more after taking a course or going through a learning path?
Is the opposite happening?
However you’re using learning technology, always look at it as a two-way street. In one direction, you have resources that help people use your product as intended.
In the other direction is a treasure trove of data and insights you can use to iterate in the smartest way possible — a way that’ll take your product adoption rate higher than ever.
Northpass: Helping World-class Companies Increase Product Adoption
Looking for learning technology proven to help companies across industry lines increase product adoption?
Look no further than Northpass. Reach out today to discover what’s possible with Northpass.