SaaS founders love chasing signups. They pour money into ads, pump out content, and celebrate every new trial like it is a win.

Then… nothing.

Users log in once, poke around, and vanish. No activation. No retention. No revenue.

Only 37.5 percent of users ever reach key activation milestones. That means most of them never experience your product’s full value before ghosting it forever.

The worst part? Users do not churn because they hate your product. They churn because they never figure out how to use it.

So, what separates the SaaS companies that scale from the ones that flatline?

We asked eight SaaS CEOs a simple question: “What actually helped you increase user adoption?”

The best SaaS companies do not sit back and hope users figure it out. They use in-tool support, walkthroughs, and structured onboarding to make adoption effortless.

Here is what they actually did to increase user adoption—and why it worked.

• Boost SaaS Adoption with In-Tool Support
• Increase SaaS Adoption Through Education
• Refine Onboarding Experience for Better Adoption
• Structured Onboarding Boosts SaaS Adoption
• Guided Product Walkthroughs Boost Adoption
• In-App Tooltips and Walkthroughs Increase Adoption
• Interactive Tutorials Enhance SaaS Adoption
• Strong Helpdesk Increases SaaS Adoption

Now, let’s dive into their strategies one by one.

Boost SaaS Adoption with In-Tool Support

One of the biggest boosts to our SaaS adoption was in-tool support, like guided tours and live chat. We made sure users could get help instantly while using the product so that it would reduce friction and improve the overall experience. The content we used in those tools – step-by-step guides, short video snippets, and quick tips – was key. It was clear and kept our users engaged.

Our marketing team took a content-first approach and produced educational content for different user journeys. We tracked the analytics and saw a 30% increase in feature adoption in the first month of implementing those changes. The results were clear: lower churn rates, more active users, and a smoother onboarding process. Content wasn’t just supporting the strategy – it was the strategy. 

Nikita Sherbina, Co-Founder & CEO, AIScreen

Increase SaaS Adoption Through Education

One of the biggest levers for increasing SaaS adoption, in our case, was education. We built and launched CVO Academy, featuring eight expert instructors, to help prospects deeply understand the methodologies behind Customer Value Optimization. Instead of just selling a tool, we focused on empowering users with knowledge offering free access to ensure there were no barriers to entry.

The impact?

Higher engagement & trust – Educated prospects became more invested in the problem we solve, leading to shorter sales cycles and more qualified leads.

Increased product adoption – Users who completed Academy modules were 3x more likely to activate key features within the first month.

Better retention – Customers who went through CVO Academy showed a significant drop in early churn, as they better understood how to extract value from our platform.

The role of content?

Content wasn’t just a support tool-it was a core strategy. Our marketing team treated educational content as a growth driver, integrating it into nurture emails, in-app guides, and social proof campaigns. Instead of pushing for immediate conversions, we built trust first, letting prospects experience the value before they ever paid.

All in all, we instantly improved our adoption rate by 14%.

The takeaway? The more your users understand, the more they adopt. If your product requires a mindset shift, education isn’t optional- it’s a necessity.

Valentin Radu, CEO & Founder, Blogger, Speaker, Podcaster, Omniconvert

Refine Onboarding Experience for Better Adoption

One of the factors that helped us big time in terms of SaaS adoption was refining our onboarding experience. Early on, we realized that no matter how great software is, it could still feel overwhelming for users who didn’t know where to start. So, we decided to take action by adding a few helpful tools, like step-by-step guides, tooltips, and onboarding checklists that took users through the main features.

Content played an important role in this shift. Instead of going the traditional way and relying just on documentation, our marketing team focused on creating short tutorial videos, FAQs, and email sequences that reinforced key concepts. We also wrote blogs where, instead of just explaining features, we focused on real problems users faced. We talked about common frustrations, and then we showed how our software solved those problems in a way that made sense to them.

We also made sure our blogs weren’t just another sales pitch. They were practical, breaking down complex processes into simple, useful insights. We also shared case studies and customer stories so readers could see how others were making the most of our platform.

And it paid off. In just six months, we saw a 27% increase in user activation and an 18% drop in early churn. Plus, support tickets related to onboarding dropped by nearly 30%, which gave our team more bandwidth to tackle the tougher issues.

If there’s one piece of advice I’d give, it’s this: Content should help, not just sell. Whether it’s blogs, in-app guides, or email sequences, meeting your users where they’re at and helping them progress at their own pace can make all the difference. 

Bob Schulte, Founder, Bryt Software LLC

Structured Onboarding Boosts SaaS Adoption

One key strategy that significantly boosted our SaaS adoption was implementing a structured onboarding experience with a combination of in-app support, interactive tutorials, and personalized nurturing emails. We realized that a seamless first experience was critical to retention, so we focused on reducing friction and guiding users toward activation. Content played a crucial role in this approach—our marketing team developed step-by-step video tutorials, an AI-powered helpdesk, and behavior-driven email sequences to educate users at every stage. Additionally, we created case studies and user success stories to demonstrate real-world value. As a result, our user activation rate increased by 40%, and our trial-to-paid conversion improved by 25%. By aligning our content strategy with user needs, we not only improved adoption but also reduced churn and enhanced overall engagement, making content a key driver of long-term success.

Vaibhav Namburi, Founder, Smartlead.ai

Guided Product Walkthroughs Boost Adoption

Guided product walkthroughs have been the most effective way to boost the adoption of our e-commerce marketing and post-purchase solutions at Channelwill. We chose to have a prominent Book A Demo button on our website’s homepage to make it convenient for visitors to book their slots. In these product demos, the prospect talks to one of our human sales agents to understand what their needs are and learn more about what Channelwill’s solutions can do for their Shopify stores. Once the problem is identified, the prospect is given a guided walkthrough of the product and invited to try out the premium version after a limited free trial period. This strategy has helped us boost conversions by over 21%. Content plays a central role in this strategy. The marketing team, along with our in-house and contracted content creators, develops the resources our sales agents use when talking to prospects. These include written content and visuals. To create them, we surveyed our customers to understand the challenges they experienced adopting our software range. We then used the identified pain points as anchor topics to create content around.

Bo Liu, Founder & CEO, Channelwill

In-App Tooltips and Walkthroughs Increase Adoption

One of the biggest game-changers for SaaS adoption? **In-app tooltips and onboarding walkthroughs.** Nobody wants to dig through a help center just to get started. We introduced interactive guides and quick explainer videos that walk users through key features *inside* the platform. The result? Users got value faster, reached that “aha” moment sooner, and stuck around longer. Our marketing team played a huge role, creating content that spoke like a human-not a tech manual-so users felt confident and not confused. The key? **Make onboarding effortless.** If users have to “figure it out,” they’ll bounce. Content isn’t just for blogs, and emails-it should be embedded into the product experience.

Justin Belmont, Founder & CEO, Prose

Interactive Tutorials Enhance SaaS Adoption

One of the things that really helped increase our adoption at Keep The Score was in-tool support. What I mean by this is interactive tutorials and helpful tooltips for users. We learned that offering help from within the app makes it easier for new users to grasp its features and see the value faster than without those things. Content played a huge role here. We had to create clear, concise tutorials that answered all the common questions and demonstrated key features of the app. And it worked! We saw a huge reduction in the number of support tickets. And we saw improved user retention by 20%.

Caspar Von Wrede, CEO & Founder, Keep The Score

Strong Helpdesk Increases SaaS Adoption

One of the key things that helped increase SaaS adoption among our users was focusing on building a strong helpdesk. We made sure our support team was always ready to assist customers quickly, which made a big difference in keeping users happy. We also used tutorial videos to show how to solve specific problems, and these really helped users feel more confident using our tool.

Additionally, we started offering demos where we walk potential customers through the tool step-by-step. This approach allowed us to engage directly with users and show them how the tool could fit their needs. Content played a big role in these strategies, as it helped educate users and answer their questions. The results were clear—more users adopted our tool, and the feedback we received was overwhelmingly positive.

Piotr Zabula, CEO, Cropink.com

Before We Wrap Up

SaaS adoption does not happen by chance. The best companies remove friction with help desks, tutorial videos, nurturing emails, and in-tool tips to ensure users engage and see value quickly. Without these, users get stuck, disengage, and churn.

That is where Concurate comes in.

We take a deep understanding of SaaS products and turn it into expert-driven content that simplifies complex features and enhances adoption. Whether it is help desk documentation, interactive tutorials, onboarding emails, or in-app guidance, we create content that ensures users do not just sign up. They stay, engage, and unlock the product’s full value.

For example, we helped Triangle IP build a structured help desk and integrate it with in-tool tips so users could instantly access relevant support by hovering over an icon. This seamless connection between the product and support content made it easier for users to learn, navigate features, and adopt the tool more effectively.

SaaS companies that invest in better adoption content do not just reduce churn—they create a growth engine that drives activation, retention, and long-term customer success.

Want to turn signups into engaged users? Let’s talk.