How to Build a SaaS Trial Strategy that Converts

To build a SaaS trial strategy, you should ensure the experience encourages users to become paying customers. The growth of your SaaS business and trial can increase your customer base. Our guide provides a step-by-step approach to building a trial strategy, which will produce higher conversion rates and business growth.

Before you begin designing your trial, think about who your ideal customer is. What are their pain points and goals? Understanding your ICP will help you personalize the trial experience for their specific needs.

• Do your due diligence: Identify the demographics, preferences, and pain points of your target audience.
• Design user personas: Develop a representation of your ICPs to understand what motivates them.
• Look at your customer base: Analyze your existing customers to determine any patterns and common traits.

With the right trial in place, think about how you’ll convert. Consider the following:

• Opt-in Free Trial: AKA the classic “try before you buy” approach. Users sign up, giving you insight into their interests and needs. It’s great for products that require explanation or where building a large base is necessary. Think of it like offering free food samples the market – you’re enticing people to discover your product’s deliciousness. 

• Opt-out Free Trial: Compared to the opt-in model, this one is bolder. Users provide payment details, but they are free to cancel before the trial ends. It’s a “money-back guarantee” that leads to higher conversions. With this model you must dazzle them with your value from the get-go. Streaming services such as Netflix use this to hook consumers on their content.

• フリーミアム: You can call this the “give a little, get a lot” strategy. You provide the free version with limits on features to hook users and then upsell them to a paid plan. This builds a strong user base while fostering organic growth. Canva, for example, gives basic design tools for free while creating interest to users with premium features and content through paid subscriptions.

Here are the pros and cons of each model: 

To choose, consider your product’s complexity, your pricing, and your ideal customer profile. Are they ready to commit, or do they require instant gratification? Look at your competitors and how you stand out from the crowd.

The length of the trial should ensure users experience the value of your product but quick enough to create a sense of urgency. While there’s no absolute answer, 14-day trials are most common, if you offer complicated services requiring more time to see results then 30-days are more common. Experiment to find what works best for your product.

In short, the best length varies depending  on the complexity of your product and the time it takes users to understand its value. Start with 14 days and then analyze engagement and conversion data to adjust accordingly. You can also conduct A/B testing with different trial lengths to see which is the best performer.

Make it easy for users to get started with your product.

• Give simple instructions: Offer step-by-step guides and tutorials so users understand your product.
• Provide tutorials: Develop tutorials and walkthroughs that guide users through features and functionalities of your product.
• Offer quality support: Ensure access to prompt support should they encounter any issues during their trial.

A positive onboarding experience is necessary for activation and engagement. Canva’s intuitive drag-and-drop interface and user-friendly templates provide a seamless process that allows users to easily grasp its functionality.

Once users are onboarded, your goal is to guide them to the core value of your product as quickly as possible. This “Aha!” moment is when they fully realize the benefits your product offers.

• Highlight key features: Focus on the features that deliver the most value to your users.
• Provide personalized recommendations: Offer guidance based on the user’s specific needs and goals.
• Use in-app prompts and messages: Guide users in a way that will lead them to the “Aha!” moment.

Offering full access to features can be overwhelming and may not incentivize users to upgrade. Instead, provide an experience that showcases valuable aspects of your product while leaving room for users to want more.

• Focus on core features: Determine the features that show the core value of your product.
• Create different trial tiers: Offer trial options with different levels of access to features, like a “bronze,” “silver,” and “gold” experience, allowing users to choose what best suits their needs.
• Use feature limitations to drive upgrades: Communicate the benefits of upgrading to the full functionality of your product. Similarly, you can also set limits, like a certain number of projects or storage space, to give them a taste of the full experience.

Don’t forget to be transparent! Communicate what’s included and what’s not. Use visuals like checkmarks and crosses on your pricing page to make it abundantly clear. In addition, subtle in-app messages can remind users of the features waiting for them when they upgrade.

While trials are designed to attract genuine customers, they can also be exploited by malicious actors. Implement measures to safeguard your business from fraudulent activities.

• Verify user identities: Require email verification, phone number verification, or even basic identity checks to ensure that users are providing legitimate information. The level of verification should be proportionate to the potential risk of fraud.
• Limit trial sign-ups: Restrict the number of trials allowed per user or per IP address to prevent abuse. Consider offering 1-2 trials per user. This strikes a balance between providing opportunities to experience your product and preventing misuse.
• Implement usage limits: Consider setting credit limits for data-intensive operations, restricting the number of projects or users allowed in project management tools, or limiting transactions in e-commerce platforms.
• Monitor trial activity: Track user behavior during the trial period to identify any suspicious patterns, such as unusually high resource usage, attempts to access sensitive data, or patterns associated with fake accounts.
• Use fraud detection tools: Consider implementing fraud detection software that can automatically identify and flag potentially fraudulent activities.
• Implement CAPTCHA: Use CAPTCHA to prevent automated sign-ups by bots.
• Enforce unique user accounts: Use email verification and/or IP address tracking to identify unique users and limit the number of trials they can access. You can also implement systems that require more detailed information for subsequent trial sign-ups, making it less appealing for users to create multiple accounts.

By addressing fraud with these strategies, your trial program remains focused on attracting genuine customers and driving legitimate business growth.

Throughout the trial period, gather feedback to understand user experience and determine areas for improvement. This can be accomplished through surveys, in-app messages, or email.

• Use in-app surveys: Implement surveys within your product to collect feedback on specific features.
• Send email surveys: Ask for feedback when the trial ends to understand the overall user experience.
• Offer incentives for feedback: Entice users to give feedback by offering rewards or discounts.

With your trial experience in place, let’s consider conversion opportunities. Offer a good deal! Encourage users to convert with limited-time discounts, extended trials for those engaged with key features, or give access to premium content for early birds. These incentives provide the extra push to convince users of the value your product offers.

• Create a sense of urgency: Offer time-limited discounts or promotions to encourage immediate action. A countdown timer on your pricing page can do that.
• Highlight the value of upgrading: Clearly communicate the benefits of upgrading to a paid plan, such as access to premium features, priority support, or increased usage limits. Case studies and testimonials can be super persuasive here.
• Offer flexible pricing plans: Provide a range of pricing options to cater to different budgets and needs.

Maintain consistent communication with trial users to keep them engaged and informed. Stay in touch with trial users through targeted emails, in-app messages, and notifications. By providing timely and relevant information, you can guide users through their trial journey and increase the likelihood of conversion.

• Welcome emails: Send a welcome email to new trial users, providing them with essential information and guidance.
• Progress updates: Keep users informed of their progress during the trial and highlight their achievements.
• Feature spotlights: Showcase the value of specific features through targeted emails or in-app messages.
• Reminder emails: Send reminder emails as the trial nears its end, encouraging users to upgrade.

Provide valuable content, address potential concerns, and remind them of the benefits of upgrading.

For instance, you could send an email highlighting a specific feature that addresses a common pain point for your target audience. Or, you could send a reminder email a few days before the trial ends, offering a limited-time discount to encourage users to upgrade.

Finally, it’s crucial to track and analyze key metrics to measure the effectiveness of your trial strategy and identify areas for improvement. Monitor key metrics like trial sign-up rate, activation rate, feature usage, and conversion rate. Analyzing this data will help you optimize your trial strategy over time.

• Use analytics tools: Implement analytics tools to track user behavior and engagement during the trial.
• A/B test different approaches: Experiment with different trial lengths, onboarding flows, and communication strategies to identify what works best.
• Continuously analyze and optimize: Regularly review your data and make adjustments to your trial strategy based on your findings.

For example, if you notice a low activation rate, you might need to revisit your onboarding process and make it more user-friendly. Or, if a particular feature has low usage, you could consider providing more guidance or highlighting its value through in-app messages or tutorials.