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I went to SaaStock 2024 in Dublin recently.

It was great to connect with lots of SaaS professionals and nerd out about customer onboarding.

I went to a talk where a company was discussing how they make their support metrics public to their customers.

I thought this was an interesting idea. I asked if any other teams in their company had followed suit, but interestingly, they had not.

It got me thinking about whether it would be sensible to make customer onboarding metrics public to customers or not.

There are a number of benefits beyond building trust. There are also some pitfalls.

Would you be scared to share your metrics? Let’s discuss. ↓

What are the benefits of being transparent with onboarding metrics?

It builds trust and credibility. 

This is the most obvious one.

You can easily demonstrate a commitment to your customers' success when you lift the veil.

It shows that you have their best interests at heart. This really IS what customer onboarding teams care about.

It pays dividends long after the onboarding process is complete. As long as it’s built upon by other teams during the lifecycle, of course.

It can align expectations. 

Onboarding can be a vulnerable time for customers. Everything is new. They have taken a gamble on you and your product.

They've invested heavily and hope for a smooth transition.

It can improve your processes.

Transparency doesn't just benefit the customer.

It can also provide invaluable feedback to refine your onboarding process.

Customer input on metrics and KPIs can identify pain points and allow you to make data-driven improvements to continuously improve your onboarding program.

What are the pitfalls to consider when being transparent with onboarding metrics?

It can be information overload.

It's possible to share too much data. It can cause customers to tune out or get lost in the details.

Or focus on the wrong things early on.

We tend to overpromise. 

Unrealistic expectations around onboarding timelines or success rates can cause headaches throughout onboarding and beyond.

Transparency is important, but so is managing customer expectations.

There are competitor concerns.

Some SaaS companies may be hesitant to share onboarding metrics for fear of revealing competitive advantages (or disadvantages).

Find the right balance between transparency and protecting your intellectual property.

🧪 The Project: Unveil Your Onboarding Metrics

If you choose to go down the route of unveiling your onboarding metrics to customers, here are some things to think about.

1. Audit your onboarding metrics

The first step is to take a deep dive into the data behind your onboarding process. This includes metrics like:

• Average onboarding duration

• Team hours/resources required per customer

• Onboarding completion rates

• Time-to-first-value for new customers

• Retention/churn rates post-onboarding

The goal is to gain a comprehensive understanding of your onboarding KPIs.

This can help to analyse whether it is sensible to make these metrics public to customers.

2. Package the data for customers

Now that you have the data, it's time to present it in a way that resonates with customers. This could take the form of:

• A detailed onboarding guide, complete with timelines and success metrics

• A dashboard that allows customers to track their own onboarding progress against your standard

• Regular onboarding performance updates

The key is to make the information clear, digestible, and easily accessible.

Avoid information overload - focus on the metrics that matter most to your customers.

3. Continuously improve and iterate

Transparency doesn't stop at the initial reveal.

Ongoing monitoring and optimisation are essential.

Gather feedback from customers on the onboarding metrics that are most valuable to them. Use this input to refine your reporting and make adjustments to the process itself.

Track the impact of your transparent approach.

Does it lead to improved engagement, faster time-to-value, or reduced churn?

Use these insights to demonstrate the ROI to internal stakeholders. You can always adjust and iterate as you go.

🤓 The Analysis: Consider the Pros and Cons

In a crowded B2B SaaS landscape, transparency can be a powerful differentiator.

By inviting customers into the onboarding process and sharing the data behind it, you build trust, drive engagement, and ultimately create more successful, long-term relationships.

But beware - be sure to weigh up the pros and cons for your company.

What is your confidence level that you can maintain or improve your onboarding metrics? What will your strategy be when those metrics dip?

This type of approach won’t work for everyone and that’s okay. But it’s worth exploring.

What to expect if you try this project:

• Smoother onboarding experience from day 1

• Strong expectation alignment, reducing friction

• Strong rapport with customers