Why Your Onboarding Sucks and how to improve it with Personalized Videos
In today’s world, our inboxes are constantly overflowing with emails, and we often delete onboarding emails without a second thought. When users skip over your introduction email, they can easily miss out on important information about your product, leading to confusion, fewer product activations, more support requests, and a generally poor user experience.
But what if there was a way to grab your users' attention from the start? That’s where personalized videos come in. In this blog post, we’re going to explore how you can transform your onboarding process and boost conversions by incorporating personalized videos.
Why Are Personalized Videos So Effective?
The beauty of personalized videos lies in the connection they create. Imagine receiving an onboarding email with a generic welcome message versus one that starts with a video saying, “Hey Kevin, welcome aboard!” The difference is striking.
With personalized videos, you don’t just stop at a name. You can include all sorts of information you have about the user—whether it’s their company name, location, or even their sign-up date. This makes the experience feel personal, warm, and engaging, setting the stage for a stronger connection between you and the user.
In fact, a recent survey we conducted revealed that 80% of consumers believe personalized videos greatly improve their overall customer experience. They grab attention in ways that traditional emails just can’t. Once you’ve got their attention, you can easily guide new users through the essential features of your product, making the onboarding process smoother and more effective.
The Impact on User Engagement
First impressions are everything, and your onboarding process is the first real interaction your users have with your product. Personalized videos make that first interaction memorable, giving users a clear understanding of how your product works right from the start.
Not only do personalized videos make onboarding smoother, but they also build trust. By showing that you’ve taken the time to personalize their experience, users are more likely to feel valued. And when users feel valued, they’re more likely to stick around, explore your product’s features, and ultimately become loyal customers.
Why Haven’t You Tried Personalized Videos Yet?
You might be thinking, “This sounds great, but why haven’t we done this already?” There are a few common reasons businesses haven’t embraced video personalization:
- You didn’t know video personalization was an option – Now you do!
- Manual video creation sounds tedious – It is! Creating personalized onboarding videos by hand for each user would take an insane amount of time.
- You couldn’t find the right tool for the job – That’s where automation comes in, and we’ve got just the solution.
How to Automate the Creation of Personalized Videos
Here’s the exciting part: automating the whole process. All you need are three things: an After Effects template, Plainly, and a little bit of coding knowledge.
Here’s how it works:
- Create an After Effects Template – Start by designing an After Effects template that demonstrates the key features of your product in a simple and effective way. In our case, we’ve added dynamic elements like the user’s name, company, email, and the date they signed up.
- Upload the Template to Plainly – Once the template is ready, upload it to Plainly. From there, we’ll tell Plainly what elements we want to personalize for each user—whether it’s their name, company, or voiceover details.
- Automate the Workflow – Finally, we create a workflow that automatically generates and sends a personalized video whenever a new user signs up. Just like that, what used to be a boring onboarding email is now a personalized, memorable video—on autopilot.
A Real-World Example
To illustrate how this works, let’s say a user named Kevin signs up for your product. The workflow automatically generates a video that says, “Hey Kevin, welcome aboard!” while showing Kevin’s company logo and highlighting the features of your product. The entire process happens automatically, and Kevin’s experience is personalized without any manual effort on your part.
What’s even better is that this automation saves you tons of time, allowing you to focus on other important areas of your business, all while enhancing the customer experience.
Why You Need to Start Now
In today’s competitive landscape, simply standing out isn’t enough. You need to make a lasting impression on your users from the very first interaction. Personalized videos during onboarding create that vital connection with users and guide them through your product in a way that’s both engaging and informative.
By automating this process, you’re not just saving time and resources—you’re creating a consistent and personalized experience for every new user who signs up. And as we all know, first impressions can make or break a customer relationship.
The Future of Onboarding
Personalized videos aren’t just a nice-to-have—they’re quickly becoming a must-have in the world of SaaS and customer onboarding. As customers continue to receive an overwhelming number of emails and marketing messages, finding ways to stand out is critical. Personalized videos provide that extra touch of care that users crave, and they make sure that your product doesn’t just get lost in the noise.
If you’re ready to take your onboarding process to the next level and see firsthand how personalized videos can revolutionize your customer experience, give Plainly a try. With our easy-to-use platform, you can start automating personalized videos in no time.
