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Turning trial users to paying customers

Conversion from trial to paying customers

Kate Caldecott avatar
Written by Kate Caldecott
Updated over 2 months ago

Sound familiar?

Do these questions resonate with your team? Accoil helps you find the answers:

  • What parts of our product are new users loving right from the start?

  • What obstacles prevent users from getting the most value from our product?

  • Which features excite new users the most?

  • How can we better target and engage users ready to convert?

  • What signs indicate a trial user is ready to subscribe?

  • How can we tailor our sales approach to highlight the perfect fit for each user?

In a Nutshell....

Helping new users quickly experience the value of your product (their first value moment) is key to converting trials into paying customers. Accoil tracks activation metrics, ensuring teams can guide users effectively through this journey.


What's the lowdown?

Activation is the moment a new user truly engages with your product and realizes its value. It’s the “aha!” moment that makes them more likely to stick around. Your goal? Get users to this moment as quickly and smoothly as possible.

Without activation, there’s little incentive for users to convert. That’s why understanding who activates and why is essential—not just for revenue growth but also for ensuring your product meets user needs effectively.k.

Diagram showing trialing and activation stage

Who does this help?

Each team benefits from activation insights:

Team

How activation insights help

Product Team

Identifies which features drive engagement and improves UX.

Marketing Team

Targets users with messaging that highlights key product benefits.

Sales Team

Recognizes high-intent users and personalizes outreach for better conversions.

Customer Success Team

Guides users toward early wins to improve satisfaction and reduce churn.


Key Steps

We are assuming that you have already done your Accoil Analytics set up, but if not, that's no worries—our four-step guide is here to walk you through the process.

Step 1: Define activation criteria

Every product has unique activation milestones. Define the key actions that indicate a user is engaging with your product.

Example activation milestones for a Project management tool:

  • Creating an account

  • Inviting at least two team members

  • Setting up a project

  • Uploading files

  • Scheduling events

  • Adding and completing tasks

Once defined, set these milestones up in Accoil.


Step 2: Track activation progress in Accoil

Accoil tracks activation by monitoring user progress toward milestones.

  • Metrics to monitor:

    • Activation Rate (% of trial users who activate)

    • Time-to-Activation (how long it takes for users to activate)

    • Activation by Account Type

Set up tracking under the “Configuration” tab in Accoil. It can be for either an Account or a User. More configuration details can be found here.


Step 3: Segment your Activated accounts for greater clarity

Use segmentation to analyze activated accounts further. Filter by:

  • Activation rate

  • Account type

  • User role

  • Engagement trends

Use the “Activation” tab in Accoil to explore activation insights in detail.



Step 4: Deep dive in the Activation tunnel

Analyze how many users complete key activation steps and identify trends.

Example Analysis:

  • How many users complete 2 out of 7 activation steps?

  • How many reach full activation?

Use Accoil’s Activation Charts to track progress. More details on Viewing Activation Data here.


Step 5: Connect activation data to team workflows

Maximize activation insights by integrating Accoil with tools like:

  • Slack – Notify teams when high-value users activate.

  • HubSpot – Trigger personalized outreach based on activation data.

  • Intercom – Automate in-app messages for users needing help.

Want to learn more about using Connections?

Where to go from here?

Share activation insights across teams to optimize strategies.n

Team

Action

Product Team

Refine activation criteria and improve onboarding UX.

Marketing Team

Personalize email campaigns based on user engagement.

Sales Team

Engage high-intent users with tailored outreach.

Customer Success Team

Provide proactive guidance to struggling users.


And finally

  • Activation isn’t a funnel—it’s a flexible journey. Users complete milestones in different orders, so avoid treating activation as a strict linear process.

  • Track activation at the account level. In most B2B SaaS setups, multiple users contribute to account activation, so measuring only individual user behavior may not give the full picture.​



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