5 useful in-app messages to boost user engagement for your SaaS

In-app messages are key to helping boost user engagement for your SaaS. By avoiding taking users outside the app, users are more likely to complete the action presented to them via an in-app message. In-app messages appear when the user is actively engaging with the app, which makes them a great way to boost engagement with your active users. Whether this is a micro survey, a feature update or customer support, in-app messages drive user engagement and product adoption. Additionally, they contribute to a better overall customer experience. Here are 5 useful in-app messages that you can use to boost user engagement for your SaaS.

Feedback Messages

Collecting user feedback is crucial in understanding how users interact with and feel about your product. This information can help you make decisions on what improvements to make in order to provide the best user experience possible. User feedback is most commonly collected by using in-app messages featuring the Net Promoter Score (NPS), micro surveys, asking questions, and short feedback and rating forms.

Fred Reichheld wanted a quick way to find out how satisfied customers were and how loyal they are to the product/company, which is why he created the Net Promoter Score (NPS). Essentially, it’s a simple survey question that gauges customer satisfaction. Along various stages of the user’s journey, a company can send out a message with an NPS. The question will look something like this: “On a scale of 0-10, how likely are you to recommend [service/product/company]?”

Micro surveys are quick surveys that users can complete in just a few clicks. This type of survey has a much higher response rate since less time and effort are required on the part of the user. Use micro surveys for:

• Use case. Gather data on who is using your product and why
• Competitor analysis
• General information. Find out which features users enjoy most etc.

Below is the classic NPS presented differently across mobile, desktop, and tablet.

Product Update Messages

Product updates are an effective way of keeping users up to date with the latest updates or product changes. Any time a change is made to solve an issue or release a new feature, it is important to communicate this to your users. It’s essential to bring these updates to the attention of your users at the right time and in the most effective way possible. Product updates should be succinct and guide users through the update in an uncomplicated manner. For example, a good time to introduce an update could be upon login or when the user moves to complete a related action.

Below, after opening a Wikipedia page Grammarly detects the page could be used for a citation and presents its new “Generate citations” feature to the user. This is a great example of a short and sweet product update message presented in-app, in the right place at the right time.

Onboarding Messages

Educational content and training massively impact your product adoption rate and help create a positive onboarding experience. Use in-app messages to present an onboarding checklist. These can help users work through the key features and value areas in your product, guiding them through the process. When done well, the in-app messages remind users to complete their setup and explore features they may not be aware of. These in-app messages help with feature activation and product adoption.

Onboarding messages can also help you gather information to help personalize the user experience. Below is an example of an onboarding message asking the user to select the type of content they want to see on their feed.

Customer Support Messages

Having strong customer support is key to any successful SaaS product. Apart from chat widgets, there are other ways you can support your users with in-app messages. Providing direct contact for users when something goes wrong is a great way to build trust, as seen below.

In-app support provides several benefits:

• Reduces onboarding friction
• Enhances customer experience
• Simplifies integration
• Provides instant gratification

Using in-app messages to introduce users to the instant chat and FAQ sections can help improve customer satisfaction by providing quick answers.

Transactional & Promotional Messages

In-app messages are a great way to communicate upgrades, promotions, and special offers. Using information collected from user feedback during onboarding, you can target the promotions more effectively for each user. Personalised promotions such as birthday offers are a great example of using information gathered in onboarding to personalise in-app messages.

You can also use in-app messages to promote upgrades. In the example below, when the user attempts to use a Premium feature, Spotify sends an in-app message to offer the user the option to upgrade with a Learn More button. The second example shows how, using personalisation, an in-app message promotes a purchase using a discount for the user’s birthday. Both are great examples of how to promote a purchase with an in-app message.

By implementing these useful 5 in-app messages, you can help boost user engagement for your SaaS. If you need help with your UI/UX design, book a 15-minute call to get free advice from a product design specialist.