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This guide walks you through configuring an adoption job in Trig, with detailed explanations of why each configuration choice matters and how to think through decisions for your specific business.
Worked Example: Throughout this guide, we’ll follow TeamFlow, a collaborative project management tool. TeamFlow has noticed that customers who complete onboarding often plateau in the weeks that follow—some develop deep habits and become power users, others log in occasionally and eventually churn at renewal.

Why adoption matters

The adoption gap

Most companies invest heavily in:
  • Onboarding: Getting customers to their first “aha moment”
  • Renewal: Saving customers who are about to churn
But they neglect:
  • Adoption: The 10 months between onboarding and renewal where habits form
This creates an adoption gap—a period where customers are left to their own devices, slowly disengaging while your attention is elsewhere.

The adoption-retention connection

The difference between deep and shallow adoption is often 11 months of accumulated habits—or lack thereof.

The intervention window

Adoption is the stage where small interventions have outsized impact:
  • During onboarding, customers expect guidance—it’s built into the experience
  • At renewal, customers have already formed opinions—you’re fighting inertia
  • During adoption, customers are still forming habits—a timely nudge can redirect their trajectory

Step 1: Define your adoption stage

How to think about stage boundaries

Entry considerations:
  • Has the customer completed your defined onboarding milestones?
  • Have they had enough time to form initial habits? (Usually 14-30 days minimum)
  • Are they past the “honeymoon period” where everything looks positive?
Duration considerations:
  • How long does it take for usage patterns to stabilise?
  • When do you have enough data to distinguish adopters from drifters?
  • How much time before renewal do you need to intervene if adoption is failing?
Exit considerations:
  • What does successful adoption look like in measurable terms?
  • At what point have they “graduated” to a stable, retained customer?

Example configuration


Step 2: Define your adoption objectives

Types of adoption objectives

Example: TeamFlow’s adoption objectives


Step 3: Define health indicators and warning signs

Healthy adoption indicators

Adoption warning signs

Health score calculation


Step 4: Configure adoption interventions

Intervention design

Different warning signs need different interventions:
Trigger: WAU declined >25% vs prior 30-day periodAudience Filter:
  • Tenure >45 days (not still in onboarding turbulence)
  • Not already in intervention job (30-day cooldown)
  • Health score ≥ “Moderate” (not yet critical)
Timing: Within 48 hours of trigger detectionGoal: Understand why and re-engage before they drift further
Trigger: Only 1 active user for 30+ consecutive daysAudience Filter:
  • Licensed seats > 1 (excludes legitimate single-user accounts)
  • Tenure >60 days (had time to expand)
Timing: Next business day, 10 AM customer timezoneGoal: Help them expand to team members before champion changes jobs
Trigger: Primary contact no login for 14+ daysAudience Filter:
  • At least one other user still active
  • Primary contact identified in CRM
Timing: Within 24 hours of triggerGoal: Reconnect with champion or identify new stakeholder
Trigger: No new adoption objective achieved in 45+ daysAudience Filter:
  • At least 1 objective still incomplete
  • Tenure >60 days
Timing: Next business dayGoal: Provide guidance, training, or support to unblock them
Trigger: Zero team logins for 7+ consecutive daysAudience Filter:
  • Not a known holiday period
  • Account not scheduled for churn
Timing: Immediate (within 25 minutes)Goal: Urgent re-engagement before account goes cold

Step 5: Write your intervention messages

Message philosophy

Adoption messages are delicate. You’re reaching out to someone who’s disengaging—potentially frustrated, overwhelmed, or simply not finding value.

Example messages


Step 6: Configure follow-up logic

Follow-up design principles

  • Change the angle: Don’t just repeat the same message
  • Increase value: Offer something new (guide, call, help)
  • Decrease friction: Make the action even easier
  • Know when to stop: After 2 to 3 attempts, more emails hurt more than help

Example follow-up sequence (single-user rescue)


Step 7: Configure internal notifications

Escalation triggers

Sample alert


Step 8: Define success metrics

Metrics to track


Summary checklist

Adoption stage defined (entry after onboarding, ~6 month duration)
5 to 7 adoption objectives covering depth, breadth, frequency
Health indicators (positive signals) defined
Warning signs (negative signals) defined
Interventions configured for each warning sign
Follow-up sequences designed
Internal escalation paths configured

Next steps

Configure Expansion Jobs

Capture revenue growth from your happiest customers

Configure Renewal Jobs

Proactive renewal management that prevents churn