> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.trig.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Onboarding Jobs
> Getting customers to their 'aha moment' before they give up
This guide walks you through configuring an onboarding 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 discovered that the first 30 days determine everything—customers who reach their "aha moment" become long-term retained customers, while those who never quite get started churn at renewal.
## Why onboarding matters
### The onboarding truth
Here's what the data consistently shows across B2B SaaS:
| Onboarding Outcome | Long-term Retention |
| ----------------------------------- | ------------------- |
| Reached "aha moment" in first week | 85-95% |
| Reached "aha moment" in first month | 70-80% |
| Never reached "aha moment" | 15-30% |
The pattern is stark: customers who experience value quickly almost always stay. Customers who don't almost always leave.
### The silent failure problem
The challenge with onboarding failure is that it's invisible:
* Customers don't complain—they just stop logging in
* They don't ask for help—they assume the product isn't for them
* They don't cancel immediately—they drift until renewal and then churn
By the time you notice a customer didn't onboard successfully, it's usually too late.
### The intervention window
| Stage | Intervention Window | Customer Mindset |
| -------------- | ------------------- | ------------------------------- |
| **Onboarding** | Days | "I'm trying to figure this out" |
| Adoption | Weeks | "I'm forming habits" |
| Renewal | Months | "I've made up my mind" |
A customer stuck on Day 3 is still open to help. A customer who's been stuck for 3 months has already checked out mentally.
***
## Step 1: Define your onboarding stage
### What you're configuring
The onboarding stage parameters define when customers enter onboarding, how long they have to complete it, and what success looks like.
### How to think about onboarding boundaries
**Entry considerations:**
* When does the customer first have access to your product?
* Do they need prerequisites before real onboarding begins?
* Is there a "Day 0" setup phase that should be tracked separately?
**Duration considerations:**
* How long does it typically take successful customers to onboard?
* How long are you willing to actively nurture before considering them stalled?
* When do diminishing returns kick in?
**Exit considerations:**
* What specific milestone(s) indicate successful onboarding?
* When should you stop trying and either escalate or accept failure?
### Example configuration
TeamFlow analysed their customer data and found clear patterns:
* **Successful customers** typically completed onboarding in 7-14 days
* **Customers who took >30 days** had 3x higher churn
* **After Day 30**, additional onboarding effort showed minimal retention impact
TeamFlow defined success as: "Customer has at least one active project with 2+ team members collaborating"
```
Stage Duration: Day 1 to Day 30 (from first login)
Entry Criteria:
- First login completed
- Account status = Active
- Not a demo or test account
Exit Criteria (Success):
- Objective #4 achieved (team actively collaborating)
- → Move to Adoption stage
Exit Criteria (Failure):
- Day 30 reached without completing Objective #4
- → Move to At-Risk Onboarding job
```
***
## Step 2: Define your onboarding objectives
### Objective design principles
The best onboarding objectives are:
| Principle | What It Means | Example |
| ------------------- | ------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------- |
| **Sequential** | Each objective builds on the previous | Create project → Add task → Invite teammate |
| **Measurable** | Binary yes/no, detectable in data | "Created a project" not "understands the product" |
| **Value-connected** | Each moves customer closer to value | Not just setup steps—actual value realisation |
| **Time-bounded** | Clear target date for completion | "By Day 3" not "eventually" |
### Finding your "aha moment"
One objective should be your critical "aha moment"—the single milestone most predictive of long-term retention.
To identify your "aha moment":
1. Look at retained customers: What did they all do early on?
2. Look at churned customers: What did they fail to do?
3. Find the behaviour with the biggest retention gap between doers and non-doers
### Example: TeamFlow's onboarding objectives
| # | Objective | How We Measure It | Target | Why This Matters |
| - | ------------------------ | ----------------------------------- | ------ | ------------------------------------ |
| 1 | First Login | `first_login_timestamp` exists | Day 1 | Entry point—no login, no onboarding |
| 2 | Create First Project | `projects.count >= 1` | Day 3 | Container for all value |
| 3 | Add First Tasks | `tasks.count >= 5` in project | Day 7 | Real work, not just exploring |
| 4 | **Invite Team Member** ⭐ | `active_team_members >= 2` | Day 14 | **AHA MOMENT** - 4x retention impact |
| 5 | Team Activity | `distinct_users_with_activity >= 2` | Day 21 | Confirms real collaboration |
**Critical "Aha Moment":** TeamFlow's data showed that customers who invited a teammate by Day 14 had 89% retention, while customers who never invited a teammate had only 31% retention—a 58 percentage point gap.
***
## Step 3: Configure onboarding interventions
### Intervention design principles
* **Specificity:** One intervention per objective (don't bundle)
* **Timing:** Intervene soon after the target date passes
* **Helpfulness:** Focus on unblocking them, not guilting them
* **Urgency calibration:** Earlier objectives warrant faster intervention
* **Escalation path:** Plan for what happens if intervention doesn't work
### Example intervention design
**Problem:** Customer signed up but never logged in
**Urgency:** High (they may have already forgotten about us)
**Timing:** 24 hours after signup if no login
**Goal:** Get them to log in and start exploring
**Problem:** Customer logged in but didn't create a project
**Urgency:** Medium-high (they're exploring but not committing)
**Timing:** Day 4 if no project created
**Goal:** Help them create their first project
**Problem:** Customer created a project but it's empty
**Urgency:** Medium (they started but got stuck)
**Timing:** Day 8 if fewer than 5 tasks
**Goal:** Help them add real work to their project
**Problem:** Customer is working alone—hasn't invited anyone
**Urgency:** Highest (this is the aha moment!)
**Timing:** Day 10 (early intervention—don't wait until Day 15)
**Goal:** Make inviting a teammate feel easy and valuable
**Problem:** Teammate was invited but isn't engaging
**Urgency:** Medium (teammate may need their own nudge)
**Timing:** Day 22 if teammate hasn't taken action
**Goal:** Get the invited teammate to participate
***
## Step 4: Write your intervention messages
### Message philosophy
Onboarding messages should feel like a helpful friend, not a marketing automation.
| Feels Like Automation | Feels Like Help |
| ------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------- |
| "You haven't completed your setup!" | "Need help getting your first project started?" |
| "Don't forget to invite your team!" | "Here's a quick way to bring your teammates in" |
| "Complete these steps to get started" | "Most teams find it useful to start with..." |
### Message structure
Effective onboarding messages follow a simple structure:
1. **Acknowledge where they are** (not accusatory)
2. **Explain the benefit** of the next step (not the feature)
3. **Make the action extremely easy** (direct link, clear CTA)
4. **Offer help** if they're stuck (open the door)
### Example messages
```
Subject: Your [Product] account is ready
Hi {first_name},
Your [Product] account is set up and ready to go. You can log in
here and create your first project in about 2 minutes:
[Log In to {Product} →]
If you hit any snags getting in, just reply to this email and
I'll help you sort it out.
Sarah
Customer Success
```
```
Subject: Quick tip for getting started
Hi {first_name},
I saw you logged into [Product]—great! The fastest way to see
how it can help is to create a project for something you're
actually working on right now.
It doesn't have to be perfect. Most people start with a simple
project and build from there. You can create one here:
[Create Your First Project →]
If you're not sure what kind of project to start with, I'm
happy to share some examples from teams like yours.
Sarah
Customer Success
```
```
Subject: [Product] works better with your team
Hi {first_name},
I noticed you're using [Product] solo right now. That's a great
start, but here's what I've seen: teams that use [Product]
together spend way less time in status meetings and "where's
that file?" conversations.
The easiest way to try it: invite one teammate to collaborate
on {project_name}. Takes about 30 seconds:
[Invite a Teammate →]
They'll get an email with everything they need to jump in.
You can always add more people later.
If you'd prefer to keep this project private, that's totally
fine too—just let me know and I'll adjust your setup.
Sarah
Customer Success
```
***
## Step 5: Configure sender identity
### Options
| Sender Type | Best For |
| ------------------------------ | -------------------------------------------- |
| **Real onboarding specialist** | Maximum authenticity, but scalability issues |
| **Automated/Team sender** | Clearly automated, lower engagement |
| **Dedicated persona** | Consistent, human-feeling, scalable |
**Recommendation:** Use a dedicated persona (like "Sarah Chen") for most customers, with real CSM names for enterprise accounts (\$25K+) to establish relationships early.
***
## Step 6: Set message timing
### Timing principles
| Objective | Recommended Timing | Reasoning |
| -------------------------------- | ------------------------ | ---------------------------------------- |
| First login (Day 1) | 24 hours after signup | Give them a chance to log in organically |
| Early objectives (Day 3-7) | Morning of target day +1 | Catch them when they're fresh |
| Critical objectives (Aha moment) | Earlier than target | Don't wait—intervene proactively |
| Later objectives (Day 14+) | Next business day | Less urgency, avoid weekends |
***
## Step 7: Configure follow-up logic
### Follow-up design
Not every customer will respond to the first message. You need a plan for:
* **Persistence:** Some customers need multiple touches
* **Escalation:** When to involve humans
* **Exit:** When to stop trying (to avoid annoying customers)
### Example: "No teammate" follow-up sequence
| Days After First Message | Action |
| ------------------------ | --------------------------------------------------- |
| Day 0 | First message sent |
| Day 3 | Follow-up message (different angle, offer help) |
| Day 7 | Internal notification (human may need to intervene) |
| Day 14 | Exit job → Move to "at-risk onboarding" segment |
### Follow-up message example
```
Subject: Quick thought on [Product]
Hi {first_name},
I wanted to share something I've noticed: the teams that get the
most from [Product] usually start by inviting just one other
person—not the whole team, just someone they work closely with.
Would it help if I showed you how to set that up? I can do it
in a 5-minute call: [Book a Quick Call →]
Or if you'd prefer to just try it yourself: [Invite Someone →]
Sarah
```
***
## Step 8: Configure internal notifications
### Tiered notification system
| Level | Trigger | Channel | Action Expected |
| --------------------- | -------------------------------------- | ------------------- | ---------------------- |
| **1: Logging** | All interventions sent | Dashboard log | Daily digest review |
| **2: Reply Handling** | Customer replies | Slack DM to CS | Respond within 4 hours |
| **3: High-Value** | \$15K+ customer triggers intervention | CSM DM | Personal attention |
| **4: Escalation** | "Aha moment" intervention failed twice | Slack channel + CSM | Consider outreach |
| **5: Abandonment** | No login 14+ days | Leadership alert | Executive review |
### Sample high-value alert
```
⚠️ High-Value Onboarding Alert
Customer: Acme Corp ($28,000/year)
Onboarding Day: 10
Stuck At: No teammate invited (Objective #4)
Progress:
✅ First login (Day 1)
✅ Created project (Day 2)
✅ Added tasks (Day 5)
❌ Invited teammate ← BLOCKED
Intervention sent today. This is the "aha moment" objective.
Consider personal outreach.
📊 View Customer → [link]
```
***
## Step 9: Define success metrics
### Metrics to track
| Metric Type | What It Measures | Example |
| ------------------------- | ---------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------- |
| **Objective Completion** | Did the intervention work? | % who complete objective after intervention |
| **Time to Completion** | How quickly do they complete? | Days from intervention to completion |
| **Response Rate** | Are customers engaging? | % who reply or click |
| **Retention Correlation** | Does completion predict retention? | Retention rate by objective status |
### Setting benchmarks
For your first month, focus on establishing baselines:
* What % complete each objective without intervention?
* What % complete after intervention?
* How does timing affect completion?
Then iterate: adjust messaging, timing, and targeting based on data.
***
## Summary checklist
Onboarding stage defined with entry/exit criteria
4 to 7 objectives identified with clear completion criteria
"Aha moment" objective identified
Intervention triggers configured for each objective
Plain text messages written for each intervention
Follow-up sequences designed
Internal escalation paths configured
Success metrics defined
***
## Next steps
Build sticky habits after customers complete onboarding
Detailed guide on job configuration