What are examples of onboarding journeys?
Onboarding journeys are structured sequences that move new customers from “signed” to “successful.” They combine email, in-app guidance, human touch, and education to help people activate, adopt, and realize value quickly—without overwhelming them.
Examples of effective onboarding journeys
Common onboarding journeys include: product-led SaaS onboarding that guides new users to their first “aha” moment; implementation onboarding for complex B2B solutions with milestones and project plans; customer marketing onboarding that introduces communities, training, and advocacy; and account expansion onboarding that helps new teams or business units ramp quickly on an existing platform. Each journey has a clear trigger, defined stages, owners, and success metrics like time-to-value, activation rate, and early retention.
Types of onboarding journeys you can design
The onboarding journey design playbook
Use these example patterns to design onboarding journeys that shorten time-to-value, reduce churn risk, and create promoters earlier in the lifecycle.
Core onboarding journey examples
New Logo → Self-Serve → Role-Based → Expansion → Advocacy
- New logo implementation journey. Triggered at contract signature. Includes welcome, kickoff, project planning, integrations, configuration, data migration, and go-live milestones with clear ownership between Sales, CS, and Implementation.
- Self-serve trial-to-paid journey. Triggered at sign-up. Uses in-app prompts and emails to help users complete key actions, reach the “aha” moment, compare plans, and choose the right subscription based on usage and outcomes.
- Role-based enablement journey. Triggered when a user is added with a specific role. Delivers tailored training, templates, and checklists so admins, marketers, sales reps, and analysts each understand how to use the product for their work.
- Expansion onboarding journey. Triggered when new teams or regions join. Onboards them to existing best practices, governance, and patterns, while addressing local requirements and use cases.
- Advocacy & community journey. Triggered after early success milestones. Invites customers to share feedback, join reference programs, participate in case studies, and speak at events—closing the loop from onboarding to advocacy.
Onboarding journey maturity matrix
| Journey Type | From (Ad Hoc) | To (Operationalized) | Owner | Primary KPI |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New logo customer onboarding | Unstructured handoff from Sales to CS | Standard playbook with kickoff, milestones, and status tracking | Customer Success / Implementation | Time-to-value, activation rate |
| Self-serve product onboarding | Welcome email only | Multi-touch in-app + email guidance to “aha” and upgrade | Product / Growth | Trial conversion, early retention |
| Role-based enablement | Same content for all users | Tailored training paths by role and team | Enablement / Customer Marketing | Feature adoption, support tickets |
| Expansion onboarding | Manual support for each new team | Reusable expansion kits and guided rollout journeys | Customer Success / Account Management | Time-to-live for new teams, expansion ARR |
| Partner onboarding | Ad hoc docs sent via email | Structured certification, co-marketing, and deal process | Partner / Channel Team | Certified partners, partner-sourced revenue |
| Advocacy & community | Random asks of happy customers | Defined path from success to reference, reviews, and speaking | Customer Marketing | Referenceable accounts, NPS, reviews |
Client snapshot: From scattered onboarding to a repeatable play
A recurring revenue business relied on individual CSMs to “figure out” onboarding. Some customers went live quickly; others stalled for months with the same product and use cases.
- They defined a standard new logo onboarding journey with clear stages and responsibilities.
- They layered on a self-serve user onboarding track for additional teams and roles.
- They instrumented time-to-value, activation, and early retention metrics in their dashboards.
Within two quarters, average time-to-value dropped, early churn decreased, and more customers were ready for expansion conversations by the end of their first year.
When you treat onboarding journeys as repeatable plays, you can align Marketing, Sales, CS, and Product around shared milestones in The Loop™ and RM6™, instead of relying on heroic, one-off efforts.
Frequently asked questions about onboarding journeys
Design onboarding journeys that accelerate value
We’ll help you define onboarding journey templates, align teams, and connect your onboarding plays to RM6™ and The Loop™ so every new customer reaches value faster and is set up for expansion.