A tool designed to simplify Kubernetes management by improving development practices, ensuring security compliance, and enhancing cost efficiency.
Fairwinds Insights: Free Trial
Overview
The PLG initiatives aimed to revamp the pricing structure and introduce a free trial to attract new users, streamline onboarding, and drive organic growth. The focus was on making the platform more accessible and reducing the reliance on sales for initial user engagement.
Role
Design Lead
Duration
October ‘22 — October '23
Tools
Figma, Miro, Appcues
User and Business Problems
User Problems
The reliance on sales for growth resulted in limited scalability.
Lower-than-expected revenue growth and user retention.
High entry barriers led to fewer organic signups and engagement.
Business Problems
Users found it inconvenient to engage with sales for initial access.
The previous lack of a free trial made it hard for users to evaluate the platform.
Engineers were deterred by the requirement to interact with sales before using the product.
Free Trial Strategy
Overview
Best Practices
The strategy focused on making the platform more accessible by introducing an indefinite free trial, updating and making the pricing model more transparent, and allowing users to upgrade their free app to a premium version. This approach aimed to lower the entry barriers, enable users to experience the product's value firsthand and drive organic growth.
Free trials allow users to try before committing.
Provide robust documentation and training videos.
Simplified signup process.
Utilize in-app product tours, using a tool like Appcues to streamline the onboarding experience.
Research
The research involved user interviews and market analysis to understand the preferences and pain points of the target audience. This helped in crafting a more user-centric approach to pricing and onboarding.
Findings
Users preferred not to interact with sales for initial access.
A free trial was highly desired.
Users appreciated the opportunity to try the platform without immediate commitment.
The previous lack of a transparent pricing was seen as a barrier.
Users valued having clear pricing information available.
In-app upgrading from the free version to the premium version was crucial.
"I don’t want to talk to sales!"
"Why isn’t there a clear pricing page?"
"I want a trial that lets me explore the platform freely, and maybe Slack support—that’s it."
Design Work
Overview
The design efforts centered on creating a new onboarding flow, a new pricing page, and the ability to upgrade an account from free to premium.
Increase the task completion rate to improve overall engagement.
Boost conversion rate from free trial to premium subscriptions.
Enhance marketing click-through rates on the signup page.
Reduce the drop-off rate during the onboarding process.
Improve user satisfaction scores based on feedback.
Measurement
The testing phase involved using platforms like usertesting.com to gather insights from new users. This was complemented by continuous monitoring and feedback collection to identify areas for improvement.
Findings
The new training hub and Slack community were highly valued.
The indefinite trial period was well-received.
Users appreciated not having to interact with sales.
The updated pricing page was clear and informative.
Design Sprint
Testing and Validating
A design sprint was conducted to iterate on the onboarding experience, pricing page, and trial setup. The sprint included rapid prototyping, user testing, and user flow refining to ensure a smooth experience.
Outcomes
Overview
User and Business Results
The PLG initiatives significantly increased user engagement, a smoother onboarding process, and organic growth. The platform became more accessible, increasing conversion rates and user satisfaction.
User Improvements
Users experienced a more seamless onboarding journey.
The free trial allowed users to understand the product's value without pressure.
Upgrades were possible to do in-app.
Business Improvements
Increased signups and conversions from free trial to premium.
Reduced dependency on sales for initial user engagement.
Retention went up with users who came in through the free trial.
Metrics
Final Thoughts
Understanding the user
A key takeaway was the need to understand better our users, who had no desire to interact with sales before trying new tools. This realization led us to implement a free trial and transparent pricing, making it easier for engineers to explore the platform independently. By aligning with their preferences, we removed barriers and successfully attracted new users, highlighting the importance of truly knowing our audience to drive growth.
Looking ahead
Moving forward, continuous user feedback and phased rollouts, such as enhanced analytics and further integrations, will be crucial to maintaining and growing the user base. Integrating with third-party marketplaces like DataDog and AWS has also streamlined the purchasing process, meeting user expectations and providing other opportunities to monetize the app in unique ways.