I recently joined the new Retention Rethink podcast from the Customer Success Collective and Gainsight to discuss best practices in adoption. At TrendMiner, we use Gainsight PX to gather adoption data and guide our users in-app, and we leverage the adoption data extensively in Gainsight CS.
I figured it would be useful to share some practical best practices from the podcast here as well…
1️⃣ Start with data: Identify the behaviors that actually predict retention
Start by correlating usage patterns with retention outcomes. When we did this, two insights stood out:
-
Three distinct logins early in the journey strongly predicted long-term retention.
-
Specific feature usage (search + monitors) was the biggest driver of stickiness.
Gainsight Application:
Use PX data to find your equivalent “sticky actions”, then target enablement around those behaviors.
2️⃣ Design simple, high-impact user onboarding flows
Our original onboarding flow consisted of 16 steps. Completion was only 10%.
We rebuilt it into a short, focused 7-step path, and completion significantly increased.
Core lesson:
✨ Shorter = Stickier.
Don’t overeducate before value is felt.
Gainsight Application:
In PX, design your initial engagement around one high-value action. Let CS and later-stage nurturing handle the rest.
3️⃣ Separate User Journeys from Customer Journeys
TrendMiner scales by clearly distinguishing the two:
-
User Journey: automated and scalable
-
PX in-app guides
-
Email sequences
-
Webinars
-
Community content
-
-
Customer Journey: high-touch and strategic
-
CSM + technical expert
-
Success planning
-
Business case development
-
Gainsight Application:
Use PX to drive breadth and scale, and CS to deepen adoption and connect to business value.
4️⃣ Show progress without overwhelming customers
Customers stay motivated when they can see near-term wins, not just long-term goals. Break Success Plans into short, achievable milestones, reviewed consistently during check-ins.
Gainsight Application:
-
Use Success Plans in CS to display milestone progress. Spaces help to get your customers’ eyes on the plan (still testing...)
5️⃣ Use adoption data to spot Risk early
TrendMiner relies on 3 sets of adoption signals:
-
License under-utilization
-
Decline in Monthly/Quarterly Active Users
-
Shallow feature usage (stuck in basic features only)
These feed directly into Gainsight CS scorecards, automatically triggering Calls to Action.
Gainsight Application:
-
Sync PX usage into CS to populate Scorecards.
-
Build CTAs based on trend drops, not just point-in-time red flags.
6️⃣ Deliver in-app guidance only when it matters
We found that long in-app flows don’t work for later-stage adoption.
What did work:
Triggering engagements contextually, right after a user interacts with a feature.
An example?
A survey triggered only for users who recently used the scatter plot. Result: 80% response rate.
Gainsight Application:
Use PX audience rules such as:
-
“Used Feature X at least 2 times”
-
“Trigger on next use of Feature X"
7️⃣ Use gamification sparingly (but don’t ignore it)
Progress bars and micro-celebrations helped us increase completion.
However, enterprise users disliked anything that felt “too consumer.”
Core lesson:
Use light reinforcement, not heavy gamification.
Gainsight Application:
Small progress indicators or completion nudges in PX engagements can reinforce behavior without risking professionalism.
8️⃣ Connect Adoption to ROI
Based on PX data, we translate activity → time saved → monetary value.
Instead of claiming “millions saved,” we keep estimates conservative to build credibility and spark productive value conversations.
Gainsight Application:
-
Tie PX usage data to value proxies like time savings or process efficiency.
-
Surface these in Success Snapshots so CSMs can leverage them in customer meetings.
-
Over time, move toward self-serve value reporting in-app.
Watch the full podcast episode here:
