Let’s be honest: activation’s got a branding problem.

Most SaaS teams hear "activation" and think about new trials. Signups. Onboarding flows. Did they hit the “aha” moment? Did they invite a teammate? Job done.

Except... it’s not.

Activation Is Ongoing — And It's Not Just for Users

The real mistake? Treating activation like a box you tick once.

In reality, activation happens at two levels:

• Users — Are new individuals discovering what the product can really do?

• Accounts — Is the organization consistently engaging with the value your product delivers?

And this is key: they don’t churn just when usage drops — they churn when they stop seeing the full value of your product.

That’s what activation helps you track. It’s the early warning — the canary in the coal mine — that tells you when an account is drifting away from value, even if usage is steady.

Activation as a Living Baseline

If someone signed up six months ago, are they still using the features that matter?

Maybe they’re logging in daily. Maybe usage is high. But if they’ve never touched your new AI tools, or if no one’s explored the reporting suite, are they really activated?

Set activation criteria that evolve with your product:

• At the user level: Have they tried key features? Hit key milestones?

• At the account level: Are enough users engaging with the high-impact parts of the product?

New feature launched? Add it to your activation criteria. If it’s essential to the product story you’re now telling — track who’s actually seeing it.

That’s how you make sure your customers aren’t stuck using the 2022 version of your 2025 product.

Activation vs Engagement: It’s Not Either/Or

Let’s not trash-talk engagement. Good engagement scoring is complex, nuanced, and extremely useful.

But here’s the thing: quantity can obscure quality.

Take Lumen — a video collaboration tool. One of your top accounts has hundreds of users, constantly creating and uploading videos. Usage is off the charts.

But dig a little deeper:

• None of the users have adopted the AI editing features.

• The account hasn’t enabled the new branding toolkit.

• No one's accessed the analytics dashboard that helps teams measure content impact.

So yes, engagement is high — but activation is low. They’re using it a lot… but not using the best parts.

That’s the nuance activation gives you. It doesn’t replace engagement — it completes the picture.

Activation is a Signal — and a Strategy

Activation scores tell you where the gaps are. Not just in usage — but in understanding. In adoption. In appreciation.

A “50% activated” account six months into a contract? That’s a signal.
High engagement with low activation? That’s a risk.
Low activation on a flagship feature? That’s a playbook waiting to happen.

Because if your best customers aren’t seeing your best work, they’re not really your best customers. Yet.