Despite being a term widely used in the software world, "User Onboarding" has different definitions. There are people who claim that the term means teaching new users, others that it is indistinguishable from the user experience, while others imagine it is just a touch of the screen or a quick tour of the product. Read this article and draw your conclusions!
Here you will find:
- What is “user onboarding”?
- What are the benefits of “user onboarding”?
- User onboarding ROI
- 3 Principles of “user Onboarding”
- What makes an “onboarding user” excellent?
What is “user onboarding”?
In short, "user onboarding" is the system that actively guides users to find new value in their product.
This definition is based on the following arguments:
- It recognizes that the newness of the user onboarding market spans the entire user life cycle. It starts even before a user signs up and extends beyond the point of an actual purchase.
- This onboarding tool goes far beyond showing users how to use your product. To make users successful, you also need to show why your product is needed, and give the help they need to find value in what they are getting.
To apply these principles effectively, you need much more than just a great user experience or product tour. That is, you need to understand your customer and encourage them to take the appropriate next steps.
What are the benefits of “user onboarding”?
It is almost impossible to follow the sales funnel without having a clear “onboarding”, which helps the user to understand how the product works. Keep in mind that a product that does not help the user to understand what it is for has a very low engagement. This maxim applies to both physical and digital products. Thus, growing in a sustainable and scalable manner is one of the main benefits of “user onboarding”.
User onboarding ROI
Another benefit is the financial return, working with "onboarding" helps the user in their first steps and increases the likelihood that they will purchase your product.
But it is in retention that things get really interesting. When comparing the first 60 days of customers with poor perception of integration to those with positive perceptions, customers with positive perception have a much smaller drop in the first 21 days. This result is a consequence of a good onboarding that encompasses the value of a product with a customer or, at the very least, eases the slippages that your customer will give when starting to use the product. Especially for him or her to begin to see value, and thereby significantly accelerate their journey.
3 Principles of “user Onboarding”
Now that you know the benefits of "user onboarding", I will introduce you to its principles. These principles will assist you in making a decision.
1. Obsession with Onboarding
Basically it is the obsession to make life easier for the user and help him in the first steps using his product. Be obsessed with helping the user to take their first steps autonomously, without someone helping. If the user is unable to log into your software or take the first steps on your product by himself, he is unlikely to engage.
2. Onboarding is not a metric, it is a result
You must collect how many users are entering, what is the abandonment rate, where is the “bottleneck” of our product, if any. All of this is obviously very important. The issue here is the metric, it is the consequence of a job. If you follow the first principle (obsession with the user), this will probably have a direct result in the result.
3. Onboarding must be an ongoing process for the business
It all starts and remains with the mindset that Onboarding is an ongoing process. So, anything you look at can be viewed with the Onboarding lens. Does this help the user? Within the journey he is on, is that moment clear? If we stop looking at the user's journey, what was simple becomes complex. This is very much linked to the “day one” mentality, every day is like being your first day trying to help the user.
What makes an “onboarding user” excellent?
First of all keep in mind that when working on your product's “user onboarding” experience you need to create something unique. Regardless of how you build your integration needs, you must have a clear idea of what you are solving, who you are solving for and what value you will add to the table.
Second, what works for the competing company may not work for your company and product. Take the time and do your research to better understand the needs of your audience and the facilities that your product can offer.
Source: UX Collective
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