You’ve probably heard the term “onboarding” in the context of hiring. There it refers to getting a new employee acclimated to your company to help them be happy and successful in their role.
However, onboarding is also essential to success in another area. User onboarding is the process of introducing someone to a digital experience like an app or website—what we’ll call a “product.” At a high level, its goals include increases in three critical areas:
Effective onboarding also reduces the need for user support and increases the conversion rate from free to paid versions.
It’s been humorously stated that you never get a second chance to make a first impression. That’s certainly true with digital experiences.
It would be ideal if new users were willing to work through some initial confusion, frustration, or disappointment to learn what makes a product great and start using it. But the reality is that if they have a less-than-optimal initial experience, their first use of a product will likely be their last.
The poor experience may also motivate them to check out a competitor’s offering. By some estimates, products lose close to 80% of new users within a few days.
On the flip side, good things happen when someone feels warmly welcomed, patiently tutored, and fully supported as you introduce them to a product. In addition to becoming loyal customers, they frequently take on the role of vocal advocates. After all, who doesn’t like being the first person to tell coworkers, family, and friends about a cool new product?
And needless to say, enthusiastic word-of-mouth advertising is one of the best and most cost-effective ways to grow your user base and increase your revenues.
So, an effective onboarding process isn’t a “nice to have” element. It’s a crucial facet of overall user experience (UX) design and a critical component of a successful product launch.
What are the features of an effective user onboarding process? That varies somewhat by product. But generally speaking, an onboarding experience should include:
UX design has two primary elements: The overall design of the product and the functionality of the user onboarding experience. In many cases, the latter is accomplished using software designed specifically for that process.
Appcues is a popular user onboarding tool and one we use at TCA. But whatever software is used to develop an onboarding experience, there are best practices that should be followed, including that you should:
Creating an interesting, engaging, and effective user onboarding experience can be challenging. And when you’re working on launching a website or releasing an app, and the clock is ticking, it’s a process you can’t afford to mishandle or spend excessive time on.
A better approach is to leverage both the technical skills and the experience of UX designers who’ve created onboarding processes for other companies. Our UX experts at TCA have deep expertise in this area and can help you develop an experience that engages and encourages your users and enables your company to meet its business goals.
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About The Creative Alliance, Lafayette, CO
The Creative Alliance is a results-based, digital marketing company with a history of growing successful businesses. www.thecreativealliance.com
Media Contact: Jodee Goodwin | 303-665-8101
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