User onboarding is one of the many stages of a product’s overall adoption process. It covers when a user is first introduced to a product or platform, becomes familiar with the product, and develops their first impressions. It’s important to remember that people have signed up for a product or service, not a tutorial. [[Avoid distracting, controlling, and flaky onboarding experiences]], and [[Get to the 'aha moment' as soon as possible]] rather than trying to show the user every feature you have. By creating integrated, empowering, and steadfast onboarding experiences ([[Principles of user onboarding]]), you're likely improve the success of new users. ### Onboarding patterns Helpful onboarding patterns: - [[Utilize empty states to onboard users]] - [[Progression systems highlight important activities]] - [[Empower new customers with lifecycle emails]] Additional onboarding patterns - Welcome messages - Product tours - Hotspots - Action-driven tooltips - Deferred account creation - Persona-based user onboarding ### When to onboard User onboarding isn’t just for when a new account is created—it also applies to when additional users join an existing account, or when new features are introduced. The onboarding experience for these different scenarios will likely need to be different. For example, when launching a new feature to existing users, you may note that feature as being *new*. However, for new customers *everything is new,* so it doesn't make as much sense to call one feature out more than another. In addition, new users on existing accounts will likely encounter a system that is already populated with data and configured a specific way, as opposed to a new account that is full of empty states. ### Time The amount of time onboarding takes includes many factors, including: - The complexity of the product - Which features are best to start with - Plan the user is on (do they have a limited set of features?) - Whether the features require significant data input before they begin working ### High-tech vs high-touch onboarding High-tech onboarding typically involves in-app guidance and automated messaging. This is common—and ideal—for onboarding simpler products at scale. High-touch onboarding typically involves one-on-one assistance with a Customer Success Manager or Account Manager. This can be especially helpful for complex products or platforms that have a high level of customization, where guidance is key. Even in high-touch cases, it’s important to include in-app help and onboarding support. --- ## Reference User Onboarding | A frequently-updated compendium of web app first-run experiences. (n.d.). Retrieved March 1, 2021, from UserOnboard website: [https://www.useronboard.com](https://www.useronboard.com) Bulletproof User Onboarding. (n.d.). Retrieved March 1, 2021, from UserOnboard website: [https://www.useronboard.com/bulletproof-user-onboarding/](https://www.useronboard.com/bulletproof-user-onboarding/) [[Rishabh Saxena]]. (2017, April 10). 4 Best Practices For User Onboarding. Retrieved March 1, 2021, from Medium website: [https://uxplanet.org/4-best-practices-for-user-onboarding-a1f1524c7a40](https://uxplanet.org/4-best-practices-for-user-onboarding-a1f1524c7a40)‌ [[Katryna Balboni]]. “The Ultimate Guide to Getting Your Users to Their Aha Moment.” *Appcues*, 2018, [www.appcues.com/blog/aha-moment-guide](http://www.appcues.com/blog/aha-moment-guide). Accessed 25 Mar. 2021. [[Katryna Balboni]]. “We Categorized over 500 User Onboarding Experiences into 8 UI/UX Patterns.” *Appcues*, [www.appcues.com/blog/user-onboarding-ui-ux-patterns](http://www.appcues.com/blog/user-onboarding-ui-ux-patterns). Accessed 25 Mar. 2021. [[Ed Shelley]]. “A Guide to SaaS Customer Onboarding [Updated for 2020].” *ChartMogul*, 11 Feb. 2020, [blog.chartmogul.com/a-guide-to-saas-customer-onboarding/](http://blog.chartmogul.com/a-guide-to-saas-customer-onboarding/). Accessed 25 Mar. 2021. ## Read later [16-Step Client Onboarding Checklist for your SaaS Product](https://helpcrunch.com/blog/client-onboarding-checklist/) # Notes People don’t need to learn how to use the entire product at once. How quickly can we get people to an aha moment? [[Measure user onboarding effectiveness]]. [[Onboarding tactics and best practices (WIP)]] # Appendix Effective [[User onboarding]] transforms new customers into power users. Most onboarding techniques used today result in distracting experiences that leave users confused and annoyed rather than feeling empowered. Vaporware’s Onboarding Assessment goes deeper—providing a detailed review of your customers’ experience. Combined with our expert insights and recommendations for improvement, you can optimize your onboarding experience for adoption. ## Outcomes - **Get a fresh set of eyes** on the experience your new customers have - **A solid strategy** for getting new and existing customers engaged - **Transform users into power users** following our expert recommendations Other benefits - Gain insights into how to improve customer onboarding - Improve customer satisfaction and net promoter scores - Identify areas where users are getting stuck, and how to overcome them ### Process 1. #### Walk through your product’s onboarding process We’ll start by going through the onboarding process your customers go through, capturing detailed notes 2. #### Review metrics and synthesize findings We dig into your qualitative onboarding metrics ([[Measure user onboarding effectiveness]]), synthesize qualitative findings, and compare them with core principles ([[Principles of user onboarding]]) 3. #### Create and present recommendations We compile and prioritize our suggestions into an improvement plan for your organization to adopt ## Deliverables / Artifacts - **Executive summary** of what's working well, and which areas need attention - **Annotated walkthrough** of the entire customer activation experience - **Improvement plan** with recommended remediations ## When do to an onboarding audit - Time to value for customers is slow and tedious - Existing customers slow to adopt new functionality - Customer support is swamped with repeat questions - Not seeing results with tools like Pendo or WalkMe ## Time and effort - Timing: Typically 2–3 weeks, depending on size and complexity of the product and existing onboarding experience - Team: 1 person* - If the product requires multiple people to be onboarded into the system, additional people can be added. ## Requirements - Business stakeholders to inform on goals (2 hours) - Primary contact available for questions (8 hours) - List of settings, functionality, and other activities to assess - Access to engagement and adoption metrics - Enrollment as a new customer. For “white-glove” onboarding experiences, this would include any meetings or other processes used for onboarding customers.