User onboarding is like going on a blind date. It can either go really well and lead to a lasting relationship… or you never end up seeing each other again.

Understanding what user onboarding is — and what it isn’t, will help your team set the right processes up for success.

It’ll give your team a direction to focus on when prioritizing features that will positively affect the first impression of an app.

What is user onboarding?

User onboarding refers to the process of users learning how to use features and navigate a new platform.

The process of user onboarding relies on features that help educate users. This could include tutorials, walkthroughs, product tours, or guides. Onboarding flows helps users become more familiar with a product, without having to do extensive research on their own.

The goal of user onboarding is for users to understand the value an app provides as fast as possible — also known as the “aha” moment.

For example, imagine you download your bank’s mobile app. The user onboarding process would lead you through all the features that help you with your day-to-day needs.

When done correctly, onboarding can result in improved customer engagement, reduced customer churn rate, increased customer retention, and higher customer satisfaction.

What makes user onboarding successful?

The most successful onboarding journeys are those that lead the user straight to the “aha” moment with the least amount of steps.

This is important, as over 89% of users will consider switching platforms if onboarding is too complicated.

Successful user onboarding requires considering the following factors:

• User persona and their goals: Each user persona will have their own goals and problems to solve when using a platform. It’s important to create different user flows depending on the user’s objective.
• Needs, wants, and desires of the user persona: Understanding the user’s motivations, desired outcomes, and any potential limitations will help you design flows that cater to those demands.
• User interface design: The user interface should be designed to be intuitive and easy to navigate. This means prioritizing legibility, and organization, and creating visual cues to guide users through the onboarding process.
• Stage of the user journey: The stage of a user, whether they are new or learning about new features will affect the user’s experience. For example, a new user might need more guidance, while a more experienced user may navigate more quickly.
• Complexity of the current platform: Depending on the complexity of the product, more onboarding support might be needed continuously in the form of resources or support team.
• Complementary resources for the knowledge base: Complementary resources for the knowledge base should be provided to users to make sure that they understand the product.
• Use of media and actionable copy: Clear and concise instructions with actionable next steps guide the user through a platform. And, using video, text, and other media can be added to aid visually.

Why is user onboarding important?

Over 82% of enterprise companies agree that user onboarding is a key driver of value. But why is user onboarding so impactful when it comes to a company’s bottom line?

On one side, user onboarding highlights the value of a platform for each user, it validates their time and learning effort. This helps users find the value of an app and remain engaged, leading to less churn.

On the other hand, it helps create a smooth and intuitive user experience that delights users. As such, users are more likely to become loyal customers.

Apart from onboarding users to solve their problems, user onboarding also:

• Improves customer retention: User onboarding has a huge impact on customer impressions and loyalty. In fact, studies have shown that user onboarding has the biggest impact on customer retention results.
• Increase user conversion: Strategic onboarding with selected touchpoints can boost revenue by 7.4% in the first 18 months
• Boost user lifetime loyalty: Around 86% of users agree they’d stay more loyal when onboarding is helpful and educational.

Examples of effective user onboarding

The actual user onboarding procedure will vary from one platform to another, and even from one user to the next.

The important thing to consider is the goal, user, and features to introduce. Like Daniel Musialek from Product Fruits shares “Don’t ask your user to do zillion things at once. Instead, focus on the one or two most important actions, and optimize the onboarding journey towards them”.

Here is a well-thought-out user onboarding flow from Calendly, a scheduling software.

First, you’re able to log in directly with your preferred email. Which makes the collection of details much faster.

(Image source: Calendly)

Then, the software asks users for their intended use of the platform. This allows the platform to tailor the onboarding experience to the user. For example, for marketing, they allow users to choose the most common marketing meetings to add to the schedule.

(Image source: Calendly)

This allows the user to pick the right meeting type, without having to filter and search through options.

(Image source: Calendly)

And within a few clicks, you have a full meeting schedule that saves time and planning for the future. All with a seamless and intuitive user onboarding process.

Look for a tool that enhances your onboarding process

User onboarding tools help you save time developing onboarding features and equip your platform with all the right tools, features, and strategies that help you optimize onboarding for your users.

Product Fruits works as an invisible layer atop your product or service. This means you can add, alter, edit, and customize onboarding flows for new or existing customers.

Include tooltips, tours, hints, help centers, surveys, and more to make your onboarding journey impactful and lead to higher conversion.

Try Product Fruits for free today, no card or commitment is required.