Negosentro|Ready to Start Onboarding Users? We’ve Got Some Tips to Help!|User onboarding is an important stage in the development and release of new products and services. Without an introduction to the offerings, customers may feel left in the dark as to how they use them or incorporate them into their current lifestyle. Onboarding closes the gap between you and the person buying your products and services by allowing you to see through their eyes.
A successful onboarding process doesn’t just benefit the user, though. You’ll receive first impressions and initial feedback that wouldn’t have if you didn’t guide the customer through your product intimately early on. Keeping them engaged during this stage builds the foundation of a mutually beneficial business relationship that might last a lifetime.
Determine the Right Type of Onboarding
To ensure the customers’ onboarding experience is what’s right for them, you must determine and personalize the process for each user. After all, these first impressions are what shapes their perception of you and your product, right?
For digital products, you will most likely offer digital onboarding. However, if a customer needs one-on-one onboarding guidance, you can offer over-the-phone support or send a representative to the customer if they are local.
You can determine the type of onboarding experience they need with a few simple questions that allow you to get to know them better before they even start. Questions you might want to ask users could be:
- What are you looking to do with this product? What problem are you looking to solve?
- What type of learner are you? For example, are you a visual or hands-on learner?
- What are your expectations for this product?
- How can we help you smoothly transition into adding this product into your daily life?
Going hand-in-hand with determining the type, don’t forget to personalize their onboarding process either. This step can make them feel included and like you actually care. You can start with:
- a pop-up greeting with their name
- customizations based on why they’re using your product.
For example, you might have a blind customer and must adapt their onboarding process to include more audio than text or images. Alternatively, maybe you have a user who is a visual learner. It would be wise to include video demos of your product for this user. On the other hand, you may have a customer who is a hands-on learner. You should include guided walkthroughs for their onboarding experience. Check out this list for more tips on onboarding users.
Use the Best Tools to Make It Easy on Yourself
Once you’ve visualized and identified your ideal onboarding process, you’ll want to explore the different tools available to aid in its creation. The best software for onboarding users provides convenience, accessibility, and added value. Users should have feelings of satisfaction, exclusivity, and importance to make them want to move forward.
Onboarding software can help you manage customizations for each user, so you don’t have to manually. You can choose between in-app messages, guides, videos, and hotspots at any point that’s best for the user. Segmentation within the software can help you re-engage inactive users and ensure complete product adoption for new users. The best part is you don’t have to do any of the coding.
With the proper tool to create positive onboarding experiences, you can easily retain customers who provide valuable feedback about their experiences. That’s where the gold is. Knowing how the customer uses your products and services to improve the course of their lives is essential.
The right onboarding software could help you improve your customer interactions, develop stronger and more adoptable products and services, and save time testing.
Keep It Simple
Although there is much you can do to make the onboarding process unique, remember to not go over the top. A simple, helpful experience makes product adoption easier.
When you remove barriers to learning, you’re able to eliminate the frustration that comes with just not getting an idea or concept. Instead, you’re able to reach the common goal of getting the onboarding user to achieve what you set out for them to do.
Monitor, Test, Revise
New customers can be overwhelmed by the onboarding process if it appears complicated. You’ll do yourself a favor right from the very start by breaking down the process in easy-to-execute steps. That way, the customer can work at their own pace without feeling like they’re not grasping a concept or being left behind to fend for themselves.
You should be putting the user first. They have goals that they are trying to achieve, which is why they purchased your product or service in the first place. The onboarding process is something they’ve committed their time to so it must benefit them as much as possible by fulfilling their immediate needs.
However, your work doesn’t end after you create the process for the user. You must monitor, test, and revise your onboarding stage as your business grows. Your first rendition of onboarding won’t be perfect—that’s okay. You shouldn’t set it in place and move on to never think about it again. It needs constant attention and improvement, just as you would with the product itself.
Make the Experience Personal, Memorable, and Testable
This process is crucial for product adoption and user retention, so be prepared before kicking it off. There are tools available to aid in the process of bringing on new users and getting to know them better as individuals. Doing so benefits your company by making it stronger, more relatable, and better capable of addressing the future needs of the end-user.
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