The User Onboarding Process
Apps… exciting and new… Come onboard…we’re expecting you!
Yes, this now plays in my head whenever I hear/read about user onboarding. What is user onboarding you say?
User Onboarding is the process of increasing the likelihood that new users become successful when adopting your product. — Samuel Hulick http://www.useronboard.com/
The process of getting a new user to successfully onboard with your product should not be unlike getting the star treatment from Capt’n Stubing and his fabulous crew, if you are doing it right. With so many apps out there competing for the same space, you really do get one chance at making the right first impression.
Do you start most of your conversations with a stranger by asking for their email address or credit card number? Well, you shouldn’t, its weird and it makes for a really bad first impression. Your onboarding process is exactly that, a conversation with a stranger. Like most interactions with strangers, you need to gain a persons interest and trust before you can borrow money, I mean, have a relationship.
First you need to create interest, because lets face it, no one talks to losers, so I’ve heard, ahem. This is referred to as the “set up”. This is where you convince the user that your app is worth using. That’s it, show off a little, do a little moon walk, yeah you’ve got it.
Now that they know you are “cool”, you need to start showing them some of your better qualities, your feelings, your desires, wait, lets just stick with feelings. This is what’s known as “the introduction” and its where the user learns how to use your product. You know, long walk-throughs on a beach with pop ups that let the user know what they can expect from this relationship.
Now that you have the users attention, and you are slowly gaining their trust, you slick devil you, its time to move on to the next step, “the registration”. This is where you will ask the user to supply personal information or commit to something. Something reasonable, like their phone number or a second date, not matching tatoos of Tatoo.
Now if this all goes to plan you should have a user that is happy with your app, so happy that they just want to shout it from the mountain tops! Or at least they will share it with friends on social media. Onboarding new users can be a complex and difficult task, but taking the time to do it right can make all the difference in the world.
