Segmented onboarding
Guiding our diverse customer base to the parts of the platform that provide them with value right out of the gate and keep them coming back
Sep–Oct 2021 (1 month)
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Growth design, product analytics
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Yue Gao (Lead Product Designer), Taric Andrade (Product Manager)
Context
Vendasta’s ecosystem spans multiple platforms, each tailored to different user personas, but our product onboarding process doesn't showcase the full scope of our offerings nor does it provide sufficient guidance to users. As a primarily sales-led organization, we explored how a product-led approach could complement and enhance sales efforts.
60,000+ sign ups
-46% return
How might we introduce a new user to their “Aha!” moment as efficiently as possible?
Success would mean…
More customers return
Teaching users how to navigate the platform and optimize their workflows should foster greater adoption and engagement.
Reduced toil on customer support teams
A product-led onboarding approach empowers users to get familiar with and learn how to use the platform through a self-guided process.
We were limited by…
Shortened project timelines
Since our team was experimenting with various acquisition and activation strategies, we were required to move fast.
Legacy code and architecture
The codebase in certain high-traffic areas of our platform was outdated and required trade-offs in user experience.
Understanding the jobs to be done
Vendasta services 2 primary customer segments:
Companies looking for a CRM that helps them scale their business
Companies looking to sell digital products & services to SMBs
To serve these segments, we provide 3 platforms:
Partner Center is a hub for admins to manage their operations, products & services.
Sales and Success Center is a sales CRM
Business App is a client portal through which SMBs can manage their online strategy
The existing workflow
Although our product is complex and spans across three separate platforms, all users—regardless of their goals—were funnelled through an overly simplified and brief onboarding flow.
To demo Business App, users were prompted to upload their business logo and enter the name of a client. However, the purpose of these questions was never explained to the user, making it seem random.
Given the breadth of our product, we knew navigating it without guidance would be challenging. As a result, users were given the option to skip the onboarding entirely and reach out to sales for a comprehensive tour.
Key design decisions
Progressive disclosure
Lowers the user’s time-to-value and helps us learn more about our leads.
Provided a placeholder logo and example business to help with visualization, reducing cognitive load
Educate along the way
Provided more context into the purpose of each step and how to answer each question with clear exit routes for help
Good defaults
The improved solution
We used the user's high Psych to our advantage and asked questions that would help us learn more about their business and use cases and thereby segment them based on their intent.
Using their answers, we segmented them into 3 different flows that directly correlate with our 3 platforms. We also made a more generic flow for users that weren't sure what they wanted from our product yet.
Users are then taken through a guided platform tour of the area that brings them value and are finally given the option to chat with an expert to help answer any questions they may still have.
+9.3% conversion rate
+5.5% retention rate
My first real project taught me about
The importance of product onboarding
Onboarding is not only a great opportunity to excite new customers about the product, but also to educate them on how to quickly derive value, benefiting both the user and the business.
Collaborating with cross-functional members
Naïve as it may sound, I never fully understood the amount of work required to bring a mockup to life. Developers highlighted interactions and edge cases I might have overlooked, which expanded my 'definition of done'.