{"id":21802,"date":"2019-10-22T17:00:56","date_gmt":"2019-10-22T16:00:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.intercom.com\/blog\/?p=21802"},"modified":"2025-01-03T13:28:25","modified_gmt":"2025-01-03T13:28:25","slug":"onboarding-guide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.intercom.com\/blog\/onboarding-guide\/","title":{"rendered":"The complete guide to onboarding customers for long-term success"},"content":{"rendered":"

Good onboarding isn\u2019t just about introducing new signups to your product\u2019s features \u2013 it\u2019s a continual process of guiding people towards success with your product.<\/p>\n

That long-term focus on ensuring people find success with your product should lead to higher customer retention, which is the foundation on which thriving businesses are built. As our Co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer Des puts it, \u201ccustomer retention is the new conversion.<\/a>\u201d<\/p>\n

“It\u2019s important to have a solid strategy in place that considers how users will find success not just in the moment, but over and over again”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Great onboarding, then, is critical for every stage of a customer\u2019s lifecycle \u2013 from first-use to activation to longer term engagement. This means that it\u2019s important to have a solid strategy<\/a> in place that considers how users will find success not just in the moment, but over and over again.<\/p>\n

Aligning all those elements to get everything right takes deliberate effort and planning. That can seem daunting when you think of all the channels and flows and steps involved. So in this guide, you\u2019ll learn how to cut through the confusion to plan and create a cohesive onboarding experience that leads to high conversion and high retention rates.
\n<\/a><\/p>\n

What a good multi-stage onboarding framework looks like<\/h2>\n

We created the C.A.R.E. framework<\/a> to describe how onboarding shapes every stage of the customer lifecycle \u2013 Convert, Activate, Retain, and Expand.<\/p>\n

For instance, in this example customer lifecycle, we can see the various touchpoints that a customer might encounter as they move from first use to successful long-term customer.<\/p>\n

\"Customer
\nThe C.A.R.E. framework<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

As you can see, at various points in the customer lifecycle, you should send different types of messages in different channels, all tailored to the customer\u2019s behaviour. Understandably, it takes a lot of work to make that all feel cohesive, so take the following steps to build a consistent user experience.<\/a><\/p>\n

Plan your onboarding strategy<\/h2>\n

Before you start looking at individual channels, flows and message types, it\u2019s important to take a step back and look at the big picture of your entire onboarding experience. There are a few questions you\u2019ll want to answer to get a clear idea of who your customers are, what they\u2019re trying to achieve and how you can design a cohesive journey to help get them there:<\/p>\n

What\u2019s your overall onboarding goal?<\/h3>\n

The true overall goal of your onboarding shouldn\u2019t be to get customers to sign up or start paying for your product. Instead, aim to retain customers and set them up for long-term success from the very beginning. Look at patterns in retention \u2013 what metrics are common among customers who retain? What behaviors do you see in customers who churn? Identify these to define the onboarding goal you should help your customers achieve.<\/p>\n

What do your customers need to achieve?<\/h3>\n

Onboarding should help your customers achieve their version of success, not your company\u2019s. This will increase retention and help customers stick around for the long-term.<\/p>\n

“Consider how best to deliver that message \u2013 whether it\u2019s by email, in-app message or even with a Product Tour”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Who are the different segments you want to reach? You can tailor your message and how you deliver it based on who your users are and the actions they do\/don\u2019t take in your product. Also, consider how best to deliver that message \u2013 whether it\u2019s by email, in-app message<\/a> or even with a Product Tour<\/a>\u00a0(interactive guides that use pointer messages to highlight features in your product.)<\/p>\n

To find out what your customers want to achieve:<\/p>\n