Skill: jk-0001/customer-onboarding-2 (version 0.1.0)

--- name: customer-onboarding description: Design and execute customer onboarding that drives activation and retention. Use when building onboarding flows for new users, reducing churn in the first 30 days, improving time-to-value, or creating onboarding sequences (email, in-app, or manual). Covers activation metrics, onboarding step design, friction reduction, and measuring onboarding success. Trigger on "customer onboarding", "onboarding flow", "user onboarding", "reduce early churn", "improve activation", "onboarding sequence", "time to value". --- # Customer Onboarding ## Overview Onboarding is where you keep or lose customers. The first 7-30 days determine whether they stay or churn. Most solopreneurs focus on acquisition and ignore onboarding — then wonder why churn is high. This playbook builds an onboarding system that gets users to their first win fast, builds confidence, and sets them up for long-term success. --- ## Step 1: Define Your Activation Metric Onboarding isn't about completing a checklist. It's about getting users to experience value — the "aha moment" where the product clicks. **Your activation metric is the action that predicts retention.** Examples: - **Slack:** Sent 2,000 messages as a team - **Dropbox:** Uploaded and shared at least one file - **SaaS analytics tool:** Connected a data source and viewed their first report - **Project management tool:** Created a project and added 3 tasks **How to find your activation metric:** 1. Look at retained customers (those who stuck around 90+ days) 2. Identify what they did in their first 7 days that non-retained customers didn't do 3. That action (or set of actions) is your activation metric **Rule:** Onboarding is successful when a user completes your activation metric. Everything in your onboarding should drive toward this. --- ## Step 2: Map Your Onboarding Journey Before designing tactics, map the full journey from signup to activation. **Onboarding journey template:** ``` SIGNUP ↓ (What happens immediately after signup?) SETUP / CONFIGURATION ↓ (What do they need to configure? Integrations? Settings? Profile?) FIRST VALUE MOMENT ↓ (What's the simplest, fastest way they can experience value?) ACTIVATION ↓ (They complete the activation metric) ONGOING ENGAGEMENT ↓ (They use the product regularly) ``` **For each stage, ask:** - What does the user need to do? - What's blocking them from doing it? (friction, confusion, missing information) - How can we make this easier or faster? **Example (SaaS automation tool):** ``` SIGNUP → Email confirmation SETUP → Connect first data source (e.g., Google Sheets) Friction: Don't know which source to start with Solution: Pre-select most common source, add "why start here?" tooltip FIRST VALUE MOMENT → See automated workflow run successfully Friction: Don't know what workflow to build Solution: Provide 3 templates, one-click to activate ACTIVATION → Run 10 workflows successfully Friction: Forget to check back after first success Solution: Email reminder after 24 hours with progress + next step ONGOING ENGAGEMENT → Use weekly, add more workflows ``` --- ## Step 3: Reduce Friction at Every Step Friction = anything that slows down or confuses the user. Every friction point increases the chance they abandon. **Common friction points and fixes:** | Friction | Impact | Fix | |---|---|---| | **Too many fields on signup** | Users abandon mid-signup | Collect only email + password. Get everything else later. | | **Unclear next step** | Users sign up, then stare at a blank screen | Show a clear "Start here" CTA immediately after signup | | **Complex setup** | Users get overwhelmed and leave | Break setup into 3-5 small steps with progress bar. Let them skip non-essential steps. | | **Jargon or unclear labels** | Users don't understand what to do | Use plain language. Replace "Configure API endpoint" with "Connect your account" | | **Long time-to-value** | Takes 30+ min to see results | Create a fast "quick win" path — even if it's a simplified version of the full value | **Rule:** Every step in onboarding should take < 2 minutes. If it takes longer, break it into smaller steps or defer it until later. --- ## Step 4: Build Your Onboarding Sequence Onboarding is not just in-app. It's a multi-channel experience: in-app guidance + email + (optionally) human touch. ### In-App Onboarding **Tactics:** - **Welcome modal:** Appears immediately after signup. "Welcome! Here's how to get started in 3 steps." - **Tooltips/hotspots:** Highlight key features as users explore ("This is where you create a new project") - **Checklist:** Show progress toward activation ("2 of 5 steps complete — you're almost there!") - **Empty states:** When a user sees a blank page, show helpful prompts ("No projects yet? Start your first one here.") **Tools:** Intercom, Appcues, Userflow, or custom-built with plain JavaScript. **Rule:** Don't overwhelm. Show 1-2 tips at a time, not 10. ### Email Onboarding **Email sequence (5-7 emails over 14 days):** ``` EMAIL 1 (Day 0, immediately after signup): Subject: "Welcome to [Product]! Let's get you started." Body: Confirm signup, set expectations, link to first step or template EMAIL 2 (Day 1, if activation metric not hit): Subject: "Quick question — stuck on anything?" Body: Address common blockers, offer help, link to docs or support EMAIL 3 (Day 3, if activation metric not hit): Subject: "Here's the fastest way to see results" Body: Share a quick-win template or walkthrough video EMAIL 4 (Day 5, if activation metric HIT): Subject: "Nice work! Here's what to do next" Body: Celebrate their first win, suggest next feature or use case EMAIL 5 (Day 7, if activation metric not hit): Subject: "Need a hand? Let's jump on a quick call" Body: Offer a personal onboarding call (manual touch for high-value prospects) EMAIL 6 (Day 10): Subject: "3 pro tips from our best users" Body: Share advanced tips or lesser-known features EMAIL 7 (Day 14): Subject: "How's it going? We'd love your feedback" Body: Ask how onboarding went, request feedback, link to survey ``` **Personalization triggers:** Send different emails based on behavior: - If they completed activation → send "here's what to do next" content - If they didn't complete activation → send troubleshooting or offer help ### Human Touch (Optional, for High-Value Customers) For high-ticket SaaS or service businesses, add a human layer: - **Onboarding call:** Schedule a 15-30 min call to walk them through setup - **Check-in emails:** Personal email (not automated) asking how it's going - **Slack/community access:** Invite them to a private Slack or Circle community for direct support **When to use:** When LTV > $500 or when the product is complex. --- ## Step 5: Measure Onboarding Performance Track these metrics to know if onboarding is working: | Metric | What It Means | Healthy Benchmark | |---|---|---| | **Activation rate** | % of signups who hit activation metric | 30-60% (varies by product) | | **Time to activation** | Median days/hours from signup to activation | Under 24 hours is ideal | | **Day 7 retention** | % of signups still active after 7 days | 40-60% | | **Day 30 retention** | % of signups still active after 30 days | 25-40% | | **Onboarding email open/click rates** | Engagement with onboarding emails | Opens: 40-60%, Clicks: 10-20% | **Where to track:** Use your analytics tool (Mixpanel, Amplitude, or simple event tracking in Google Analytics) + email tool (ConvertKit, Mailchimp). **Diagnose issues:** - **Low activation rate?** Too much friction in setup, or unclear value prop. Simplify first steps. - **Long time to activation?** Too many steps or too complex. Create a faster "quick win" path. - **High activation but low Day 30 retention?** They got initial value but didn't build a habit. Improve ongoing engagement (notifications, email reminders, new features). --- ## Step 6: Iterate on Onboarding Onboarding is never "done." Continuously improve based on data and feedback. **Monthly onboarding review:** 1. Check activation rate — is it improving? 2. Review user feedback from surveys or support tickets — where are people getting stuck? 3. Watch 2-3 user session recordings (tools: Hotjar, FullStory) — what confuses people? 4. Test one improvement per month (e.g., simplify signup, add a tooltip, rewrite an email) **A/B testing ideas:** - Different welcome email subject lines - Checklist vs no checklist in-app - Video walkthrough vs text instructions - Length of signup form (fewer fields vs more upfront info) **Rule:** Focus on the biggest drop-off point first. If 50% of users abandon during setup, fixing that is 10x more valuable than optimizing a later step. --- ## Onboarding Mistakes to Avoid - **Dumping everything on Day 1.** Don't explain every feature upfront. Guide them to one quick win, then introduce more over time. - **No clear next step after signup.** A blank screen or "Welcome!" with no guidance kills activation. Always show a clear "Do this first" CTA. - **Ignoring non-activated users.** If someone signs up and doesn't activate, don't give up. Re-engage them with helpful emails or a manual outreach. - **Making setup mandatory when it's optional.** Let users skip non-essential steps. Forcing them to fill out a profile or connect integrations before they see value creates friction. - **No human touch for high-value customers.** If your LTV is $1,000+, a 15-minute onboarding call is worth it. Don't over-automate at the high end. - **Not measuring time to activation.** If it takes 2 weeks for users to see value, you'll lose most of them. Aim for value in < 24 hours.


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