Onboarding users
one generic and one focused on Smallpdf’s ICPs (ideal customer profiles).
Smallpdf
https://smallpdf.com/
Product Designer
Q3 - Q4 2021
“I actually didn’t realise that there were more possibilities within Smallpdf”
Users signup for 1 or 2 features, they don’t really know all the tools that they can use with Smallpdf and all the different functionalities.
HMW allow users to find new application of Smallpdf for their daily work?
(Similar HMWs as some other small experiements we did - you can find them here)
After users sign up for the free trial prompt a 4 step onboarding widget to let them discover Smallpdf.
Hypothesis
Motivating new users to complete some welcome tasks can make the discoverability of our product during the free trial funnier and smother; this will lead to our users explore more our product therefore realise our value [aha moment!] faster.Key metric: Increase Trial to Pro and increase in tools used during free trial.
Process
Analyse data and define tasks.
We designed tasks based on usage data to find the best tool combinations for helping users discover the product and improving retention (which is the best combination of tools that helps them discover the product but also retain better?).
At the same time, we created the necessary UI elements and developed the logic to adapt the flow based on where users were signing up.
Usability testing & final improvements
Once we had a solid version, we conducted a usability test to see if users found the checklist pattern easy to understand, given its non-linear experience.
On the right, you’ll find some of the key research questions we considered before speaking with users (and a screenshot of me during a user interview).
The usability test gave us some insight on some areas that we had to fix before releasing. We changed some labels and some of the logic and...we released it! (We also worked on improving our onboading email chain).
While this project was coming together, the research team was conducting a major study to define our Ideal Customer Profiles (ICPs). An ICP represents the type of organization or individual that both benefits most from our product and brings the most value to us.
By the time we launched the onboarding tasks, we already knew a second iteration was needed—this time, with tasks tailored to the three key profiles we identified: content creators, operational folks, and legal peeps.
Release the self-sort
To make this happen, we first introduced a self-sort step in the sign-up flow: after signing up, users answered a few questions that helped us determine which profile they fit into. This allowed us to tailor their onboarding experience by showing relevant tasks and personalizing their journey.
Results
The onboarding didn’t have the impact we had hoped for. While we saw a +1.9% increase in Eureka moments (when a user engages with more than one tool in a session) and a +1.3% boost in second-week retention, there was no significant effect on our key metrics.
We had a few ideas about why the impact was smaller than expected—it might not have been prominent enough, or perhaps it was introduced at the wrong stage of the customer journey.