Many data-driven startups They find that having a single user onboarding experience can ultimately make or break them. This is what I call the single boarding misconception.
Take Twitter as a prime example, a company that has invested countless resources into perfecting their onboarding flow so that it’s unique to each user.
After registration, the site asks the new user to select people who are interested in following them. Instantly, they can have a rich meal customized to their needs. This is no different for any other B2C or B2B startup.
If you’re just starting out, customizing onboarding experiences shouldn’t be a priority, but there are several low-lift items that can be implemented in the beginning. I’ll explain how to think about the type of data needed to make onboarding unique and share some examples of how I’ve applied this myself.
It all starts at the time of purchase.
The experience has convinced me that beginners cannot reach their full potential without multi-track riding experience. Recently, I’ve come across various fintech exchanges asking for a customer’s “level of experience” with cryptocurrencies. What I don’t see prominently is personal experience based on the answer to this question.
Initial data collected during a lead form or product registration can help fuel a multi-aboard experience. During my time with the development team at Coinbase, many of the lifecycle emails and push campaigns were triggered based on user behavior. While this isn’t a fully personalized experience, we’ve made sure to customize our interactions based on users’ in-app behaviors.
If a user is a power trader (eg they have a high volume of trades), we will send emails on ETH staking, liquidity pools and more advanced cryptocurrency investment practices.
When considering the type of data needed to drive users through a specific journey, ask yourself this important question:
What are my customers?
Based on the responses to this question, you can determine which questions are needed to help users allocate time on board. Some of the basic variables included earlier are:
- Personal characteristics
- Past experiences
- Use cases
- Goals
Every beginner should have their own unique taste in asking, but if you’re stuck, choose from the examples listed above as a start. These ultimately shed light on the question of which customer persona you are meeting.
