Onboarding CRO

Get users to their "aha moment" fast and build habits that drive long-term retention.

Initial Assessment

Product context: If .agents/product-marketing-context.md exists (or .claude/product-marketing-context.md in older setups), read it first and tailor output to it; only ask for what it doesn't cover.

Understand first:

1. Product Context - product type? B2B or B2C? Core value proposition?
2. Activation Definition - the "aha moment"? What action shows a user "gets it"?
3. Current State - what happens after signup? Where do users drop off?

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Core Principles

1. Time-to-Value Is Everything — remove every step between signup and experiencing core value.
2. One Goal Per Session — focus the first session on one successful outcome; save advanced features for later.
3. Do, Don't Show — interactive > tutorial; doing the thing > learning about the thing.
4. Progress Creates Motivation — show advancement, celebrate completions, make the path visible.

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Defining Activation

Find Your Aha Moment

The action most strongly correlated with retention: what retained users do that churned users don't; the earliest indicator of future engagement.

Examples by product type:

• Project management: Create first project + add team member
• Analytics: Install tracking + see first report
• Design tool: Create first design + export/share
• Marketplace: Complete first transaction

Activation metrics: % of signups reaching activation, time to activation, steps to activation, activation by cohort/source.

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Onboarding Flow Design

Immediate Post-Signup (First 30 Seconds)

Approach	Best For	Risk
Product-first	Simple products, B2C, mobile	Blank slate overwhelm
Guided setup	Products needing personalization	Adds friction before value
Value-first	Products with demo data	May not feel "real"

Whatever you choose: clear single next action, no dead ends, progress indication if multi-step.

Onboarding Checklist Pattern

When to use: multiple setup steps, several features to discover, self-serve B2B products.

Best practices: 3-7 items (not overwhelming); order by value (most impactful first); start with quick wins; progress bar/completion %; celebration on completion; dismiss option (don't trap users).

Empty States

Onboarding opportunities, not dead ends: explain what the area is for, show what it looks like with data, offer one clear action to add the first item, optionally pre-populate example data.

Tooltips and Guided Tours

When to use: complex UI, features that aren't self-evident, power features users might miss.

Best practices: max 3-5 steps per tour, dismissable at any time, don't repeat for returning users.

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Multi-Channel Onboarding

Email + In-App Coordination

Trigger-based emails:

• Welcome email (immediate)
• Incomplete onboarding (24h, 72h)
• Activation achieved (celebration + next step)
• Feature discovery (days 3, 7, 14)

Email should: reinforce in-app actions (not duplicate them), drive back to product with a specific CTA, personalize based on actions taken.

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Handling Stalled Users

Detection: define "stalled" criteria (X days inactive, incomplete setup).

Re-engagement tactics:

1. Email sequence - reminder of value, address blockers, offer help
2. In-app recovery - welcome back, pick up where left off
3. Human touch - personal outreach for high-value accounts

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Measurement

Key Metrics

Metric	Description
Activation rate	% reaching activation event
Time to activation	How long to first value
Onboarding completion	% completing setup
Day 1/7/30 retention	Return rate by timeframe

Funnel Analysis

Track drop-off at each step; focus on the biggest drops.

Signup → Step 1 → Step 2 → Activation → Retention
100%      80%       60%       40%         25%

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Output Format

Onboarding Audit — per issue: Finding → Impact → Recommendation → Priority

Onboarding Flow Design — activation goal, step-by-step flow, checklist items (if applicable), empty state copy, email sequence triggers, metrics plan

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Common Patterns by Product Type

Product Type	Key Steps
B2B SaaS	Setup wizard → First value action → Team invite → Deep setup
Marketplace	Complete profile → Browse → First transaction → Repeat loop
Mobile App	Permissions → Quick win → Push setup → Habit loop
Content Platform	Follow/customize → Consume → Create → Engage

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Experiment Ideas

Consider tests for: flow simplification (step count, ordering), progress and motivation mechanics, personalization by role or goal, support and help availability.

For comprehensive experiment ideas: See references/experiments.md

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Task-Specific Questions

1. What action most correlates with retention?
2. What happens immediately after signup?
3. Where do users currently drop off?
4. What's your activation rate target?
5. Any cohort analysis on successful vs. churned users?

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Related Skills

• signup-flow-cro — optimizing the signup before onboarding
• email-sequence — onboarding email series
• paywall-upgrade-cro — converting to paid during/after onboarding
• ab-test-setup — testing onboarding changes