With user onboarding being such an important component to the success of a business, it makes sense that companies are starting to hire user onboarding specialists to help them get it right. But, what is a user onboarding specialist? Can they really help you make more money in your business? We’re exploring both of these questions and more below.
What is a user onboarding specialist?
If user onboarding is the process of welcoming new users to a product or service, then who is a user onboarding specialist? It’s the person or group of people that can take your current onboarding process to the next level.
An onboarding specialist looks at every aspect of your current onboarding process and finds the gaps, leaks, and bottlenecks that are keeping your users from achieving their goals faster. Here’s the thing - you want your users to succeed as quickly as possible. The sooner they get their proof that your product is the solution they have been lacking, the better.
The problem is, most companies are so busy working in their business, that it’s easy for them to become blind to what is holding them back. They know they need more revenue, but they’re just not quite sure how to get there.
Importance of user onboarding
We could speak endlessly about how important user onboarding is, but for the sake of time we’ll just say this - your onboarding process is the direct link to more revenue in your business. When done right, you can see revenue and profit soar to levels you never even dreamed of.
When your process is designed effectively and efficiently, it gets the user to the wins they are looking for. It’s not enough to show them how to use your app or product. You need to get them to the finish line, or at least to the milestone that makes their finish line feel more achievable.
Your user onboarding specialist can clean out the cobwebs so to speak, and help you to better engage and retain your customers through more effective onboarding processes.
What does a user onboarding specialist do exactly?
Let’s take a look at the role of a user onboarding specialist, shall we?
Just a few of the things they are responsible for include, but aren’t limited to:
- Developing and implementing an onboarding process/ Reviewing current onboarding processes
- Collecting feedback from users
- Creating user personas
- Collaborating with product teams
- Analyzing user data
- Developing product documentation
- Creating training materials
- Conducting A/B testing
- Providing ongoing support, and
- Collaborating with marketing teams
Key skills required to be a good user onboarding specialist
Your user onboarding specialist needs to have excellent communication skills. Not only do they need to be able to explain where the problems are in your current onboarding process, but they also must communicate how to fix them. And, if you don’t have an onboarding process yet, they must be able to communicate how to create one effectively.
Your specialist must be able to read and understand data and metrics related both to the product usage patterns as well as conversion rates, bounce rates, and more. It’s also important that they have the knowledge of how to improve metrics in a manner that will move the needle in your profit margins.
Finally, they must be adept at creating engaging content such as instructional videos or written guides so they can help your developers to better guide new users through the first steps all the way to the last steps with a product.
How does a user onboarding specialist work?
Now that you know what a user onboarding specialist is, and their skills and responsibilities, you might be wondering how exactly they work.
1. The first thing they will do is get crystal clear on what your product does.
This will begin with a lot of questions for the product team about what jobs are being done by the product.
What is the user’s end goal? What are they trying to accomplish?
2. Next, they will define user personas.
Who are the various personas using your product?
Your product team may already have this information, and if so, that’s great! It will help move things along that much faster.
Your user onboarding specialist can take a look at any documentation and materials you may already have and see if anything needs adjusting as well.
3. Once the user personas are well defined, they’ll map out the user journey.
What are the steps from initial sign-up to becoming an engaged and paying user?
Having a map of the user journey will help your specialist to identify key touch points where your onboarding process can be optimized.
4. Then, they will work with your teams to identify your onboarding goals.
Contrary to popular belief, the goal of more revenue is not enough.
We need clear goals to work towards so we can measure whether or not we’re actually making a difference.
5. Next, it’s time to interview current users.
Your current users are filled with a wealth of knowledge. Your specialist will ask them things like:
- How are you using the product?
- Do you like the product?
- If so, what do you like about it?
- If not, what don’t you like about it?
- How did you feel about the onboarding process?
- If you completed it, where can we improve?
- If you didn’t complete it, where did you stop and why?
- What were you hoping to accomplish with the product?
- Are you achieving your goals with the product?
- How can we help you achieve your goals faster with the product?
Based on that feedback, next steps might look like this:
- Redesign/design the user onboarding process
- Test and refine the process using a combination of your team and real users
- Tweak as needed, and
- Provide ongoing support
What are the different types of user onboarding specialists?
There are several different types of user onboarding specialists, but the four most common are:
- Technical Onboarding Specialists
- Customer Success Specialists
- Product Onboarding Specialists
- General Onboarding Specialists
Technical Onboarding Specialists
These specialists are typically responsible for helping new users understand the technical features of a product. In most cases, they will work closely with the product team to develop instructional materials like:
- Tutorials
- Videos
- User guides
- Knowledge base articles, etc…
Technical onboarding specialists also will often provide the tech support to users with tech trouble.
Customer Success Specialists
Customer success onboarding specialists are in charge of ensuring users are having a positive experience with the product. They often will get feedback from users and pass it along to the product team to improve the onboarding process.
Product Onboarding Specialists
These specialists are usually tasked with developing and/or executing better onboarding strategies that get the user to their goal faster. They are also responsible for helping users understand the value of the product.
General Onboarding Specialists
General onboarding specialists typically do a little bit of everything. They and/or their team members will help with every aspect of improving and developing a better and more efficient onboarding process.
Common mistakes to avoid in user onboarding
If you want to have a better user onboarding experience, below are just a few mistakes to keep in mind and try to avoid.
Failing to Set Clear Expectations
One of the most common mistakes is not setting clear expectations for users. If users are unsure about what they can expect from the product or service, they may lose interest and disengage. To avoid this, clearly communicate what the product does, how it works, and what users can expect to achieve.
Not Making Onboarding Personalized
Personalization is key to creating a positive user experience. If users feel like they are receiving a generic onboarding experience, they may not feel engaged or motivated to continue using the product. To avoid this, personalize the onboarding experience by tailoring it to the user's specific needs and preferences.
Ignoring User Feedback
User feedback is an essential tool for improving the onboarding process. If users are not provided with an opportunity to provide feedback, they may become frustrated and disengage. To avoid this, actively solicit and respond to user feedback to improve the onboarding experience.
Neglecting to Provide Support Resources
If users encounter issues or have questions during the onboarding process, they need access to support resources to help them. Neglecting to provide these resources can lead to user frustration and disengagement. To avoid this, make sure that users have access to support resources, such as a knowledge base, FAQs, or chat support.
Forgetting to Celebrate Success
Celebrating success is a great way to motivate and engage users. If users feel like their efforts are not appreciated, they may lose motivation and disengage. To avoid this, celebrate users' successes by providing positive feedback and rewards for completing onboarding tasks.
Trying to Go it Alone
One of the biggest mistakes we see product teams make is trying to handle their user onboarding process alone. The problem is there are steps you might miss, and factors you might not take into account. This is especially true if it’s your first product.
For the best chance of success, your best bet to save time and money is to hire a user onboarding specialist. A good one will have the skills and knowledge you need to implement a better onboarding process, get your users to the finish line faster, and boost your revenue as well.
Conclusion and Next Steps
A user onboarding specialist is a critical role that is responsible for ensuring that new users have a positive experience when they start using a product or service. They play a vital role in setting clear goals and expectations, making onboarding easy and intuitive, providing ongoing support and assistance, utilizing automation where possible, keeping users engaged and interested, and measuring and monitoring progress regularly.
Having a qualified user onboarding specialist is essential for any organization that wants to provide a positive user experience and increase user retention rates. They are responsible for making sure that users are properly onboarded, engaged, and supported throughout their entire user journey, from the initial sign-up to becoming a loyal user.
In today's digital landscape, where user experience is more important than ever, it is essential to have a qualified user onboarding specialist with a proven track record on your team. By investing in this role, you can ensure that your users have a seamless and enjoyable experience with your product or service, which will lead to higher retention rates, increased user engagement, and ultimately, increased revenue.
If you are looking to improve your user onboarding experience, now is the time to hire a team or team member to fulfill this role. With their expertise, you can create a streamlined and engaging onboarding process that will set your users up for success.
And, if you run a B2B Saas Product business, Inturact is the best user onboarding specialist. With nearly two decades under our belt, we’re well versed in what businesses just like yours need to move the needle in terms of customer retention and increased revenue. It all starts with your user onboarding process, and we can take yours from dull and not converting to bringing in a consistent stream of paid users. If this sounds good to you, what are you waiting for? Click here to talk with us today!
