Onboarding Strategy

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An effective onboarding strategy will be specific to our product and customer base and should cover these three key retention goals:

1. 1.Get users to use product more than once within the first week.
2. 2.Establish a pattern of usage.
3. 3.Make our product indispensable.

We will also need to decide what our conversion strategy is. Possibilities include:

1. 1.request a demo
2. 2.start free trial
3. 3.schedule a meeting

What do we want users to do at this first stage? And after that?

Best Practices for Customer Onboarding Strategy

• Understand your customer
• Set clear expectations
• Stay in constant communication
• Seek to impress
• Measure your success

Helpful Tips for Onboarding Design & Development

• Make it a personalized experience. Each customer has a unique set of concerns. The more we can tailor our solution to their needs, the easier it will be to achieve wins.
• Break everything down. Disseminate information slowly and selectively. Only ask a new user to accomplish one task at a time and provide clear instructions on how to do it.
• Be with your customer every step of the way. Be available to customers if they get stuck or have trouble. It will make their onboarding experience better and allow us to see where your process falls short.
• Celebrate the small wins. Acknowledge every milestone along the path to customer-defined success to encourage a continued relationship.

The Landing Page

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The landing page is where customer onboarding begins. It is where success happens and a visitor becomes a lead, and where a lead becomes a customer. It must have clear-cut, personalized calls-to-action! See some of the examples below:

Cesim Landing Page:

Asana Landing Page:

Landing Page Key Features

For business simulations, the landing page serves a place for users to interact with the game for the first time. This could involve any Call to Action from requesting a demo, to logging into the portal, depending on where the user is on their buyer's journey. Below is a list of the key features we've seen on competitors' landing pages.

Video

• Portal Demo - shows user that the product is what they are looking for
  • Example: Marketplace Simulations Portal Demo

• • Example: GloBus Registration Demo

• Animation - highlights features & benefits
  • Example: Interpretive Simulation Animation

Calls to Action

• User-specific (personalized) - i.e "for Teachers," "for Students," "for Trainers"
• Lead user down a clear path of conversion based on where they are in their buyers journey
  • Prospect/Lead → "Request a demo," "Schedule a call with a team member to learn more"
  • Lead/User → "Start Free Trial"
  • Customer → "Register," "Start your first course," "Login to the portal"
• Determine what information each Call to Action needs to capture (contact, user demographics, payment, etc.)
  • Example: Globus homepage

• • Example: Capsim homepage

• • Example: Celemi Homepage

Description of Features & Benefits

• In web copy, a description of the most important features and benefits (usually top 3-5)
• Should be eye-catching
  • Example: Abilite homepage

• • Example: MEGA Learning Homepage

Testimonials & Reviews

• User testimonials & reviews from each user type
• Current/Past user logos
  • Example: Cesim Simulations Testimonials

Support

• Chat bot for welcome, support, to answer questions, etc.
• With accompanying support@companyname.com email contact info
• Example: Asana Support Chat Bot

The Portal

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The oboarding process also includes users first login and use of the product itself - in this case, the game's online portal. In fact, depending on the user type and our /Call To Action/conversion strategy, registration could involve logging in directly. Beyond the mechanisms and fundamentals of the game itself, below are some of the increasingly-standard in-portal features that competitors offer.

In-Portal Features

• Greeting message - upon for first user login
• Set up wizard to guide user through set up process/Interactive tour/walkthrough
• Feature callouts ("Click here to submit decisions")
• Chat bot for support, reporting maintenance issues, etc.
• Internal chat bot app for users to communicate with one another, provide feedback
• In-portal anonymous student evaluation forms & form submission
• Automated messages - "Welcome email - Thank you for signing up," milestone messages
• Supporting material delivery (i.e. Teacher's manual, supporting documents, assignments, etc.)
• Portal login integration with landing page, LMS platforms, etc. (if necessary)
• Payment integration (if necessary)