If you want your app to be successful and not abandoned, customer onboarding is highly needed. Mobile app onboarding helps achieve high user retention and user lifetime value. Seamless user experience, involving design components, customer delight. This blog will allow you to have a brief insight into mobile app onboarding methods to increase user retention.Â
Provide the right value
A customer needs to understand the core value of your product in order to be into your product. By conveying value right away, users are far more likely to continue using the app for an extended period. When users aren’t convinced that your app will make their life easier or provide them with considerable value, app uninstalls will skyrocket.Â
One Screen, One Concept
People can absorb information effectively if that information is precise and on point. Mobile app onboarding screens should stick to the rule of using a single screen to describe a concept. This will avoid overloading the user with information.
Reduce Sign-Up/Log InÂ
Let\’s say a user has a small mobile screen, having a lengthy form to fill up. Users will tend to abandon the app on the spot. If you want to gather information about your users Break it down into more screens. The overall goal is to minimize user input. For many people, typing on a small screen is an uncomfortable experience, and in many cases, it’s often error-prone, which adds to the frustration. Let\’s go through a few practices –
Provide input masks: Field masking is a technique that helps users format inputted text. A mask appears when a user selects a field and formats the text automatically as the user fills in the information. This technique helps users notice errors quickly.Â
Implement smart features like autocomplete: This technique allows users to complete forms with fewer keystrokes than with static input fields.
Dynamically validate field values: It’s extremely irritating to complete and submit a form to then return to the form and correct errors. Wherever possible, check field values immediately after entry so users can correct mistakes before submitting the form.Â
Customize the keyboard for the type of query: If the user has to input text, customize the keyboard with text only, whereas if they are required to input numbers, customize the keyboard for numerics only.
Path Of Least Resistance
User abandonment of apps happens when critical features, login screens, and the overall navigation is too complex. The human brain has a limited amount of processing power, i.e cognitive power. When an app provides too much information at once, it will cause them to feel too complex and way their capacity to use the app. Decluttering your mobile app’s onboarding interface is one effective way to reduce a product’s cognitive load. You need to remove any unwanted component and make the app minimal. Â
Let\’s discuss some onboarding sequences.
Benefits-oriented onboarding: This approach focuses more on the value that is being provided by the app. What does the app do? What value will the app provide the user?Â
Function-oriented onboarding: With function-oriented mobile app onboarding you highlight the key functionalities. This is when you highlight specific functionalities that show the user actions they can take, how the functionality is used, and when it should be used.Â
Progressive onboarding: this approach helps users to discover the app in their way as every interaction will have a guided instruction. If your app has an intricate workflow, multiple sections, hidden functionalities, and/or gesture-driven interactions, then progressive onboarding is a great approach.
FeedbackÂ
Let us say your user incurs an error. If one user can get that error, other users also can get the error. So, feedback serves multiple purposes, most commonly to indicate errors or successes in the validation process. It can also be used through animations. While creating a new alphanumeric password, you might get a checklist of what all to be included in the password. If not done properly, the app will show you what you have missed out on. This helps reduce failures and makes it easier for users to navigate the app. Whatever the cause, error handling has a huge impact on UX. Poor error handling paired with unclear error messages can also cause frustration and cause a user to abandon an app.Â
Use Animation Purposefully
Animations help to draw attention to elements to help the user make progress. It helps a lot to take feedback and also the concept the moving to a new screen without making them feel like they are leaving a particular page can create a seamless experience. The user interface can be enhanced by incorporating animations but not to be overused. They should draw attention, but not irritate the user.Â
Troubleshoot and debug often
Listening to your customers is the best way to rent customers. This is where feedback comes to play and making changes accordingly will give the user the feeling that they are being listened to. This is gaining the trust of your customers. Once you have enough data to discern patterns, try new things and test to see if users love or hate them.
Breaking Down Your Retention Rate To Identify Problems
Short-Term Retention is assessed by the first week of usage. If your user does not engage with your app more than once then the onboarding process is confusing. REASSESS.
Mid-Term Retention is assessed by the first month of usage. Look out for the pattern of usage. Are your users able to go through the app hassle-free? If no, reassess onboarding.
Long-Term Retention is assessed when the usage of the app is beyond one month. One of the most effective ways to get users to rely on the product as an indispensable tool is simply to get them using it more than once with a seamless mobile app onboarding methods.
