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Lenny's Podcast: Product | Growth | Career
Mastering onboarding | Lauryn Isford (Head of Growth at Airtable)
Feb 12, 2023
01:04:20
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Quick takeaways
- Optimizing onboarding flows can lead to a 20% increase in activation rate.
- Focus on contextual application and outcomes instead of naming features during onboarding.
- Using a specific, precise metric like week four multi-user activation can ensure long-term user loyalty.
Deep dives
Importance of Onboarding in Growth
Onboarding is recognized as one of the biggest levers for increasing user retention and driving growth. It is crucial for products that have a self-serve or freemium element. A well-designed onboarding flow can reduce the cognitive load for users, help them experience initial value, and create a strong foundation for continued engagement.
The Impact of Optimized Onboarding
Airtable's activation team worked diligently to optimize their onboarding flow, resulting in a 20% increase in activation rates. They implemented a guided onboarding wizard that simplified the process, personalized the experience based on user preferences, and provided ongoing education and support. The team focused on meeting users' specific needs and ensuring the onboarding experience aligned with their business goals.
Avoiding Common Onboarding Traps
One common trap in onboarding is building based on what employees think customers want, rather than what customers actually need. Instead of naming features, it is more effective to focus on contextual application and outcomes. Another trap is mapping onboarding to pricing and packaging schemes, which can lead to pushing premium features too early. It is important to prioritize user education and value creation over promoting premium features.
Importance of the Week Four Multi-User Activation Metric
The podcast explores the significance of the week four multi-user activation metric in determining long-term retention. This metric, identified by the analytics team as highly correlated with retention, sets a high bar requiring substantial user collaboration and weekly engagement. A lower activation rate falling within the 5-15% range is considered more favorable, indicating stronger correlation with long-term retention. By focusing on a specific, precise metric that only a small percentage of users achieve, companies can better ensure long-term user loyalty.
Operationalizing Activation Metrics
The podcast discusses how the activation metric, week four multi-user active, is operationalized and used to guide decision-making. The metric is broken down into its components to understand various factors that contribute to activation. This detailed analysis helps identify areas where improvements can have a significant impact on overall activation. Additionally, the podcast highlights the use of multiple metrics, such as retention and sophistication scores, to gain a more comprehensive understanding of user behavior and success. By adopting a multi-metric approach, teams are empowered to prioritize and celebrate progress on different dimensions of activation.
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Lauryn Isford is a product growth leader and practitioner, who most recently led Growth at Airtable, and is about to start something new 🤫. In today’s episode, we get into the many tactics Lauryn has learned about optimizing onboarding flows. Lauryn describes how overhauling Airtable’s onboarding led to a 20% increase in activation rate, the company’s unique segmentation process, and why North Star metrics are so vital. Lauryn also shares her framework for a PLG growth funnel, and how to use a reverse trial to leverage the benefits of both freemium products and trials. If you’re looking to find growth opportunities within your funnel, this episode is for you.
Find the full transcript here: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/mastering-onboarding-lauryn-isford
Where to find Lauryn Isford:
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/laurynisford
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurynisford/
Where to find Lenny:
• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/lennysan
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/
Referenced:
• Sprint: How to Solve Big Problems and Test New Ideas in Just Five Days: https://www.amazon.com/Sprint-Solve-Problems-Test-Ideas/dp/1442397683
• Blue Bottle coffee: https://bluebottlecoffee.com/
• Airtable: https://www.airtable.com/
• How to determine your activation metric: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-to-determine-your-activation
• Elena Verna on Lenny’s Podcast: https://www.lennyspodcast.com/elena-verna-on-how-b2b-growth-is-changing-product-led-growth-product-led-sales-why-you-should-go-freemium-not-trial-what-features-to-make-free-and-much-more/
• The Ride of a Lifetime: Lessons Learned from 15 Years as CEO of the Walt Disney Company: https://www.amazon.com/Ride-Lifetime-Lessons-Learned-Company/dp/0399592091/
• Rocket Men: The Daring Odyssey of Apollo 8 and the Astronauts Who Made Man’s First Journey to the Moon: https://www.amazon.com/Rocket-Men-Odyssey-Astronauts-Journey/dp/081298871X
• Fifth & Mission podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fifth-mission/id1457274965
• The White Lotus on HBO: https://www.hbo.com/the-white-lotus
• Belfast: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12789558/
• Figma: https://www.figma.com/
• Miro: https://miro.com/
• Zoelle Egner on Lenny’s Podcast: https://www.lennyspodcast.com/videos/what-pr-is-and-isnt-good-for-according-to-zoelle-egner-head-of-marketing-and-growth-at-box/
In this episode, we cover:
(00:00) Lauryn’s background
(03:48) Lauryn’s spicy take on experimentation
(06:44) Why doing the right thing for customers should be the ultimate goal
(08:54) How Airtable rolled out Airtable Forms with A/B testing
(11:38) The importance of onboarding
(13:15) Airtable’s onboarding revamp and how it increased activation by 20%
(16:57) How Airtable’s guided onboarding wizard improved the user experience
(18:00) Why reducing reliance on tooltips can be a good idea for complicated products
(20:06) The importance of meeting users where they are
(22:52) How Airtable segmented users by learning styles
(24:10) Airtable’s activation metrics
(27:22) How the week-four multi-user collaboration metric was operationalized
(30:45) Other metrics Airtable used
(34:34) When Airtable changed their North Star metric
(36:26) How much time to give a North Star metric before pivoting
(38:05) Trials vs. freemium and what a reverse trial is
(42:51) How to have self-serve options when you’re not fully self-serve
(46:04) Onboarding experiences that aren’t very helpful
(47:31) How to help users understand features
(48:42) Why user education is more important than pushing premium features
(50:03) The role of guardrail metrics
(51:40) Lauryn’s PLG growth funnel framework
(54:26) How Lauryn’s framework helps teams communicate more clearly
(55:57) How Lauryn structured the growth team
(57:53) B2B growth as an emerging space
(1:00:18) Lightning round
Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com.
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