AI-powered
podcast player
Listen to all your favourite podcasts with AI-powered features
Lenny's Podcast: Product | Growth | Career
Mastering onboarding | Lauryn Isford (Head of Growth at Airtable)
Feb 12, 2023
0
01:04:20
AI Summary
Highlights
AI Chapters
Episode notes
Podcast summary created with Snipd AI
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.
1.
Introduction
3min
2.
Experimentation Is a Big Part of Growth Culture
2min
3.
Experiments Can Be Expensive
3min
4.
Building a Culture of Impact
2min
5.
AirTable Forms
2min
6.
Is Onboarding a Big Opportunity for Growth Teams?
2min
7.
Optimizing Air Tables Onboarding Experience
2min
8.
Airtable - How to Drive a 20% Lift in Onboarding
2min
9.
The Onboarding Wizard VS Tooltips
2min
10.
Airtable Onboarding
4min
11.
How to Segment the Onboarding Experience
3min
12.
Activation
2min
13.
Activation - Week Four Multi-User Active
2min
14.
Using More Metrics for Onboarding Success
2min
15.
Using a Workspace Level Activation Metric for a Collaboration Tool
2min
16.
Epo
3min
17.
SaaS Growth
2min
18.
Building a North Star Metric for Growth
2min
19.
What Is the Difference Between Freemium and Free Trial?
2min
20.
Is Freemium Pricing Really Good for Your Business?
3min
21.
PLG and Top of Funnel Adoption in Different Ways
3min
22.
Onboarding for Onboarding
2min
23.
Using a Tool Tip That's Pushing Someone to Try an Automation?
2min
24.
Guardrail Metrics Can Be Very Useful
2min
25.
PLG Growth and the PLG Funnel
2min
26.
School of Better
2min
27.
AirTape Growth Framework
2min
28.
Air Table Growth
2min
29.
B2B Growth - Six Questions for You
3min
30.
What's the Coolest Use of Air Table?
2min
Brought to you by Public—Invest in stocks, treasuries, crypto, and more: https://public.com/lenny | Miro—A collaborative visual platform where your best work comes to life: https://miro.com/lenny | Eppo—Run reliable, impactful experiments: https://www.geteppo.com/
—
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.lennyspodcast.com/mastering-onboarding-lauryn-isford-head-of-growth-at-airtable/#transcript
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.
Get full access to Lenny's Newsletter at www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe
Get the Snipd
podcast app
Unlock the knowledge in podcasts with the podcast player of the future.
AI-powered
Discover
highlights
Listen to the best highlights from the podcasts you love and dive into the full episode
Save any
moment
Hear something you like? Tap your headphones to save it with AI-generated key takeaways
Share
& Export
Send highlights to Twitter, WhatsApp or export them to Notion, Readwise & more
AI-powered
podcast player
Listen to all your favourite podcasts with AI-powered features
Discover
highlights
Listen to the best highlights from the podcasts you love and dive into the full episode