PRESSONE AFRICA
Elevating PressOne's Onboarding Experience
PressOne was built to streamline business communications with integrated tools for insight and management. However, PressOne faced a stumbling block as they lost 90% of their potential users during onboarding.
I joined the team as an onboarding designer to investigate this issue and pave a clear path for customer acquisition. At the end, we recorded instant increase in onboarding completion rate and onboarded 4 new businesses just at test phase on PressOne.
Sudden Death
Upon launch, 90% of users dropped off during onboarding. This was a critical failure point that risked the success of customer acquisition. One recurring piece of feedback stood out:
Initial observations revealed:
- Visual Inconsistencies
- A Cluttered UI
- Unclear navigation and next steps
These were not enough to pinpoint the cause of the “sudden deaths”, but they helped me set some initial goals to guide my research and start to visualise a solution. It was clear what needed to be done.
- Establish a consistent visual direction for PressOne
- Reduce user drop-off, so that PressOne would acquire its first customers.
Finding the Clog - The User’s Perspective
To proceed, I reviewed support tickets, carried out a Heuristic Evaluation of the onboarding flow and conducted a moderated usability test with 6 participants
Key Findings:
- Users were confused by the lack of guidance and direction
- The value proposition was unclear, especially for first-time visitors
- There was no support structure or fallback during setup
- The welcome screen added friction instead of easing users in
My goals were more streamlined as I talked to users and unpacked the existing user flow on PressOne. I mapped the onboarding journey and identified key friction points and opportunities to simplify, support, and guide users.
- Cut the drop-off rate by streamlining onboarding.
- Guide users clearly through the first interaction.
- Create visual and copy consistency across steps.
- Design for flexibility: allow users to onboard at their pace.
Paving a Clear Path for Users
Every stage of the onboarding process is an opportunity for user conversion.
I optimised every step of the onboarding to cater to diverse users with different levels of familiarity with PressOne. This involved a copy update and layout modification guided by heuristic principles.
My priority was to help users register and start using PressOne in the shortest possible time.
Users have the freedom to purchase a number as part of the onboarding which is recommended to encourage users to start talking. Or, they do so at their own time with support.
Onboard at Convenience: Fast and Easy
Intuitive and seamless onboarding, designed with customers in mind. With a primary audience of small and medium size business owners, we aimed for an onboarding that users could navigate with ease or complete at a convenient time.
Personalised Experience
We ensured to keep our users in mind, and that meant listening. Business owners wanted a degree of personalisation that would make them unique without feeling like an added chore.
The personalisation tab allows users to reflect their brand tone in business communications.
Impact on Onboarding & Product Evolution
I collaborated with the Product Manager to conduct user testing sessions with 6 participants to validate the redesign. It is interesting to note:
- We onboarded 4 businesses during user testing - this was an instant validation of the redesigned flow.
- This success was a key driver behind the subsequent development of a PressOne integration, linking our design decisions directly with broader product strategy.
- Reduction in time to completion.
- We also made a profound discovery while interacting with users:
- Businesses operated mostly on bigger screens and needed just the basic features on mobile for their employees.
Thus, PressOne Quick Calls was born. Admin features were limited to the web.
Key Learnings
- Be ready to adapt: The user testing session was a turnaround point for the entire team, as we decided to re-strategise to serve our customers better. It is necessary to adapt to changes without sacrificing quality.
- Lead with clarity: Users don't need more features-they need understanding.
