Providing new customers with a flawless onboarding experience is the key to a great first impression. Register for our upcoming webinar to learn how to better identify friction points in the onboarding journey and optimize the digital experience for new customers.

1. Ensuring an Effective
Onboarding Experience
Test for Customer Success
Carlton Retland
Principal Solutions Engineer

2. BEFORE WE GET
STARTED…
The webinar will last approximately 45 minutes to
1 hour (including Q&A)
You can send your questions using the
“Questions” function on GoToWebinar, we will ask
them on your behalf during the Q&A session.
We will send you a link to the recording as well as
this slide deck
If you tweet during the webinar, feel free to
mention @Applause

3. Presenter of This Session
3
Carlton Retland
Principal Solutions Engineer

4. Today’s Agenda
4
1
3
2
4
Why Getting Onboarding
Right Matters
How to Effectively Test New
Customers’ Experiences with
Your Brand
Common Friction Points for
New Customers Across
Different Industries
Q&A

5. WHY ONBOARDING MATTERS
5

6. 63%
of B2C buyers say it’s hard for a company to
earn their trust.
“State of the ConnectedCustomer Report: Fourth Edition” Salesforce. 2020
From the customer perspective:

7. 1 IN 3
CONSUMERS
say they’ll walk away from a brand they love
after just one bad experience.
“Experience is Everything: Here’s How to Get it Right” PwC. 2018

8. 35.5%
of app users use
an app only once.
“3 App Retention Strategies:The Ultimate Guide to App User Retention”Criteo. 2020
From the
company perspective:

9. 10%
30-day app
retention rates
across all verticals
average
less than
“Mobile AppTrends 2021:A global
benchmark of app performance.”
Adjust. 2021

10. 72%
28%
Are seeing a surge in
new customers via digital
Yes No
New Customers Are Increasingly Turning to Digital
82%
18%
Are seeing new and evolving
customer journeys
Yes No
“2022 DigitalTrends Experience Index”Adobe. 2022
N = 9,455

11. Customer Churn Rate in the United States by Industry, 2020
Statista, 2020

12. COMMON TYPES OF FRICTION

13. Lack of
education or
failure to set
expectations
around
onboarding
In a recent Applause survey of uTest community
members who experienced difficulty opening a
new account in the last 30 days:
• 54.5% reported the process took too long
or had too many steps
• 31.8% said the process was unclear.
n = 365
13

14. Examples of friction due to lack of education or expectation-setting:
14
Unanticipated software or
firmware updates
Unexpected information
required
Unclear timelines for
account set-up, verification
or receipt of goods

15. Examples of friction due to lack of education or expectation-setting:
15
“I downloaded a new
video game, but before I
could play, the system ran
updates for 2 hours.”
“I didn't know it was cash
only and minimum of $20. I
couldn't find any place in
the app or website saying
the minimum load amount
is $20.”
Tester for a mobile wallet app
Video game customer

16. Failure to
communicate
16
Customers get frustrated when
they don’t receive an email, text or
push notification letting them
know what’s happening.

17. Friction due to poor communication
17
Broken links in emails
Lack of push notifications,
SMS messages or emails

18. What customers say
18
“The hub would not connect
to the internet but provided
ZERO feedback as to what
the problem was.”
“I never got any sort of
message telling me my
account was activated… I
just realized I got verified
because I kept logging in
every few days…”
Credit card applicant
Home security system buyer
“I got an email that my order shipped,
but no tracking info or details on the
shipping method, so I don’t know
when it will get here.”
E-commerce shopper

19. Security and
account
verification
issues
19
• Failure to mask personally identifiable
information (PII) or sensitive financial
information, like CVV or credit card number
• No explanation why personal information is
required
• No guidance on password requirements
• Invalid means of account verification

20. Examples of security and account verification friction
20
Failure to mask personally
identifiable information
Unable to verify: phone
number registered in
someone else’s name
Unclear explanation of how
information will be used

21. What customers say
21
“I am hesitant about adding my
SSN anywhere online. It was a bit
odd that the numbers were
visible as I was typing them.”
“Had to go through verification,
and there seemed to be various
popup/status/waiting screens.
These were a bit confusing.”
Money transfer customer
Cash app user
Those who reported that the
application fell short of
expectations were put off by
the need to enter a personal
social security number for a
business card.
Applying for a business credit card

22. Bugs or
trouble with
data entry in
forms
22
• Functional errors: unable to submit information
• Incorrect or missing field validation; lack of
guidance on what format fields require
• Vague error messages that don’t offer guidance
on how to fix the problem.
• Too many questions or screens

23. Examples of form and data entry friction
23
Error message that doesn’t
explain how to fix the
problem
Lack of tool tips/hints or
immediate field validation after
tabbing to the next field
Crashes and
functional errors

24. One bank reduced the information
required on its new-account-opening
form from 45 fields to 35 and declared
victory, yet it could have gone to 15
fields and pre-populated 10 of them
from external data sources.
What people say
24
“Digitizing customer journeys and processes:
Stories from the front lines” McKinsey, 2018
After accepting theTerms &
Conditions, I received a
“something went wrong” error
message. It took 5 tries to get
past the error.
Mobile Order Ahead App

25. Other
common
issues
• Problems with payment instruments or linking
accounts
• Timelines: products don’t ship when expected
or shipping takes longer than anticipated
• Difficulty activating a credit card
25

26. Examples of other common causes of friction
26
Inability to link a valid
payment method
Difficulty activating credit
card or device
Products not shipped in a
timely manner, unable to
track order

27. HOW TO TEST YOUR
NEW CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE
27

28. Testing The Customer Experience Is Incredibly Challenging
28
• How can I get feedback from users with the same demographics as my customers?
• How do I find users to test in specific geographic locations?
• Do different customer types utilize touchpoints differently along their journeys?
• How and when do customers move between channels; what problems occur?
• Why did customers bail along their journey, and what were the friction points?
• Which experiences delighted customers and made them more loyal to my brand?
• Is the customer experience consistent across all channels: home, store, street, car and
more?
• Does personalization carry through multiple channels and environments?
• Are internal silos in my business creating a disconnected experience?
• Is the design intuitive and easy to use?
• Do users experience functional bugs throughout the journey?
• Is there continuity across channels?
• Are payments being processed successfully?
Understanding how different
customers experience the
same journey
Identifying friction that leads
to customer abandonment
Testing in the real world
across all touchpoints and
locations
Testing across multiple
dimensions and obtaining
feedback in a centralized way

29. Identify Friction Across New Customer Journeys
29
In-Field
Customer
Journeys
Digital Only
Customer
Journeys
Purchase an item
using mobile app
Receive push
notification that item is
ready for pickup
Pick up item
in-store
Post review on
social media
Submit application
for credit card on
web
Receive email notification
that application was
approved
Receive credit card
in the mail
Activate credit card via
phone
Testers perform journeys across digital and physical touchpoints and identify points of friction within the experience.
Testers perform journeys across multiple digital touchpoints and identify points of friction within the experience.

30. Sign Up
Link Credit
Card
Review
Menu /Shop
Make First
Order
Checkout
Order
Pickup
Define Your Customer Journey
Card
Application
Decision
Set Up
Online
Access
Set Up
Account
Preferences
Activate
Card
Restaurants/Mobile Order Ahead (MOA) & BOPIS
Credit Card Application
Streaming Media Service
Create an
Account
Choose
Subscription
Add
Payment
Method
Set Parental
Controls
Search for a
Movie

31. On-Demand Testing & Feedback From Your Target Users
31
Your Curated Team
of Testers
Selected to match your target
demographics, psychographics,
desired markets and devices.
Applause’s global community provides a diverse pool of testers who
are selected to match your desired requirements to log bugs and
provide relevant feedback.

32. Understand the Steps and Activities within the Journey
Retail - Curbside Pickup
32
Add to Cart
Store Clerk
Arrives and
Scans QRCode
on Mobile
Device
Search
Shop
Receive
Notifications or
SMSOrder is
Ready for Pickup
Receive Items
Confirm Order
Receive Physical Receipt
Locate Curbside Pickup Parking (via signs),
Geofencing or Send Notification to Inform
Customer Service of Customer’s Arrival
Search/Shop Add to Cart
Checkout –Select
Pickup Location
& Pay
Receive Order
Ready Notification
Arrival
(Parking Lot)
Scan QR Code Receive Order
Checkout
Payment
Schedule Pickup &
Location
Channels
UX Feedback
Functional Bugs
UX Feedback
Functional Bugs UX Feedback
Functional Bugs
Verify Payments
UX Feedback
Verify
Notifications
UX Feedback
Operational Readiness
UX Feedback
Operational Readiness
Functional Bugs
UX
Feedback
Operational
Readiness
Verify
Payments
Uncover
the
Friction

33. 33
The DIY Security System Customer Journey

34. 34
DIY

36. • Lack of education or failure to set expectations on what it takes to fully onboard
• Failure to communicate (lack push notifications or emails) throughout the
onboarding process
• Bugs/Usability issues for forms with data entry
• Incorrect/or lack of field validation for formatting
• Lack of hints, tool tips, or error messaging regarding the correct data formats
• Lack on of instructions for password requirements
• The number of screens it takes to complete the onboarding process
• Security
• Failure to mask PII or sensitive financial information (e.g. CVV or full CC #)
• Lack of hints or tool tips for why personal information is required,
• Lack on of instructions for password requirements
• For CC and "hard goods" failure to ship items in a timely manner.
• For CC, card activation issues.
• Inability to link a payment method for subscriptions or service that needs
registered payment method
36
Common
Types of
Friction
during the
onboarding
process