The buildup for a customer to experience the core value prop can be a daunting task. This article is the first of three pieces that will shed more light on the moment when users are in their "setup phase" and are moments away from experiencing the "core value prop".
The setup phase is typically the first stage of customer activation as this acts as the enabler for the following two trigger points, the "Wow Factor" which in turn leads to enabling the "habit forming loop" with the overarching goal of long-term retention. To get the customer to this point:
Build a qualifier: We need to qualify users through some friction such as a sign-up to identify if the user needs to unlock the core value prop and is the right persona we are targeting.
Analyze user activation flows: Keep re-iterating and testing multiple variants while finding opportunities to drive better activations.
Build a solid user experience: Forming a hook and driving the user to have a user-friendly experience is key to getting them to the "Wow moment"
How does activation look from the user lens?
The first setup step is really crucial to driving the users to see the WOW moment while helping them create a habit loop. Once they get into this loop, the users tend to be engaged and hooked which in the long term increases the retention rate.
Let's look at the activation journey to get an engaged user!
The user completes the setup to unlock the core value prop.
The wow moment tries to hook them in showing them the core value prop for the first time.
Once we unlock the core value prop and this satisfies the user's needs, the keep coming back to experience the value prop until it eventually moves into a habit loop.
Looking through a new user's lens who gets onto your platform for the first time, your product presents itself as an exciting prospect, essentially saying: "We have something remarkable in store for you" while making a commitment and aiming to persuade the user to explore and adopt your product.
The "wow factor" is the critical juncture where you seek to convince the user that you have indeed delivered on your promise, and that your product is genuinely exceptional. However, certain essential pieces of information or specific actions may be required from the user to provide them with the core value proposition of your product. Only after completing this initial setup can they truly get to the WOW moment!
Let's take a look at a couple of real-life examples :
Let's take the company "Experian". The core value prop for a user is to see their FICO score and get a complete credit report. To experience this Experian needs some information from the user - their personal information or the last four digits of the user's social security number and mobile number to pull users' credit scores. Once a user has provided the details and can be verified, they have completed the setup phase and are ready to experience the core value prop.
A different product example could be "Calendly - a scheduling automation platform". Here users log in through an email service provider to automatically pull user data and reduce friction or manually give Calendly the user details to sign up. The first time you use the platform they give you prompts to better your experience and learn about your usage so that they can help drive you to reach the core value proposition faster. Without this, the time to value would be too high and users might not experience the core value prop: easy scheduling and automated calendar management.
Follow or connect to see the next article of the series on the "Wow Factor"