We became aware that our product signup page had a problem when we discovered that some people were signing up but never actually seeing the product interface itself. This meant that somewhere between giving us their email address and being led into the interface for the first time, they were giving up or getting stuck and never coming back.
This case study documents how we tackled this issue. The product in question is Flow – a task management platform that helps transform mile-long email threads and day-eating meetings into clear, focused projects.
We decided to address this problem by talking to some users and making tweaks based on what we found out. Here we highlight four tools that combined well to make this project a breeze.
Measure with Mixpanel
It all started with a look at our data. First off, we set up Mixpanel – our current analytics tool, to track every step of our signup process. The steps included our homepage signup button, a welcome message with a video, a profile creation step, and a team invitation step.
We then created a funnel to show us the number of users that dropped off as they moved from step to step. This gave us a report to analyze. Without this measurement, there would have been no way to know what to improve.
By identifying the steps with the biggest dropoffs, we knew which points of the funnel needed the most attention.
Make a task in Flow
After talking about the issue in person one afternoon, we created a task in Flow to track the work as it progressed. It was given a due date and assigned to one person to make sure we followed through until completion or dismissal.
This task became the backbone of the work. It brought together planning, discussion, work, and attachments so that there was always context, collaboration, and a next step. Without a task, intitatives can be as fleeting as a middle school crush.
Talk to people with Intercom
With the problem identified and the task assigned, we started talking to users. We wanted to get first hand, unbiased perspectives of what it was like to go through our signup – cause, you know, it’s easy to become blind to your own quirks.
So we turned on an in-app Intercom message that intercepted every person fresh out of signing up. Catching people with the experience still in their mind increased our chances of getting meaningful feedback. Sending an email would have been less effective.
This step was an important supplement to our own design expertise and funnel data. Sure, we could have skipped it, but when people shared their feedback, we got a feel for what was going through their mind when they were signing up. Raw data couldn’t give us that. We heard specifics about elements of steps that were unclear or unnecessary, and even uncovered an embarrassing bug.
Discuss Design Details with Redpen
We took the customer feedback, distilled it, and fed it into a Redpen project. Redpen lets you leave detailed design-oriented comments on a visual asset.
A link to the Redpen had been posted in the Flow task, asking everyone to share their own feedback as well.
By posting the Redpen link in the task, we were able to:
- Separate high-level feedback from detailed design feedback
- Keep design feedback connected to the project
- Move the project along if no more feedback was coming in
Roll out the changes and then measure again!
With the feedback collected and recommendations shared, the project moved on to the design and development phases. We’re now able to compare funnel measurements from before and after the changes and watch for anything else that might need tweaking.
The project came off without a hitch, and these four products helped us get and share the information we needed to make good decisions quickly. Mixpanel, Intercom, Flow, and Redpen make a good team!
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(Lead image: Depositphotos)