It can take only 50 milliseconds<\/a> for website visitors to form an opinion of your website and decide whether to stay or leave. 73% of mobile app users<\/a> will delete an app or become inactive within three months of downloading it. There are 1.86 million abandoned apps<\/a> in app stores.<\/p>\n What does all of this mean for you, the product professional?<\/p>\n It means that one of your primary goals should be to get the user to their \u201caha!\u201d moment as quickly as possible and<\/i> that you can expect to reap the benefits with your key KPIs, such as revenue and retention.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s dive deep into the \u201caha!\u201d moment and learn more about optimizing for an ideal first impression for new users.<\/p>\n The \u201caha!\u201d moment is the precise moment when a customer or user first recognizes a product\u2019s value. They enter a new platform, start to use it, and value realization finally clicks<\/i>. <\/i><\/b>\u00a0This moment triggers a positive emotional reaction for users because they now understand how your product has answered one of their needs. Typically, the \u201caha!\u201d moment is aligned with your product\u2019s core value.<\/p>\n This key point in the user journey ideally takes place during the user onboarding phase, but it can also happen during different stages of the customer lifecycle. Overall, \u201caha!\u201d moments can be tricky to pinpoint with absolute certainty, but you know it when you see it.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Finding your product\u2019s \u201caha!\u201d moment opens a whole new world. With this knowledge, your product management<\/a> team can:<\/p>\n Optimize the onboarding UX<\/a> for new users and the overall customer journey, which will ultimately drive user conversions, prevent churn<\/a>, improve upsells, and increase product usage<\/a>.<\/p>\n\t\t To help you get a better sense of what an \u201caha!\u201d moment looks and feels like, here are a few \u201caha!\u201d moment examples.<\/p>\n These examples will help you better understand the meaning of \u201caha!\u201d moments and create them for your users:<\/b><\/p>\n For more complex products, the \u201caha!\u201d moment typically takes longer to experience because these platforms are more complex, require additional onboarding and training, and solve more niche problems than consumer products.\u00a0 An effective SaaS customer onboarding<\/a> strategy is crucial to help new customers find their \u201caha!\u201d moment.<\/p>\n Note<\/b>:\u201cAha!\u201d moments are when a user sees value in a product \u2013\u00a0 and it could be that your platform has multiple opportunities for different user segments to experience their \u201caha!\u201d moments at different points in the customer journey. For example, some Slack users may experience an \u201caha!\u201d moment when they start a huddle.<\/p>\n So why is the \u201caha!\u201d moment so impactful? It turns out that there is a lot of hard evidence to back it up, and once you delve into it, it all makes sense. Let\u2019s do that!<\/p>\n As a product professional and\u00a0human being, you already know that\u00a0<\/a>emotions<\/em><\/a> play a key role in people’s judgments and<\/a>\u00a0decisions<\/a>.<\/p>\n When appropriately done, the \u201caha!\u201d moment triggers a positive emotional response to the experience of using your platform. The brain releases chemicals that make users feel good, such as dopamine. When that happens, users become far more likely to keep using your product as their brains seek more positive reinforcement of their actions.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re a designer, you\u2019ve probably heard about the concept of Emotional Design<\/a>. Emotional Design is a way of approaching UX\/UI that harnesses the power of human emotions in decision making that we just learned about. When you guide users toward their \u201caha!\u201d moments with their feelings in mind, you increase the chances that they\u2019ll get there \u2013 and that you\u2019ll see your success in your business KPIs.<\/p>\n While user behavior<\/a> is easy to monitor and track, finding your \u201caha!\u201d moment can prove difficult for product teams because they\u2019re actually looking for the positive emotions behind the metrics. But with our three-step process, \u201caha!\u201d moments can be identified, tracked, and measured.<\/p>\n Start by diving right into your product analytics<\/a>. Essentially, you\u2019re looking for the events that positively influence business KPIs like retention and conversion \u2013 and the events that seem to work against those metrics.<\/p>\n You can record event data<\/a> by creating a spreadsheet or using a visualization tool like Tableau. Product teams should invest in a product analytics platform<\/a> such as Whatfix Analytics<\/a> or Mixpanel to capture and analyze custom events and user behavior \u2013 as seen below:<\/p>\n Once you combine all of these data points within your analytics platform, the data begins to make it clear which actions are fueling retention and conversion\u2014these are all potential \u201caha!\u201d moments in the user journey.<\/p>\n Reach out and talk to your users to gather qualitative product feedback<\/a>. This will supplement and validate what you\u2019ve already learned and initially hypothesized from the quantitative data.<\/p>\n If the numbers from your product data show a correlation between specific user behaviors and retention, your users can help explain the \u201cwhy\u201d in more detail.\u00a0 Talk to retained and churned users for a complete picture of the user experience, enabling you to identify \u201caha!\u201d moments and the user journey that leads to them.<\/p>\n Reaching out to users and speaking with them is often outside the comfort zone of even the most seasoned product pros. Below, we\u2019ll break it down into 2 steps to help you get started.<\/p>\n To better understand what your retained users value most about your product, send them an email or survey with some of the following customer feedback<\/a> questions:<\/p>\n This data and feedback will reveal a successful user experience for your best customers and bring your product team closer to identifying your product\u2019s \u201caha!\u201d moment.<\/p>\n Talking to churned users is important because they didn\u2019t find the value they expected from your product. Finding out why this is will clarify what went wrong and help you avoid the same mistake in the future by tweaking your user onboarding. You can email them or use an exit survey (\u201cSorry to see you go\u201d) to capture their responses.<\/p>\n Here are some questions you can ask them:<\/p>\n Once you\u2019ve collected all the feedback from your deactivated users, analyze the answers and look at what your retained customers did differently from those who churned.<\/p>\n Map this information with what you learned from your user analytics to get a complete picture of your product\u2019s user journey. At this stage, you should have an idea of the behavioral patterns that you believe impact your user retention rates and which \u201caha!\u201d moment(s) start users on the right (and wrong) paths.<\/p>\n You\u2019ll know because in the analytics, you\u2019ll see a positive correlation between those actions and your business KPIs. When talking to users, they\u2019ll have substantiated this by describing in detail why those actions gave them value.<\/p>\n At this point, you\u2019ve likely identified potential \u201caha!\u201d moments with reasonable certainty based on quantitative and qualitative data. The next step in your journey is optimizing the user experience based on what you\u2019ve learned.<\/p>\n In this step, you\u2019ll conduct A\/B tests by dividing your users into segments and presenting them with different in-app guidance<\/a> and user path assistance to help them experience their \u201caha!\u201d moment, defined based on what you\u2019ve learned so far.<\/p>\n Say you uncover instances of user friction<\/a> as users progress toward their \u201caha!\u201d moment, like rage-clicking. You can create two product journeys to try and remedy the problem and observe how people behave during the sign-up and onboarding.<\/p>\n Product operations<\/a> teams can use a tool like FullStory<\/a> to identify rage clicks and show relevant content to users to prevent user frustration. If you\u2019re just starting A\/B testing, you can test only one change at a time.\u00a0 If you\u2019re a bit more advanced, you can run multivariate tests instead with the help of an experimentation platform like Convert<\/a>, Optimizely<\/a>, or VWO<\/a>.<\/p>\n If the user onboarding metric<\/a> you\u2019re testing (user retention, onboarding completion rate, etc.) improved within the test group, then you\u2019re on the path to confirming and optimizing the journey toward your product\u2019s \u201caha!\u201d moment.<\/p>\n Now that you have identified your \u201caha!\u201d moments and run some tests to validate your hypotheses, it\u2019s time to work toward getting your users to these moments of clarity and value even faster.\u00a0 Here are some tips for doing just that.<\/p>\n Different customer personas need personalized user journeys maps<\/a>. Drive your customers to their<\/i> \u201caha!\u201d moments faster by personalizing their journey. Let\u2019s look at Netflix to see how this works in action:<\/p>\n When new users sign up for Netflix, they\u2019re prompted to select which shows and movies they like. This helps create and personalize a unique data set for each user based on their tastes and preferences.<\/p>\n Netflix then uses its algorithm to offer personal recommendations to its users based on these selections. Then, it aggregates this data over time based on a user\u2019s viewing habits and what\u2019s currently popular and trending on the platform.<\/p>\n This algorithm allows Netflix to instantly create a personalized offering for every user right after signing up. Users see the instant value of the streaming platform as they\u2019re presented with a catalog of shows they\u2019re interested in and related content. Their \u201caha!\u201d moment\u2014watching their first show or movie\u2014happens faster because<\/i> the Netflix suggestions are tailored to their interests.<\/p>\n You can create personalized user experiences by grouping different types of users into segments based on their demographics, location, age, industry, job title, etc. If you know this information from the start, you can create different user journey paths based on the product data you already have from existing users through a cohort analysis<\/a>.<\/p>\n In addition to automatically personalized journeys based on demographics, you can also consider letting your users select their path, like in the Netflix example. This puts them in the driver\u2019s seat, and they can choose how to interact with your product and what journey they want to take.<\/p>\n Another excellent example of letting users create their journey is Flipboard, which prompts users to select a few topics of their interest during their initial onboarding.<\/p>\n Either way, personalizing your users’ journey is a significant first step in guiding them to their \u201caha!\u201d moment. It decreases friction by serving users exactly what they want and need.<\/p>\n PRO TIP<\/strong><\/p>\n With a digital adoption platform<\/a> like Whatfix, product managers can segment customers and end-users into cohorts and create contextual in-app guidance that nudges new users to take specific actions that lead them to their \u201caha!\u201d moment. \u00a0 The \u201canalyze, create, deliver framework\u201d empowers product managers with the tools to benchmark their \u201caha!\u201d moment for different segments of users, build and launch contextual guidance and support for each cohort, analyze its impact, and then continuously iterate to improve user activation and adoption.<\/p>\n Friction occurs when obstacles slow down a user\u2019s journey, often affecting time-to-value and the speed at which a user can reach their \u201caha!\u201d moment.<\/p>\n A typical example is when a new user is asked to fill out a contact form or sign up using an email address in the middle of a critical flow. You can reduce user friction by removing unnecessary barriers that impede your customers from finding their \u201caha!\u201d moment faster. You\u2019ll improve your overall product adoption<\/a> success rate and see the results in your key business metrics.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s look at Airbnb as an example of a frictionless user experience. Airbnb removes friction for its users by allowing them to browse through listings even without being logged into the platform.<\/p>\n Users can plug in their destination and travel dates and access all their available listings within seconds. And by the time you find your dream vacation spot on airbnb, you\u2019re ready to throw your money at them and give them the necessary information they need to secure your spot!<\/p>\n One way to identify friction areas in your user journey is through mapping exercises such as wireframing a user flow map before launching your product. This process allows your product team to understand your users’ different paths and journeys to accomplish a goal \u2013 in this case, finding their \u201c aha!\u201d moment.<\/p>\n With no-code product analytics software<\/a>, product teams can measure and analyze how users navigate and engage with their product or service, allowing them to identify friction areas and build user cohorts so that you can remove specific barriers for specific groups of users. Always try to help your users arrive at their \u201c aha!\u201d moment first and then<\/i> ask for their information. The fewer hoops they have to jump through when first engaging with your product, the better.<\/p>\n When your users interact with your product for the first time, it can be an overwhelming experience \u2013 especially with B2B platforms that have complex, advanced features.<\/p>\n To help new users set up their accounts and get work toward their \u201caha!\u201d moment quickly, create interactive walkthroughs<\/a>, user onboarding checklists<\/a>, and product tours<\/a>. These fundamental elements guide them through their initial onboarding. This decreases user dropoff and frustration, which are barriers to having an \u201caha!\u201d moment.<\/p>\n Slack<\/a> is a great example of a product with a simple, intuitive onboarding flow.<\/p>\n When new users log into Slack for the first time, they are greeted by a chatbot that takes them through an interactive walkthrough of their first experience. The onboarding flow helps users learn how to use the product and find their \u201caha!\u201d moment \u2014 usually, starting to send messages \u2014 as fast as possible.<\/p>\n Use in-app guidance<\/a> or interactive tutorials to handhold your users and walk them through their product onboarding \u2013 or to support a new feature launch<\/a>. These tools help users resolve minor issues immediately and learn the essential functions of your product, which may be necessary to reach their \u201caha!\u201d moment.<\/p>\n For more complex platforms, providing one \u201caha!\u201d moment may be powerful enough to retain and engage users.\u00a0 However, more likely than not, you\u2019ll need to reinforce your product\u2019s value over time via multiple \u201caha!\u201d moments.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s look at Duolingo, the language learning app, which uses a lot of creative strategies to reinforce its value with multiple \u201caha!\u201d moments throughout the user journey. Here are some examples:<\/p>\n Duolingo creates a fun and engaging way for users to learn a new language and motivates them to continue using the app. The \u201caha!\u201d moment, which is generally succeeding with a lesson, is reinforced repeatedly.<\/p>\n You can do this for your product by creating a longer user journey that slowly introduces more and more advanced features. You can guide users to find and enjoy these advanced features by:<\/p>\n Over time, your users will benefit from additional features and continue to find value in your product. This is why your product team is constantly iterating and generating new ideas to support specific KPIs.<\/p>\n However, simply ideating and delivering new features is only part of the journey toward success. Users must be aware of<\/i> new features and know how to use them to get value from them and have new \u201caha!\u201d moments in their user journey.<\/p>\n So, how do you create awareness and give necessary guidance?\u00a0 Leverage in-app content, such as tooltips<\/a> or UX hotspots<\/a>, to highlight new features to your users. This helps draw attention to new product launches.<\/p>\n Once a user interacts with a new feature and you can be sure they\u2019re aware of it, you can present them with an entirely new tutorial flow or step-by-step tutorial<\/a> on what it is, how to use it, and its benefits.<\/p>\n With Whatfix<\/a>, you can create beacons to highlight and promote new features or updates without needing development resources. Post-launch, product teams can track and analyze feature engagement, usage, and adoption with its no-code event tracking.<\/p>\n A digital adoption platform<\/a> allows product design, marketing, and customer success teams to create in-app content to onboard and educate users \u2013 without involving their development team, ensuring quick implementation and analysis.<\/p>\n With Whatfix\u2019s DAP, you can guide your users to find their \u201caha!\u201d moment faster \u2013 while continuously refining that journey \u2013 by creating in-app content using\u00a0 tools such as:<\/p>\n With Whatfix, you can create intuitive user flows and help content quickly guide your users to their \u201caha!\u201d moment, improve their proficiency with your platform, and announce new product launches. It all offers complete user behavior tracking to understand how your app is used, allowing your product team to benchmark<\/a> and improve these flows over time.<\/p>\nWhat Is the \u201cAha!\u201d Moment?<\/h2>\n
The Importance of Identifying Your Product\u2019s \u201cAha!\u201d Moment<\/h2>\n
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11 Examples of \u201cAha!\u201d Moments from Popular Apps<\/h2>\n
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The Science Behind the \u201cAha!\u201d Moment<\/h2>\n
How to Find Your Product\u2019s \u201cAha!\u201d Moment<\/h2>\n
1. Analyze your platform\u2019s event data<\/h3>\n
![\"whatfix-product-analytics-user-journeys\"](\"https:\/\/whatfix.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/whatfix-product-analytics-user-journeys.gif\")
<\/p>\n2. Gather user feedback<\/h3>\n
Step 1. Gather feedback from retained customers and users<\/h4>\n
\n
![\"Whatfix-in-app-survey-creation\"](\"https:\/\/whatfix.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/image1-2.gif\")
<\/p>\nStep 2. Gather feedback from churned customers and users<\/h4>\n
\n
![\"churned-customer-survey-example\"](\"https:\/\/whatfix.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/churned-customer-survey-example.png\")
<\/p>\n3. Test your hypotheses with A\/B testing<\/h3>\n
![\"workday-in-app-guidance\"](\"https:\/\/whatfix.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Workday-1_4.png\")
<\/p>\nHow to Guide Users to Their \u201cAha!\u201d Moment<\/h2>\n
1. Personalize the customer journey for different types of users<\/h3>\n
![\"netflix-user-onboarding\"](\"https:\/\/whatfix.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/netflix-onboarding.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Whatfix-Product-Analytics-User-Cohorts\"](\"https:\/\/whatfix.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Whatfix-Product-Analytics-User-Cohorts.gif\")
<\/p>\n![\"flipboard-new-user-onboarding-setup\"](\"https:\/\/whatfix.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/image7.png\")
<\/p>\n![\"whatfix-dap\"](\"https:\/\/whatfix.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Popup.gif\")
<\/p>\n<\/div>\n2. Reduce friction in the user experience<\/h3>\n
![\"how-airbnb-reduces-user-friction-during-aha-journey\"](\"https:\/\/whatfix.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Screen-Shot-2021-10-21-at-16.34.17.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"user-flow-detailed-example\"](\"https:\/\/whatfix.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/user-flow-detailed-example.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Whatfix-Product-Analytics-Funnel\"](\"https:\/\/whatfix.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Whatfix-Product-Analytics-Funnel.gif\")
<\/p>\n3. Create an intuitive onboarding experience<\/h3>\n
![\"slack-user-onboarding-flow\"](\"https:\/\/whatfix.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/image3.png\")
<\/p>\n![\"Popup-guided-tour\"](\"https:\/\/whatfix.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Popup.gif\")
<\/p>\n4. Reinforce your \u201caha!\u201d moment throughout the user lifecycle<\/h3>\n
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![\"duolingo-example-reinforce-aha-moment\"](\"https:\/\/whatfix.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Screen-Shot-2021-10-21-at-17.08.14-1.png\")
<\/p>\n\n
5. Remind users of new features<\/h3>\n
![\"ms-dynamics-beacon\"](\"https:\/\/whatfix.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/MS_Dynamics_3.png\")
\nAha! moments Click Better With Whatfix<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n\n