Case Details
The problem
On average, customers took more than a week to activate their accounts after purchase. The longer it took to reach a first meaningful moment with the product, the less likely they were to renew. The delay was not just an inconvenience. It was a business problem.
The goal
Help customers understand their next steps and start using the product without unnecessary delays.
My Role
I led research, stakeholder interviews, flowcharts, wireframes, and UI finalisation alongside engineers. A big part of the work was also facilitation: getting the PM and engineering aligned on what we could realistically solve in the first release, and making sure every decision was grounded in what we actually knew about our users.
Client
SaaS company focused on helping Airbnb and vacation rental hosts protect their properties.
Impact
The redesigned Thank You page drove a nearly 40% increase in customers moving from purchase directly into the app. The new onboarding flow helped users activate faster, with average activation time dropping to under a week. The customer support team noticed the difference too, with fewer hand-holding requests coming their way.
The Process
Understanding Why Customers Were Stalling
I reviewed previous user interviews, audited the dashboard and end-to-end purchase journey, analysed product analytics to find drop-off points, and mapped how different customer types moved through the same flow in very different ways.
One pattern emerged across all of it: customers had no guided path from purchase to actually using the product.
This showed up in four ways. After checkout, there was no clear route into the product. Once inside the app, there were no obvious next steps. The dashboard showed everything as green even when no property or device had been connected, making setup look complete when it was not. And the onboarding flow did not follow patterns users already knew from other products.
Some delays were outside our control entirely: device delivery times, logistics, customer readiness. Acknowledging this early helped define a focused and realistic scope. The MVP focused on the dashboard and the Thank You page, the two places with the most immediate impact on activation.
Learning From What Already Worked
An early insight came from the CSM team, who onboarded clients manually. Their step-by-step rhythm was highly effective and became the foundation for the new flow. If it worked in person, it could work digitally.
Early syncs with engineers ensured feasibility. Close collaboration with the PM kept scope realistic and focused.
The Design Principle
One principle guided everything: no user should ever wonder what to do next.
The flow worked for all user types regardless of device or permission level, and picked up where users left off if they stopped midway. The dashboard stayed hidden until core setup steps were complete. We traded flexibility for clarity, and for users seeing the product for the first time, that was the right call.
Final Design: Key Decisions & Outcomes
Onboarding flow
The changes:
- Guided setup replaced the empty dashboard. Before, users logged in to a dashboard that looked complete but gave no direction. After, a guided flow outlined each step clearly so users always knew where they were, what to do next, and what was coming.
- Status indicators now reflected reality. Before, everything showed green even with no device connected. After, indicators stayed hidden until a property and device were actually set up.
- Setup became a starting point, not an endpoint. The guided flow introduced additional features at the right moment, when users were already engaged and ready to explore.
- The mobile app continued the same guided flow, so users stayed on track regardless of device.
Thank You Page: From Confirmation to Activation
The changes:
The Thank You page had been a receipt with no direction. It confirmed the purchase and nothing else. It was redesigned to show the order summary alongside a clear set of actions customers could take while waiting for their device to arrive. Customers could configure their properties in advance, so when the device arrived, everything was already in place. Delivery became a natural trigger for activation rather than the start of a longer wait.
The primary action was also changed. Before, it pointed users to help articles. After, it brought them directly into the app to begin onboarding.
The MVP Was Just the Beginning
After launch, we restructured the post-purchase welcome email to align with the new flow, and used what we learned to identify further opportunities across the activation journey. The MVP was a starting point, not a finish line.
Closing Reflection
This project taught me that activation problems are rarely just UX problems. They sit at the intersection of product, operations, and customer expectations. Getting to a good solution meant understanding all three, not just the screens. It also changed how I approach scoping. I now push earlier to map the full journey before narrowing down, so the MVP is chosen deliberately rather than by default.