Interactive autofill to drive onboarding

Asana Asana onboard

Overview

Asana fills the project plan in real time during onboarding and makes it appear as if it's already belonging to the user, triggering the endowment effect. The autofill feature in digital interfaces leverages the Endowment Effect by making users feel a sense of ownership or possession over the information that is filled in real time.
a screenshot of the onboard flow explaining how to Interactive autofill to drive onboarding
a screenshot of the onboard flow explaining how to Interactive autofill to drive onboarding
a screenshot of the onboard flow explaining how to Interactive autofill to drive onboarding
a screenshot of the onboard flow explaining how to Interactive autofill to drive onboarding
a screenshot of the onboard flow explaining how to Interactive autofill to drive onboarding
a screenshot of the onboard flow explaining how to Interactive autofill to drive onboarding
a screenshot of the onboard flow explaining how to Interactive autofill to drive onboarding

Business Outcome

Optimized Conversion Funnel

Increse the number of users who compelete the onboarding experience.

Reduced Abandonment Rates 

By providing a sense of co-creation, users are less likely to exit the onboarding flow because if they did, they would be leaving behind something they helped created.

Behavioral Outcome

Perceived Personalization

Creating their project plan in real time creates a perception of ownership. This personalized experience enhances user satisfaction and reinforces positive perceptions of the platform's attention to user needs and how it's created specifically for each user.

The Behavioral Science

The Endowment Effect refers to the psychological phenomenon where people tend to ascribe higher value to objects they own or possess compared to equivalent objects that they do not own. In other words, individuals often place a greater subjective value on items merely because they own them, regardless of their objective worth.

How It Works

The Endowment Effect stems from two primary psychological factors: ownership and Loss Aversion.

Loss Aversion, the inclination to prioritize avoiding losses over acquiring equivalent gains, explains why individuals often assign high value to what they possess and strive to prevent losing their belongings. This phenomenon illustrates our tendency to detest losing possessions more than we enjoy gaining them.

Research indicates that people tend to place greater value on items they already possess compared to similar items they do not own. This effect persists whether the item was acquired through purchase or received as a gift.

Asana masterfully does this with the real-time creation of the project plan as the user fills out their onboarding information.

How It Might Backfire

While an enjoyable experience, users may become frusturated with so many steps sto complete before experiencing the platform.

How To Test

Condition A

Use of the dyanmic feature that fills out the projet plan as part of the onboarding process.

Condition B

Eliminate this feature, deploy a standard onboarding questionarie and measure completion rates.

Frequently Asked Questions

To enhance a product-led growth (PLG) model using Asana's onboarding tactic, implement interactive autofill during the user's initial setup process. This approach leverages the Endowment Effect, making users feel a sense of ownership over their project plan from the start.

By filling out the project plan in real-time as users input their information, you create a personalized experience that increases the perceived value of your product. This can lead to higher engagement and retention rates, key metrics in PLG models. Additionally, this tactic can reduce abandonment rates during onboarding, as users are less likely to exit a process where they've already invested time and feel a sense of ownership over the created content.

To improve conversion rates using Asana's onboarding tactic, implement interactive autofill features in your sign-up or onboarding process. This approach can significantly optimize your conversion funnel by increasing the number of users who complete the onboarding experience.

By creating a sense of co-creation and ownership, users are less likely to abandon the process. The real-time population of a project plan or similar personalized content makes users feel invested in the process, triggering the Endowment Effect. This psychological phenomenon can lead to higher conversion rates as users are more likely to complete the onboarding and continue using the product they've already started to personalize.

To optimize your website using Asana's onboarding tactic, incorporate interactive autofill features throughout the user journey. This could include dynamically populating user profiles, customizing dashboard layouts, or creating personalized content recommendations based on user inputs.

By leveraging the Endowment Effect, you can create a sense of ownership and personalization that enhances user satisfaction and reinforces positive perceptions of your platform. This approach can lead to increased user engagement, longer session times, and higher retention rates. Remember to balance the interactive elements with simplicity to avoid overwhelming new users while still providing a personalized experience.

To A/B test Asana's onboarding tactic, create two versions of your onboarding process: one with interactive autofill (Condition A) and one without (Condition B). In Condition A, implement the dynamic feature that fills out the project plan or relevant content as part of the onboarding process. For Condition B, use a standard onboarding questionnaire without real-time content creation.

Measure key metrics such as completion rates, time spent on onboarding, and subsequent user engagement for both conditions. Additionally, track user behavior and satisfaction through surveys or feedback mechanisms. Analyze the results to determine which approach leads to better outcomes in terms of user engagement, retention, and overall satisfaction with the onboarding process.

Asana's onboarding tactic improves user experience by creating a sense of perceived personalization and ownership from the very beginning. By filling the project plan in real-time during onboarding, users feel as if the content is already belonging to them, triggering the Endowment Effect.

This approach reduces cognitive load for new users, as they see their inputs immediately translated into a tangible project plan. It also enhances user satisfaction by providing a personalized experience that demonstrates the platform's attention to individual user needs. The interactive nature of this onboarding process can make users feel more engaged and invested in the product, potentially leading to higher retention rates and more positive perceptions of the platform.