The technical part of onboarding

Technical onboarding is everything from onboarding to the first successful usage of your device.

This isn't just about connecting to Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. It's about actual, meaningful usage – or what you might define as "first signs of life". 

As a general rule, your technical onboarding should be no more than 12 minutes long.

Create a great first impression

Most users aren't tech savvy.

Just because your entire team knows what BLE or 2.4GHz Wi-Fi is, it doesn't mean your users will. So if you ask them to allow location services for something like a set of headphones, you're sure to leave them very, very confused.

Many users fail with their initial connection. And what's worse, up to 80% of them will never reach out to your team for support.

Other than what you can do in Copilot.cx to improve the short loop, a user's first steps with your product are vital. Those 12 minutes can be the difference between an instant return or lifelong advocacy for your brand.

How to define the first successful usage

This is the tricky part. Take a smart bulb, for example. Is success simply turning it on for the first time, or do users need to start playing around with colors and routines before they've had a truly meaningful experience?

Your product team are often closest to your users, so get their ideas on how to define successful usage for your product.

Usually, this is a built process within the app that lasts until a device is connected and usable. But again, connecting isn't enough.

Take printers, for example. Connecting a printer to the app is essential, but you haven't really completed technical onboarding until you've printed your first photo or document.

This is where users see the initial value, results, and tangible evidence that they're getting what they paid for.

From there, you need to build on your relationship to carry the user through the ramp-up stage.