Product Walkthrough | Everything You Need to Know

In this day and age, companies are going to great lengths to get ahead. Throughout the years, many different and creative ways to gain competitive advantage have surfaced. One of the ways that companies can get ahead and stand out from the crowd is by having a product walkthrough.

Namely, now that almost anything is available online, people expect to look up a product and discover everything about it. However, that's not all. They also value the creative efforts that companies make. Thus, product walkthroughs emerged.

This article will go through what a product walkthrough is and how you can create the perfect one. Also, we will mention some other details and things you need to know about the subject. So, without further ado, let's dive in!

What is a Product Walkthrough?

Another term that is commonly used for product walkthrough is product tour. Essentially, it is an interactive experience that guides users through the characteristics and functionality of the product. Also, it serves to show users what the product does and how they can use it.

A product walkthrough or tour is a means for attracting new customers and empowering the existing ones. Also, they show customers how to use products properly and what to do in certain situations.

For simplicity, you can think of product walkthroughs as user set-up guides, which take you through all the steps required to use a product.

However, user set-up guides are usually a one-off task that needs to be done once, whereas product walkthroughs will serve customers for as long as they use the product.

Another great thing about product walkthroughs is that you can customize them to accommodate your needs.

Namely, say you want to promote a premium subscription to already existing customers. In that case, you can customize your walkthrough only to show the additional features they will get if they upgrade their subscription plan.

A product walkthrough can be highly effective if it is well made. How can it be effective, you might ask? Is it worth having a product walkthrough? Well, let's find out!

How Can a Product Walkthrough Be Useful?

Now that we've covered what a product walkthrough is, we can move to its usefulness. A well-executed product tour can do wonders for your business. It can make users take action.

Namely, whenever a new user checks out your products, the user will be met with an interactive and in-depth guide. What's best, the guide will be available on your website. So, they won't need to do additional research to learn about the product.

All of that will motivate new users to learn about the product and its value. After that, more often than not, they will be more likely to use your product in return!

Also, a walkthrough reduces the learning curve and helps users to achieve their goals faster. In turn, the users will be able to adapt your product with ease. All of that will increase the product adoption rate of your company.

Reaching new audiences and acquiring new customers is very costly, to say the least. However, with a product walkthrough, you will retain more and more users and thus increase your retention rates.

Also, you will motivate your customers to stay with you and use your products. Therefore, you will also reduce your churn rate and improve your bottom line while you are at it.

Another exciting benefit from product walkthroughs is their ability to simplify the onboarding process. Onboarding includes the initial sign-up and login, correspondence with account managers and onboarding specialists, and initial product training.

All of that can be a tedious and lengthy process. However, a walkthrough will shorten and simplify the onboarding process because every part is included in the walkthrough.

Last but not least, you can use product walkthroughs to train users and improve efficiency. So, the benefits are endless.

How to Create the Perfect Product Walkthrough?

We need to get technical for this one. As we mentioned above, your product walkthrough must be well-made. Thus, we're here to help you with that.

The following steps will be your aid in creating the perfect walkthrough that all your users will enjoy.

Determine your value metric

The first step is starting with your value metric. The best way to begin your product walkthrough is by immediately clearing things up and providing value to the users.

The quicker they understand what your product is, the better. That moment of realization is the most crucial part of every walkthrough.

For example, if you have an online store, the key moment for your users is when they find an item that they like and put it in the cart.

So, it would be best to focus your efforts on providing filters that will help you identify what your user is looking for and then give it to them.

For example, let’s take an online store.

People visit online stores in order to find something they like. People can find something they like faster with the help of filters. So, you can choose filters like jackets, jeans, sweaters, and other similar clothing items you offer in your product walkthrough.

That way, people that visit your store will be able to pick what they want to buy, and they won’t have to scroll through thousands of items in order to find what they are looking for, for example, a sweater or a pair of jeans.

And that will make their experience with your website better. Also, offering the ability for customers to choose the clothing items they prefer will ensure that they will buy something from you in the end.

Define your barriers

The second step is defining the barriers. The focus in this step is identifying the obstacles standing between the user and their value point. When those obstacles are identified, you can design your walkthrough to guide the users past them.

Remember that identifying obstacles like those requires user research, usability testing, and seeing where users struggle. However, the process is not as time-consuming as it seems.

Some of the barriers you might encounter may include users being unaware of your product's most essential features. Also, users might not understand the value they will get from using specific features.

Make it beautiful and easy to access

The third and final step is the design. It is best if your design is clear, concise, engaging, skippable, and offers additional support.

Moreover, your product walkthrough tutorial should be easy to access, we never know if your user may need help again. That’s why Ideta and Userguiding partnered up to make your guide reachable through your support chatbot!

Metrics to Track

Metrics? What are those? Metrics are data that capture how users interact with your digital product or app.

Also, they show how those interactions affect your business. So, metrics can show you how the elements of your digital product are performing.

So, which metrics should you track? Well, it all depends on the product. However, there are a few traditional product metrics that you can track and see how your product walkthrough is performing.

One of the metrics is user engagement. User engagement entails tracking daily, weekly, and monthly active users to gauge user activity. Another is the number of sessions per user.

A good number of sessions per user is anything above 1.6, and you can get this number by dividing the total number of sessions by the total number of users.

Also, tracking the average session duration and bounce rate is an excellent way to gauge user engagement.

Another metric is revenue. A key thing to know about revenue is that it is dependent on other metrics. You can track your monthly recurring revenue, annual recurring revenue, customer lifetime value, cost per acquisition, and average revenue per unit.

Now we move on to the next metric - user retention. We mentioned user retention and churn rates above, but now let's explain what they are. Customer retention rate refers to the number of users who continued to use your product over time.

You can calculate it using a simple formula :

(Customers at the end of the calculated period - New customers) * 100 / Customers at the start of the calculated period.

The Churn Rate refers to the percentage of users who stopped using your product during a given period. The formula is :

Number of customers lost / Total number of customers.

Examples of Good Product Walkthroughs

Now you know the technical part of the subject. So, let's go through some of the best product walkthroughs out there. And, if you like what you see, you can use them as inspiration for your own walkthrough!

Ghostwriter AI

Ghostwriter AI is a platform that helps marketers identify their market audience and keep them engaged with new, highly-focused content. Its product walkthrough starts with the user signing up, creating a brand and a user persona.

There are no guides for this part because it is pretty self-explanatory. After making a brand and target audience, the walkthrough starts with an introduction to Ghostwriter's tools. It shows the elements that you can use in this feature.

What's excellent about Ghostwriter's product walkthrough is that the introduction to its product's elements is not rushed. Each element's value is thoroughly explained so that the users understand and learn how to use it.

Also, in the other two steps of the walkthrough, Ghostwriter uses custom images and GIFs to keep the user interested, which is made possible by using Userguiding.

Another great thing about this walkthrough is that Ghostwriter has separate product tours for each of its features. So, if you also have a product with multiple features, you too can create product walkthroughs for each feature!

Asana

Asana is a project management tool that teams can use to organize, track, and manage their work. Its product walkthrough has a straightforward, simple interface with exciting details and colors. Also, the walkthrough guides new users through creating their first task, so they understand the value of Asana's product right away.

The walkthrough is subtle but effective. Specific elements are emphasized with a series of pulsing hotspots, which familiarize new users with Asana's UI. Also, the walkthrough progresses as users take action.

Namely, each tip requires users to click an element on the page and discover what that element does. Lastly, the walkthrough ends with a tooltip that shows where users can find self-service help in the future.

So, this walkthrough checks all the boxes and is an excellent example of a perfect product walkthrough.

Sorted Services

Sorted Services is a company that allows users to pay their bills, rent, and buy utility services. Also, it allows real-estate agencies and utility providers to offer their services and collect payments.

Their onboarding service is fully automated, with the help of Userguiding. Also, their onboarding process primarily showcases the value of their services. S

o, when you log on to Sorted Services, you will first see how their services can help you. And that is an excellent way of doing an onboarding process.

The primary focus on the value of what Sorted Services offers has boosted their product adoption rates, which means that new users have adopted their services more quickly and in greater volume than ever before.

Conclusion

Product walkthroughs can increase user retention and make the process of attracting new customers a breeze. However, each walkthrough differs depending on the product. The process of setting up your own product walkthrough is relatively simple and will not consume much of your time.

All in all, if you feel like people cannot understand how to use your product without a guide, do not hesitate to create a product walkthrough. It can do wonders for you and your products!