How to Create Interactive Product Tours to Enhance the Onboarding Experience
June 27, 2022 Edwin Kooistra
Onboarding is an essential process for products. It’s the time when you hook new users and get them interested in your product. One way to do this is by using product tours to show new users around.
In this blog post, we’ll show you how to create interactive product tours and what benefits they can bring to your onboarding experience.
What is a Product Tour?
A product tour is a guided tour of a product or service. It is usually created by the company that makes the product or provides the service to show potential customers what the product or service can do and how to use it.
Moreover, product tours can be in person, over the phone, or online. They are often given as part of a product demonstration or presentation. SaaS product tours can introduce new products or services or show potential customers how to use existing products or services.
Product tours are a great way to learn about a product or service before buying it. They can also help you decide whether a product or service is right for you.
Why are Creating Product Tours Essential?
Product tours are essential because they help product users learn about the product and its features. They can also be used to promote a product or to increase customer satisfaction. Product tours can have many benefits, including:
1. Improved product understanding and engagement: By providing a guided tour of the product, users can better understand how to use it and its features. This can lead to increased product engagement and satisfaction.
2. Increased product adoption: By making it easy for users to learn about a product, product tours can increase the likelihood of adopting and using it.
3. Boosted sales and conversions: Product tours can be used to promote a product, leading to increased sales and conversions.
4. Improved customer satisfaction: By providing a guided tour of the product, customers can be helped to use it more effectively and troubleshoot any problems they may have. This can lead to improved customer satisfaction.
5. Greater product awareness: SaaS product tours can help to increase awareness of a product, leading to increased sales and adoption.
5 Type of Product Tours
There are several types of product tours for SaaS products, each with advantages and disadvantages. Below is a list of some of the most popular types of product tours, along with information on what makes each one unique:
1 – Guided Tour
A guided tour is a type of product walkthrough that takes the user step-by-step through the key features and functionality of the software. This type of tour is typically very comprehensive and can be quite helpful for new users who want to learn about the software before using it. However, guided tours can also be quite long and detailed, making them daunting for some users.
2 – Interactive Tour
An interactive tour is a type of product tour that allows the user to explore the software on their own, at their own pace. This type of tour typically includes comprehensive information about the software. Still, it is presented in a way that is less linear and more flexible, making it more user-friendly for some people.
3 – Video Tour
A video tour is a type of product tour that uses video to show users how to use the software. This tour can benefit new users as it provides a clear and concise overview of the software. However, video tours can also be long and detailed, making them daunting for some users.
4 – Screenshot Tour
A screenshot tour is a type of product tour that uses screenshots to show users how to use the software. This tour can benefit new users as it provides a clear and concise overview of the software. However, screenshot tours can also be long and detailed, making them daunting for some users.
5 – Text Tour
A text tour is a product tour that uses text to explain how to use the software. This tour can benefit new users as it provides a clear and concise overview of the software. However, text tours can also be long and detailed, making them daunting for some users.
5 Steps to build better Product Tours for your SaaS Business
Building a better product tour for your software as a service (SaaS) can help new users learn the ropes and existing users stay up to date on new features. Product tours can be delivered in many ways, but some critical steps to keep in mind are as follows:
- Plan your product tour around key user goals
- Keep it short and sweet
- Make it interactive
- Personalize the experience
- Test, test, and test
1 – Plan your Product Tour around key user goals
Consider what your users want to accomplish with your software, and design your tour accordingly. What are the essential features of your product? What will help your users achieve their objectives? Focus on those areas in your time.
2 – Keep it short and sweet
Your users’ attention span is limited, so ensure your tour is concise and to the point. Highlight the most important features and benefits of your product without overwhelming users with too much information at once.
3 – Make it interactive
Product tours should be interactive and engaging so users can get the most out of them. Use multimedia content such as images, videos, and animations to bring your tour to life. And provide opportunities for users to try out your product themselves to see how it works in real-world scenarios.
4 – Personalize the experience
Tailor your product tour to each user based on their needs and interests. This will help ensure they get the most relevant and helpful information from your time.
5 – Test, test, and test
Before you launch your product tour, test it thoroughly to ensure that everything works as intended. Get feedback from beta testers and other users to see if any areas need improvement. And once you’ve launched the tour, continue to monitor it and make changes as required.
5 Tips for using your Product Tour Effectively
Here are a few tips for making the most of your product tour:
1. Start with the basics
Ensure that your product tour’s best practices cover all of your product’s basic features and functionality. This will give users an excellent foundation to build upon as they explore the rest of your product.
2. Keep it concise
Don’t try to cover too much ground in your product tour. Stick to the essential information and leave out any extraneous details.
3. Use engaging visuals
Utilize images, videos, or other visuals to help bring your product tour to life. This will make it more enjoyable for users to follow along and understand what you’re trying to communicate.
4. Highlight key benefits
Throughout your product tour, highlight how using your product can benefit users. This will help motivate them to stick with the tour and see how your product can help them achieve their goals.
5. Use calls to action
Encourage users to take specific steps throughout your product tour. For example, you might ask them to sign up for a free trial or download a white paper. You can keep users engaged by providing clear calls to action and helping them get the most out of your product tour.
By following these tips, you can create a practical product tour to help users learn about your product and see how it can benefit them. By providing a great user experience, you can encourage users to stick with your product and keep using it long after the tour.
4 Best Product Tour Examples for Inspiration
There are many different ways to design a product tour. Some common examples include:
1 – Dropbox
It is a file sharing and storage service that allows users to sync files across devices and share them with others. The product tour example for Dropbox walks users through the service’s various features, including creating and sharing folders, accessing files offline, and using the security features to protect their data.
2 – Google Drive
It is a cloud-based storage service that allows users to store and access their files anywhere. The product tour for Google Drive walks users through the service’s various features, including how to create and share documents, collaborate with others in real time, and access their files offline.
3 – OneDrive
Microsoft’s cloud-based storage service allows users to store and access their files from anywhere. The product tour for OneDrive walks users through the service’s various features, including how to create and share documents, collaborate with others in real time, and access their files offline.
4 – iCloud
Apple’s cloud-based storage service allows users to store and access their files from anywhere. The product tour for iCloud walks users through the service’s various features, including how to create and share documents, collaborate with others in real-time and access their files offline.
Wrapping up
Creating interactive product tours is essential to providing a great onboarding experience for your SaaS. By following the steps we’ve outlined, you can make better product tours that help users understand how your product works and increase their confidence in using it. We hope these examples have given you some inspiration for creating your product tour.
Edwin Kooistra - Product Marketer & Founder
Technology can be a huge differentiator but leveraging emerging technologies can be challenging. After my degree in Business Information Technology I decided to work on the provider side of Technology, because I believe Technology providers play an important role in guiding enterprises on their digital journey. Besides helping tech businesses to optimize their growth and go-to-market strategies, I also like to write about the topic. I hope you find it useful!
