In a competitive SaaS landscape, user onboarding and engagement are key determinants of your product’s long-term success. A seamless onboarding process increases adoption rates, reduces churn, and improves customer satisfaction. 

One powerful tool that can significantly enhance your onboarding efforts is the product tour. This guide will cover everything you need to know about product tours, from their benefits and types to best practices and how to select the right product tour software.

What is a Product Tour?

A product tour is an interactive, guided experience that helps users familiarize themselves with the core features of a product. Typically triggered when a new user first interacts with a software application, product tours guide users step-by-step through key features, ensuring they quickly understand how to use the product effectively. The goal is to provide a smooth user experience, making sure that new users experience value early on in their journey.

Why Use a Product Tour for User Onboarding?

Implementing an effective product tour as part of your user onboarding process brings numerous benefits. Here’s how a well-executed product tour can positively impact your product’s success:

1. Faster Time-to-Value: The primary goal of a product tour is to guide users to value quickly. Showing users how to perform essential tasks and highlighting core features enables them to experience the product’s benefits early. The sooner a user experiences value, the more likely they are to remain invested in your product.
2. Reduced Cognitive Load: When users are first introduced to a new product, the interface, features, and functionality can be overwhelming. Product tours break down these complexities by offering bite-sized, manageable steps that guide users through the essential features in a logical progression. This makes it easier for users to retain information.
3. Increased Engagement: An interactive product tour encourages users to actively participate in the learning process, which leads to higher engagement. Guiding users through specific actions makes users feel more involved.
4. Lower Support Costs: When users are guided through the onboarding process effectively, they are less likely to encounter issues that require customer support intervention. Providing in-app guidance can reduce the number of support tickets and inquiries and free up your customer service team to handle more complex issues.
5. Improved Feature Discovery: Not all users will explore your product’s features on their own. Product tours can highlight underutilized or hidden features that users might not otherwise discover. A tour can guide users through advanced features that provide additional value, encouraging them to explore more deeply.
6. Personalized Experiences: With advanced product tour tools like Userflow, you can create personalized onboarding flows for different user segments. Personalization improves relevance, showing users information that’s directly aligned with their needs or roles. For instance, new users might need a broad overview, while power users might benefit from more in-depth tours of advanced features.
7. Enhanced User Journey: A well-crafted product tour aligns with the overall user journey, providing relevant guidance at key milestones. From guiding users through the initial setup to introducing them to advanced features as they progress, product tours enhance the entire user journey.
8. Increased Activation and Retention: Product tours that successfully demonstrate value early on can dramatically improve user activation rates, making users more likely to stick around long term. Users who understand the value of the product and how to use it effectively are more likely to keep using it.

Types of Product Tours

Different types of product tours cater to various stages of the onboarding process and specific user needs. Here are some common types:

1. Welcome Tours: These are designed to introduce new users to the product’s main features and navigation. Welcome tours provide an overview of the core elements and help users understand how to get started. They are particularly useful for guiding users through the initial setup.
2. Feature Tours: When introducing a new feature, feature tours provide focused guidance on that particular functionality. These tours highlight the value of new or advanced features, encouraging users to explore them. They can also be useful when rolling out updates, helping users get familiar with the new capabilities quickly.
3. Contextual Tours: These tours are triggered by the user’s actions or location within the app. For example, if a user accesses a specific feature for the first time, a contextual tour can offer immediate guidance relevant to that feature. Contextual tours are highly personalized and ensure users receive the right information when they need it most.
4. Role-Based Tours: Tailoring product tours to specific user roles or personas is a great way to ensure relevance. For example, a marketing professional might need guidance on campaign management, while a sales representative might focus on lead tracking. Role-based tours offer targeted onboarding experiences that resonate with the unique needs of each user segment.
5. Onboarding Checklists: Onboarding checklists are an effective way to guide users through essential setup tasks or key feature explorations. Using a checklist enables users to track their progress and ensure they’ve completed all necessary onboarding steps to get started with the product.
6. Interactive Walkthroughs: These hands-on guides allow users to engage directly with the product while learning how to complete specific workflows. Interactive walkthroughs provide in-context guidance and help users master the tasks they’ll be performing regularly. They are particularly effective for complex workflows that might require multiple steps to complete.

Best Practices for Building an Effective Product Tour

To create a compelling and engaging product tour, follow these best practices:

1. Keep it Concise: Users don’t want to be overwhelmed with information. Focus on the most important features and break down complex workflows into easy-to-follow steps. The goal is to guide users through the process without making the tour too long or tedious.
2. Make it Interactive: Engagement is key. Encourage users to take action during the tour by interacting with the product directly. This hands-on experience reinforces learning and helps users become more comfortable with the interface. Platforms like Userflow are great for creating interactive, hands-on experiences that keep users engaged.
3. Allow Users to Skip or Exit: Not all users want or need a product tour. Always provide an option for users to skip or exit the tour if they prefer to explore on their own. This gives users the flexibility to choose how they want to learn, ensuring they don’t feel forced into a predefined experience.
4. Use Clear and Concise Language: Avoid jargon and technical language that could confuse users. Your instructions should be simple, clear, and easy to follow. 
5. Incorporate Visuals: Using images, icons, and animations can help make the tour more engaging and easier to follow. Visuals can guide users through the interface and demonstrate how to perform specific actions. This is useful for explaining complex features or workflows that might be difficult to describe in words alone.
6. Segment Your Audience: Not all users are the same. Use segmentation to create different tours for different user types or personas. For example, a beginner user might need a detailed introduction, while an advanced user may benefit from an in-depth tour of new features.
7. Progressive Disclosure: Don’t overload users with information right away. Introduce advanced features gradually as users become more comfortable with the product. This technique, known as progressive disclosure, ensures that users aren’t overwhelmed by complexity before they’re ready to handle it.
8. Gather Feedback: Continuously collect feedback on your product tours through app surveys or microsurveys. User feedback is invaluable for identifying areas for improvement and making iterative changes to enhance the overall onboarding experience. 
9. Measure Success: Utilize analytics to track the success of your product tours. Measure key performance indicators (KPIs) such as completion rates, user engagement, feature adoption, and time-to-value. 

Types of UI Patterns in Product Tours

Product tours can utilize a variety of UI patterns to guide users effectively through the product experience. The choice of UI pattern can have a significant impact on how users interact with the tour and how well they retain information.

1. Modals: Modals are great for drawing attention to important elements or tasks. They usually appear as pop-up windows that take up a large portion of the screen. Modals are effective for key messages, such as welcome screens, important announcements, or required actions. However, these pop-ups can be disruptive, so they should be used sparingly and only for critical points in the tour.
2. Interactive walkthroughs: These are step-by-step guides that walk users through key workflows in real time. For example, if you’re introducing a complex feature, an interactive walkthrough will guide the user through each step necessary to complete a task, reinforcing learning by doing. 
3. Tooltips: Tooltips are small, non-intrusive overlays that provide additional context when a user interacts with a specific UI element on the screen. Tooltips are perfect for guiding users through minor or hidden features, offering valuable insights without taking up too much space or interrupting the user’s workflow.
4. Hotspots: Hotspots are visual cues that encourage users to interact with specific parts of the product. These glowing or animated indicators can draw attention to features that users might not have noticed otherwise. Hotspots are a less intrusive way to guide users and can be highly effective for encouraging exploration.
5. Slideouts: Slideouts are sidebars that appear from the edge of the screen to provide additional information or options. Slideouts are particularly useful for offering detailed explanations or onboarding checklists, as they can deliver more content without cluttering the main interface. These are ideal for complex tasks where users might need more guidance than what a tooltip or modal can provide.

Incorporating a mix of these UI patterns can create a more engaging and intuitive product tour that caters to different user needs.

Comparing Product Tour Tools

Selecting the right product tour tool depends on your specific needs, budget, and the complexity of your product. Here’s a breakdown of the top options, each with its own strengths and weaknesses:

1. Userflow

Userflow is an all-in-one product tour solution that allows organizations to create seamless and effective product tours, walkthroughs, onboarding checklists, and tooltips—all without needing to code. Its intuitive no-code editor empowers teams to build interactive experiences quickly and customize them for different user segments.

Userflow is fast, flexible, and easy to use, allowing for rapid creation of custom product tours. It offers extensive customization options, making it adaptable to different user segments and use cases. Userflow helps users unlock value quickly and improves overall product engagement.

Userflow is Best For:

• Quickly setting up interactive walkthroughs.
• Customizing onboarding experiences based on user behavior.
• Teams looking for an affordable, scalable solution.

2. Appcues

Appcues provides tools for building onboarding flows and in-app messages without coding. It has the ability to integrate with a wide variety of other platforms. However, teams may find it less flexible when trying to fine-tune specific user journeys.

Appcues is Best For:

• Teams working with large tech stacks.
• Businesses with higher budgets.

3. UserGuiding

UserGuiding focuses on providing no-code walkthroughs and tooltips, offering the option to segment users for targeted onboarding. While it offers an accessible pricing model, it may lack the deeper customization options some teams require.

UserGuiding is Best For:

• Teams looking for basic user segmentation.
• Companies with straightforward onboarding needs.

4. Userpilot

Userpilot allows teams to create product tours and collect real-time feedback through microsurveys. Its strength lies in user behavior segmentation and contextual guidance, though teams with more complex technical needs may find limited integration options.

Userpilot is Best For:

• Teams needing user segmentation and targeting.
• Organizations with simpler tech stacks.

5. Userlane

Userlane offers tools for guiding users through complex workflows, which may be suited for enterprise software or products with more challenging learning curves. Its focus on interactive walkthroughs makes it useful for products requiring detailed user education.

Userlane is Best For:

• Businesses with complex workflows or enterprise-level software.
• Companies prioritizing user training over basic onboarding.

Integrating Product Tours with Your Onboarding Strategy

While product tours are a powerful tool for user onboarding, they work best when integrated into a broader onboarding strategy. Here are a few complementary tactics that can enhance the overall user experience:

1. Onboarding Checklists: Offering users a checklist of key tasks ensures they complete the essential steps required to get started. Onboarding checklists act as a roadmap, giving users a clear path to follow and preventing them from feeling lost or overwhelmed during the onboarding experience.
2. App Messaging: Timely, in-app messages can provide additional guidance or tips when users reach key milestones. These app messages can be triggered by specific user behaviors, helping to reinforce the lessons learned during the product tour. For example, if a user successfully completes a core task, an in-app message can offer suggestions for the next steps or highlight additional features to explore.
3. App Surveys: Collecting real-time feedback through app surveys or microsurveys enables you to measure user satisfaction and identify pain points. This data can be used to fine-tune your onboarding process and product tours, ensuring they meet the needs of your audience during the onboarding flow.

Real-World Examples of Great Product Tours

Many leading companies have successfully leveraged product tours to improve their user onboarding and drive product adoption. Here are a few examples:

1. Slack: Slack uses a combination of tooltips and modals to guide new users through its interface. The tour helps users understand how to create channels, send messages, and integrate third-party tools, all while allowing users to interact with the platform in real-time.
2. Airtable: Airtable’s interactive walkthroughs help users get started by guiding them through creating their first project. The tour demonstrates how to organize data, use templates, and collaborate with team members, offering users hands-on experience right from the start.
3. Canva: Canva combines product tours with short video tutorials to help users quickly learn how to design. The step-by-step guides are paired with visual examples, enabling users to follow along and create their first design while learning.
4. Asana: Asana’s product tour adapts based on user behavior, offering personalized guidance depending on the type of project users are creating. From setting up a personal task list or managing a team project, the interactive walkthrough provides relevant instructions tailored to their needs.
5. HubSpot: HubSpot breaks down its complex suite of tools into easy-to-follow, role-based product tours. Segmenting users based on their industry or job role lets HubSpot ensure that each user receives personalized onboarding that highlights the tools most relevant to their goals.

Measuring the Success of Your Product Tours

To ensure your product tours are effective, it’s essential to measure their success. Here are some important metrics to track:

• Completion Rates: How many users complete the product tour? High completion rates indicate that users find the tour helpful and easy to follow. Low completion rates may signal that the tour is too long, complicated, or not engaging enough.
• Time-to-Value: This metric measures how quickly users reach the point where they experience value from your product. A well-designed product tour should reduce the time-to-value by guiding users to key features quickly and efficiently.
• Feature Adoption: Are users engaging with the features highlighted in the tour? Tracking feature adoption helps you understand whether the product tour is successful in driving user behavior and encouraging exploration.
• User Feedback: Feedback gathered through app surveys or microsurveys provides valuable insights into the effectiveness of your product tours. Positive feedback indicates that users find the tour helpful, while negative feedback can highlight areas for improvement.

Product Tours Are Critical To Your Onboarding Strategy

Product tours provide a guided, interactive experience that helps users quickly understand and adopt your product. By following best practices, utilizing the right tools, and continuously measuring success, you can create product tours that not only improve the user experience but also drive higher activation, engagement, and retention rates.

Investing in a well-designed product tour tool like Userflow will ensure that your users are set up for the long term, leading to a happier, satisfied customer base.