Time to value — Nr. 117
Issue 117: An important concept to delight new users
Story:
Have you tried Threads from Instagram? The first-time experience is so seamless that creating an account takes under 5 minutes. Once you've signed up, you can instantly see feeds from many people and start building your following.
Threads have a short time to value: sign up → get value from the feed quickly.
Sure, there’s a lot to improve about Threads. But we can learn from how they make the signup process effortless. I bring this up because today’s topic is about Time to value.
Time to value is the time it takes for new customers to get value from your product. When product designers fail to understand this, they add unnecessary steps for new users, like slideshows or endless tooltips that users will skip.
Takeaway for you:
01 - Define the value. It's important to reduce the time to value, but first, you must align with your team about what "value" means. What is the basic value, and what amazing value can users get after that?
02 - Simplify the first-time experience for users. Remove anything unnecessary from the user flow. Maybe users don't need to log in at the beginning. How can we help new users experience the product's value sooner?
03 - Make it emotionally engaging. Many people focus on making things work, but making the first-time experience exciting is equally important. Make it exciting if possible.
04 - Long Time to Value. Some products may take a long time to value, especially if users need to do a lot of setups upfront. Excellent product builders understand this and collaborate with the ops or sales team to make the experience as smooth as possible.
One quote to ponder
Life is trying things to see if they work. -Ray Bradbury
We need to be brave. To explore and tinker with new things. Otherwise, it’s going to be boring. Stay focused on your work, and spend 10% of your time exploring new topics, hobbies, or ideas.
Personal note
I love my last trip to Japan. I spent most of my time walking around the city.
I went to Kyoto → Kawaguchiko → Tokyo. I took this photo while walking around Kawaguchiko with my wife. Everywhere is so beautiful. I wish I could live in Japan one day. Exploring the whole country sounds amazing.
Have a wonderful weekend!
PS I’d love to connect if you’re living in Japan and nice enough to give insights and your experience living there :)
PSS You know you can ask questions, right? Reply to this email.