Gets new users from signup to the first moment where the product clearly works for them, and keeps them coming back long enough to form a habit. Many trial users make up their mind early, often in the first session, so the work is to define that moment, cut everything in front of it, and use in-app guidance and email together to pull people through. The result is an activation definition, a redesigned first run, an email plan and a measurement plan.
When to use
- "Users sign up then disappear", "low activation", "trial-to-paid is weak", "design onboarding for our new app".
- Choosing between product-first, guided setup or demo-data first runs.
- Writing onboarding checklists, empty states and welcome emails.
- Not for: signup steps before the account exists (
cmo-signup-flow), upgrade screens and paywalls (cmo-paywalls), cancelling users (cmo-churn-prevention), or writing a full lifecycle email programme (cmo-email-sequences).

