Address new user drop-offs with automated mobile app onboarding using OneSignal

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In this recipe, we’ll cover how to activate new users with a targeted sequence of messages. Proactively addressing key stages of the new user journey helps reduce drop-offs and drive customer lifetime value. 

Turning new installs into active users and paid customers is a powerful way to drive better results with tools already at your fingertips. OneSignal’s 2024 State of Customer Engagement Report saw that apps that send onboarding messages report a 56.25% higher DAU/MAU ratio and see 24% higher install-to-purchase conversion rates.

This recipe walks through how to combine multiple channels to keep users on the right track and guide them to success based on their behavior. By using more than one channel,  you have the best chance of effectively engaging each user and driving them forward in their journey.

To do this, we’ll use Segment to create a cohort of new users and retain their message engagement data for future cohorts. And before we get started, first ensure your OneSignal <> Segment integration is enabled by following the steps outlined here.

Step 1: Identify new users in Segment

Be sure to have a tracking plan that aligns with your user journey. Use your new user data (account created, first session, login, etc.) to create a cohort to send to OneSignal.

For example, let’s say you are a Fintech app that helps users invest their money. In order to start trading, users must complete a “KYC” or know-your-customer process to verify their identity. This would be a great goal for new user onboarding. In this case, you would create a new user segment of customers who have recently created their account but haven’t completed KYC activation. You can also create a cohort of users that have successfully completed KYC, which we’ll use to personalize messaging later on.

Step 2: Send this cohort to OneSignal

For this recipe, you’ll need to ensure that your integration between Segment and OneSignal is enabled. Once that’s confirmed, you’ll be able to send this new cohort to OneSignal to use.

You’ll then be able to create a new Journey in OneSignal that targets this group of users going forward. Journeys lets you choose from push, email, in-app messaging, SMS, webhooks, and action logic to create cohesive, cross-channel sequences.

Step 3: Plan out your strategy

Before you start adding messages, identify your goal for this onboarding flow—is it for a user to reach a certain number of sessions? Start a free trial? Complete their profile? Once you identify the end goal, reverse engineer the paths they might take to get there and think through what stumbling blocks might get in their way. You can see some more examples of this in our Journeys documentation.

Returning to our fintech app example, the goal for this journey will be for new users to complete the KYC process.

Step 4: Build a cross-channel messaging Journey

Once you have a sense of what information or reminders they’ll need to be successful, it’s time to start adding your steps. 

Again, you have your choice of channels to use for your audience. In this case, for the fintech app, we can start by nudging users to complete their identity verification with a push notification. From there, we can add a wait of 1 day to give them time and then add a Yes/No branch based on if they’ve been approved and are now part of the KYC approved segment. 

If yes, then we’ll send them an encouraging message to keep up the good work and let them exit the Journey and move on to the next Journey in your funnel (for instance, trying to get them to complete their first trade). If not, then let’s follow up on another channel to re-target them. Send an email to nudge them to complete the KYC process and in-app message to reinforce how they can complete the process in the app. 

From this point, start checking in each day to see if they’ve met your goal with a Yes/No Branch based on if they’ve joined the “approved” cohort. You can do as many of these check-ins as you like, but be sure to space them out properly. You could even experiment with different channels by using a Split Branch to test email vs. push notifications, for instance. Once you set the journey live, be sure to check back in to monitor your results and proactively spot areas of optimization.

Step 5: Send message events back to Segment

Be sure to send your message engagement data back to Segment so you can create future cohorts based on this information. Try using these message events to create more targeted cohorts based on past behavior with various channels.

Wrapping up

Here’s what we’ve done in this recipe:

• Identified new users in Segment
• Sent this cohort to OneSignal
• Targeted these users with a cross-channel Journey in OneSignal
• Sent message events data back to Segment to