| name | onboarding-sequences |
| description | Design customer onboarding sequences — time-to-first-value, activation milestones, guided setup, onboarding emails. Triggers on: "onboarding sequence", "customer onboarding", "time to value", "activation flow", "new customer setup". |
| license | MIT |
| compatibility | Claude Code, Jesse, Codex, Hermes, Windsurf, OpenCode, Gemini CLI, Copilot, Zed, VS Code, Goose |
| metadata | {"version":"1.0.0","author":"LeadMagic","category":"lifecycle","tags":["lifecycle","onboarding","activation","time-to-value","customer-success"],"frameworks":["Lincoln Murphy Desired Outcome","Gainsight Onboarding Framework","Reforge — Lifecycle Marketing"]} |
Customer Onboarding Sequences
Overview
Onboarding is the highest-risk period in the customer lifecycle. 40-60% of
churn happens in the first 90 days. A structured onboarding sequence that
drives customers to their first value moment within 7 days reduces churn
by 30-50%. This skill covers design and execution.
Authoritative Foundations
- Lincoln Murphy Desired Outcome — Named methodology governing recommendations in this skill's process.
- Gainsight Onboarding Framework — Named methodology governing recommendations in this skill's process.
- Reforge — Lifecycle Marketing — Startup operating cadence — default alive, talk to users, launch fast.
When to Use
- "Build onboarding sequence"
- "Customer onboarding"
- "Reduce time to first value"
- "New customer setup"
- "Activation flow"
Lifecycle Stage
Activation (stage 3). Canonical definitions → references/gtm-lifecycle-stages.md.
Deep dive (TTA benchmarks, audit, anti-patterns) → references/activation-playbook.md.
Metrics & monitoring → references/lifecycle-metrics-by-stage.md, skills/analytics/gtm-metrics/templates/lifecycle-monitoring-dashboard.md.
Core Principle
Customers don't churn because your product is bad — they churn because they
never experienced the value. Your onboarding has one job: get them to the
"aha moment" as fast as possible.
Step-by-Step Process
Phase 1: Define the Aha Moment
Identify what "value realized" looks like for your product:
- Data product (LeadMagic, Clearbit): First successful enrichment or verification
- CRM: First deal moved through a pipeline stage
- Analytics: First dashboard built
- Sequencing (Outreach, Smartlead): First sequence sent
- General SaaS: Activation event that correlates with retention (find it in your data)
Measure: users who hit [Aha Moment] within 7 days have 80%+ 90-day retention.
Users who don't have <30% 90-day retention. Goal: 80%+ of new customers hit
Aha Moment in week 1.
Phase 2: Onboarding Journey Map
- Day 0 (Pre-launch): Welcome email. What to expect. How to prepare.
"Bring your [data/team/credentials] — here's what you'll need."
- Day 1 (Launch): Account created. Guided first action. "Do this one thing
right now and you'll see value in 5 minutes."
- Day 3 (First value): Follow-up email. "Did you try [first action]?
Here's what to do next."
- Day 7 (Deepen): Second value moment. "Now that you've [first action],
here's how to [advanced use case]."
- Day 14 (Habit): Usage check-in. "You've used [product] X times.
Teams like yours typically see [result] by now."
- Day 30 (Expansion): "Ready for the next level? Here are 3 features
power users love."
Phase 3: Multi-Channel Onboarding
- In-app: Guided tours, tooltips, checklists, progress bars. Don't show
everything — show the 3 steps to the aha moment.
- Email: Triggered based on in-app behavior. If they completed step 1,
email about step 2. If they haven't logged in for 3 days, re-engagement email.
- SMS/Slack (for high-touch): "Quick question about your setup — need help?"
- CSM call (enterprise): 30-minute kickoff call in week 1. Screen share
the setup. Answer questions.
Phase 4: Onboarding Content
- Quickstart guide: 1-page PDF. The 3 things to do in your first session.
Screenshots. 5 minutes to read.
- Setup video: 3-5 minute walkthrough. Show, don't tell.
- Template library: Pre-built configurations, templates, examples.
"Start from this template and you'll be live in 10 minutes."
- FAQ: "Common setup questions" — answer the 10 things every new user
asks. Link from onboarding emails.
Phase 5: Measurement & Optimization
- Activation rate: % of new customers who hit Aha Moment within 7 days
- Time to first value: Median days from signup to Aha Moment
- Onboarding completion: % who complete the full onboarding sequence
- Onboarding churn: % who churn during onboarding (first 30 days)
- A/B test: Onboarding email sequences, in-app flows, CSM touch points
- Kill: Onboarding steps that don't correlate with retention
Output Format
Onboarding sequence design with: aha moment definition, journey map, multi-channel
plan, content inventory, and optimization framework.
Quality Check
Before delivering, verify:
Common Pitfalls
- Skipping research. Building output without understanding the specific context. Fix: always gather required inputs before producing deliverables.
- Generic output. "Improve your process" without concrete steps. Fix: every recommendation must include a specific action, timeline, and owner.
- Missing framework citations. Advice without named authorities. Fix: ground every recommendation in a cited framework from a recognized authority.
Execution Artifacts
references/framework-notes.md — Named frameworks and reference tablestemplates/output-template.md — Deliverable shell for agent outputscripts/check-output.py — Lightweight deliverable validator
Canonical lifecycle (repo root):references/gtm-lifecycle-stages.md — Stage index (Activation row)references/activation-playbook.md — First value event, TTA, audit checklistreferences/lifecycle-metrics-by-stage.md — Activation metrics + thresholdsskills/analytics/gtm-metrics/templates/lifecycle-monitoring-dashboard.md — Weekly activation panelreferences/lifecycle-skill-index.md — Lifecycle cluster router
Related Skills
- cs-playbooks, churn-prevention, lifecycle-drips, customer-marketing, expansion-selling
