FREE TEMPLATE

Activation Metrics Guide

Drive user success with essential onboarding metrics

The Activation Metrics Guide is a step-by-step tool to help you create a more user-friendly onboarding process. By using this guide, you’ll be able to understand where new users get value from your product, identify any roadblocks, and make their journey smoother.

GrowthX

GrowthX

This is built for

Growth Teams

Focused on user acquisition and retention, needing clear metrics to measure and improve the initial user experience effectively.

Product Managers

Responsible for the user journey, requiring insights into activation to enhance onboarding and drive long-term engagement.

Marketers

Need to understand user activation to optimize campaigns and messaging for attracting and retaining valuable users successfully.

What is the Activation Metrics Guide?

The Activation Metrics Guide is a step-by-step tool to help you create a more user-friendly onboarding process. By using this guide, you’ll be able to understand where new users get value from your product, identify any roadblocks, and make their journey smoother.

Here’s what’s inside the guide:

‍ 1. Setting Up Key Actions – You’ll start by defining a few key actions (or metrics) that signal when users are engaging. With examples and guiding questions, the guide makes it easy to choose the metrics that matter most for your product. ‍ 2. Tracking Suggestions – The guide provides a list of important metrics to track, from website visits to feature usage, along with tips on how to measure each one effectively. ‍ 3. Turning Data into Actions – As you gather information, the guide shows you how to use those insights to make improvements. Every suggestion is designed to help you tweak your onboarding experience based on real user behaviour.

How to Use the Guide

‍ This guide is designed to be easy to follow, even if you’re new to tracking metrics. Here’s a quick rundown of how to use it: ‍

  1. Choose Your Key Actions
Start by picking out a few actions that show when users are getting value from your product. The guide includes questions and examples to help you identify which actions are most important. ‍
  1. Use the Tracking Table
We’ve included a simple table with suggested metrics and tracking tools. Look through it, pick the metrics that make sense for you, and start setting up your tracking. ‍
  1. Make Use of Feedback and Cohort Databases
The guide includes sections for storing user feedback and grouping users by when they joined or which campaign brought them in. This lets you track how different user groups respond to onboarding. ‍
  1. Use What You Learn
As you collect data, use the guide’s tips to make small adjustments based on what works. Each insight will help you make the onboarding flow better and keep users engaged.

Why This Guide Makes a Difference

1. Clear View of User Engagement – By focusing on the right metrics, you’ll see what’s working in your onboarding flow and spot any areas where users might drop off. ‍ 2. Guided Adjustments – With built-in tracking suggestions and improvement tips, the guide helps you make meaningful tweaks to your process without the guesswork. ‍ 3. Efficient and Practical – The guide is set up to save you time and effort, with easy-to-follow steps and all the tools you need in one place. ‍

Activation Metrics Guide

Drive user success with essential onboarding metrics

Download Activation Metrics Guide

  • Identify key user activation actions.
  • Track onboarding success effectively now.
  • Improve user onboarding flow better.
  • Turn data into actionable insights.
  • Boost user retention early on.

Frequently Asked Questions

An activation metric is a key action or milestone that shows when a user is starting to find value in your product. These metrics are signs that the user is engaging meaningfully, making them essential for tracking onboarding success.
This guide breaks down the process into simple steps, helping you identify, track, and act on key user behaviors. It includes suggestions for specific metrics to track, tips on using tracking tools, and ways to turn insights into actionable improvements.
Absolutely! The guide is designed to be beginner-friendly, with clear explanations, examples, and instructions to help you get started, even if you’re new to tracking metrics.
Some suggested metrics may require basic analytics tools (like Google Analytics, Mixpanel, or Segment), but many can be tracked with simple data collection methods. The guide links to tools where relevant and offers alternative tracking suggestions.
The guide includes guiding questions to help you choose metrics that align with your onboarding goals. By answering questions about user commitment, value realisation, and retention, you can find the metrics that best reflect success for your product.

✦

Explore Templates

✦

Go-to-market template

Go-to-market document template with sections for strategy and tactical planning.

Zepto ICP Template

Zepto ICP template for defining and prioritizing ideal customer profiles for Zepto.

Social Media Post & Engagement Tracker

Tracker for managing, scheduling, and analyzing social media posts and engagement metrics.

Resurrection Campaign Design Workbook

Workbook to design and implement resurrection campaigns for inactive users.

Referral Design Workbook

Workbook for designing effective referral programs and tracking performance.

Product Manager Resume Bundle

Resume bundle template with 5 specialized product manager resumes.

PMF Workbook

PMF workbook template for evaluating product-market fit.

Monetisation Readiness Checklist

Checklist template for evaluating product readiness for monetisation.

Monetisation Framework

Monetisation framework template for building actionable revenue strategies.

Microsoft’s PRD Template

Microsoft PRD template for product goal-setting and feature definition.

Job Description Template

Growth manager job description template for attracting qualified candidates.

Intercom’s JTBD Template

Intercom JTBD template for prioritizing and solving customer problems.

Patience—you’re about to be impressed.