{"id":231,"date":"2025-12-29T22:55:43","date_gmt":"2025-12-29T22:55:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev.radoila.com\/?p=231"},"modified":"2025-12-30T10:13:53","modified_gmt":"2025-12-30T10:13:53","slug":"reinventing-mazes-enterprise-offering-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radoila.com\/?p=231","title":{"rendered":"Crafting a guided onboarding journey: Unlock Maze’s full potential"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Maze has a three-plan structure. Users can sign up for a very-limited free plan in terms of features, self serve to upgrade to a medium Starter plan with a fraction of the features available on the Organization plan which unlocks the full potential of the platform, including advanced research types and premium leader features such as Interview Studies, advanced filters when hiring from our panel, and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Our data suggested that on the Free plan:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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55%<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

of ICPs start by creating their own study<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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45%<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

don\u2019t create a study<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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75%<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

of ICPs never get to a report as only 35% of those 55%<\/strong> who create a study, set it live and have a report generated and only 20%<\/strong> get to see the report.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Not getting to value<\/strong><\/h1>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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The above data essentially suggests very few ICPs who sign up for Maze on the free plan get to value.<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Additionally<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Users signing up to Maze to explore the tool had no visibility of core product-defining features, e.g. Interview studies,<\/strong> unless they upgraded to the Organization plan or spoke with sales as those were hidden from users on the free team<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Free plan lacked any structured onboarding guidance.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Each product team would add sporadic coachmarks that appeared inconsistently in varying UI depending on the team\u2019s needs. Users would end up with seeing several coachmarks at once which would cover the product UI causing confusion.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Users on the Free plan don\u2019t unlock Maze’s full potential.<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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HYPOTHESIS<\/h6>\n\n\n\n
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IF WE<\/h1>\n\n\n\n
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Increase visibility of our Organization-plan features<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Implement a freemium trial model which would allow users to see the Organization-plan features in action.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Introduce an onboarding experience which directs them from creating a study all the way to viewing and sharing a report.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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we can increase PQL s and increase number or ICPs contacting sales & converting to our higher plans.<\/h1>\n\n\n\n
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The goal was to create 40-50 leads per quarter from the self-serve experience across these three initiatives<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Aiming for the experience on the Free Maze plan to help individuals and teams looking for a user research platform, understand the myriad of research use cases, that Maze can be used for.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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HOW MIGHT WE<\/h6>\n\n\n\n
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Showcase our premium features on Free<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Or how can we cater for the 45% of our ICPs who sign up, but are not ready to build or set a study live.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, Maze\u2019s sign-up flow was generic and undifferentiated. It didn\u2019t reflect the breadth of the product \u2014 only the bare minimum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We redesigned it to do three things:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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We improved sign-up by showcasing premium features with updated visuals and adding a use-case question to gauge user intent and premium interest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Goals:<\/strong> Users immediately understood Maze offered far more than simple prototype tests & tracking interest in advanced use cases without friction to capture intent.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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We highlighted features in-product with targeted upgrade prompts to track interest and measure conversion rates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Goals:<\/strong> Do not hide features because they are not available – show and capture interest and intent.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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We created a premium demo experiences<\/strong> that Free users could explore safely. Short, contained environments that allowed them to \u201ctouch\u201d Maze\u2019s most powerful features without needing: a prototype, participants, sessions, a study setup or complex preparation.
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New sign-ups could explore new report and panel demos<\/strong>, experiencing participant recruitment and automated reports without setup.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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We introduced a demo for unmoderated studies, letting users experiment with features like card sorting, tree testing, and recruitment options while previewing automated reports.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Why<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Interview studies and Advanced panel filters were top reasons why customers opted for the top tier plans.Although paywalled, users can now actually see that we offered interview studies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Previously, users had to launch a study to access a report or explore our panel. Introducing demos allowed them to interact with a report without the full study setup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The demo not only skipped the setup process but also let users explore premium features like card sorting and tree testing. It also provided a preview of the prototype block without requiring a prototype setup.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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What happened & what we learned<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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The panel demo instantly became our best-performing paywall<\/strong>.
It confirmed that feature visibility directly influenced conversion.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Users loved the Sandbox \u2014 but not in the way we expected. They treated it as a reference tool<\/strong>, opening it repeatedly to understand Maze\u2019s structure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But conversion didn\u2019t come from there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This taught us something critical: Demos educate. Trials convert.<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Data<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Track feature interest during sign-up via use case selection.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Result:<\/strong> Users primarily came to Maze for its well-known unmoderated prototype testing, reflecting its previous positioning as a rapid prototyping tool.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Monitor interactions with premium features like Interview studies and paywall engagement to gauge curiosity and upgrade intent.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Result:<\/strong> We could do further improvements to our paywalls to drive better conversion.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Measure sandbox engagement, including interaction rates, time spent, and interest in premium features like card sorting and tree testing.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Assess sandbox effectiveness by tracking conversions from exploration to actual study setup and sales inquiries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Result:<\/strong> The demo study wasn\u2019t driving conversions but was frequently referenced, suggesting users saw it as a reference tool. This raised doubts about investing in an interview study demo and supported moving directly to a trial.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Evaluate report and panel demo engagement to understand user interest and its impact on sales conversions.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Result:<\/strong> The panel demo was our best-performing paywall, confirming our hypothesis that it\u2019s a highly sought-after feature with strong conversion potential.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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THE TRIAL<\/h6>\n\n\n\n
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How might we<\/h1>\n\n\n\n
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Allow users to experience our Organization-level features in real life scenarios<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

We opted for a reverse trial model.<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Reverse trials let users experience the paid product upfront, then downgrade to freemium if they don\u2019t convert. The trial period acts as a conversion trigger, while others delay purchasing at minimal cost. According to Elena Verna, this model sees a 15% trial-to-paid conversion, with another 25% continuing on the free tier.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Navigate them post sign-up to the AHA moment <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

ICPs are not getting to AHA even if they do set a study live.<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

We needed a way to prompt users to explore premium features, ensuring they didn\u2019t miss out while guiding them to value at crucial points in their research journey.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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WHERE WE LANDED<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

You have limited time to experience the full Maze \u2014 make it count. 30-day limit OR<\/strong> 3 study created whichever comes first.<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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ONBOARDING<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Crafting a Guided Onboarding Journey<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With trials, demos, and updated sign-up in place, we finally had the ecosystem to design a cohesive onboarding journey<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The journey needed to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  • guide users through Maze\u2019s full workflow<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • help them understand how studies come together<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • guide them toward reports [AHA]<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • surface premium features at the right moments<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • explain Maze\u2019s value in context, not abstraction<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • remove the guesswork from exploring the product<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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    How the experience came together?<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

    * I was working with already established design system, UI and brand language.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    Adjustments were made to the sign-up flow assets.Including the addition of an extra use case screen to gather information about how users utilize Maze.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    We redefined coachmarks to ensure they are consistent in placement, progressive in guidance, non-disruptive to the user experience, lightweight in UI design, and fully accessible. Essentially replacing years of disjointed, ad-hoc coachmarks created by different teams, consolidating them into a single, coherent onboarding framework.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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