Reviving User Conversions: A Case Study on ClassHero

ClassHero is a startup where John Gilmore works as the Sales Operations Manager. His role involves identifying opportunities for product improvement and ensuring conversions are happening as expected. The company offers an app that allows teachers to assign math homework, which students log in and complete, and teachers then review. The onboarding process for new users is a multistep process, and it is crucial for the company that users complete it in their first session. The company is constantly launching new features and building new functionality, making it essential to stay on top of any new issues or opportunities that arise.

John Gilmore, the Sales Operations Manager at ClassHero, a startup, was tasked with identifying opportunities for product improvement and ensuring conversions were happening as expected. However, he noticed a significant drop in the onboarding rates on the site, from 75% to 39%, a 48% drop. This was a major concern as users who didn't complete onboarding in their first session rarely returned to the app. The drop in conversions was alarming, and the cause was unknown due to recent product changes. John needed to identify the problem quickly to prevent further loss in sales. He turned to Hotjar, a tool he had installed a few months earlier, to analyze session recordings and identify the issue.

John used Hotjar to watch session recordings of users on the site. He identified several bugs that were causing users to abandon the onboarding process. One issue was an overwhelming autocomplete feature during the onboarding flow where users had to search for their school. The autocomplete feature would display over 4,000 results after entering the first two numbers of their school ZIP code, causing users to give up. Another issue was a dropdown form that wouldn't minimize after the user entered their answer, hiding the next question. Lastly, teachers using the single sign-on service couldn't change their grade during onboarding, preventing them from assigning work for the proper grade. John used Hotjar's Highlights feature to group these issues, prioritize them, and share them with his team. The Chief Product Officer prioritized these fixes, and they were resolved quickly. John also set up a Slack channel to monitor priority recordings in Hotjar and coordinate with the team for any new issues.

• The use of Hotjar and its Highlights feature allowed John to quickly identify and prioritize the issues causing the drop in onboarding rates. This led to an almost instantaneous solution, with the Chief Product Officer prioritizing these fixes. The use of Hotjar also allowed John to convince the entire company to prioritize his identified issues. Furthermore, John set up a Slack channel to monitor priority recordings in Hotjar, enabling him to stay on top of any new issues or opportunities. This proactive approach not only helped in resolving the immediate issues but also in identifying opportunities for improvement. For instance, after watching hundreds of recordings, John noticed that first-time teachers wanted to preview what the homework would look like for students before assigning it. This insight led to a layout update, making the homework preview section more visible, which resulted in a significant increase in the percentage of new teachers hitting the critical next milestone after onboarding.

• Identified and fixed several bugs causing a 48% drop in onboarding rates

• Reverted the 48% onboarding drop in just a week due to the changes

• The percentage of new teachers who hit the critical next milestone after onboarding more than doubled, from 30% to 65%