Onboarding project | Mindvalley

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Mindvalley is a self-improvement education brand that offers online courses and programs focused on personal growth.

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Their mission is to transform people's lives through self-learning and reaching their full potential. They view traditional education as lacking in important areas like personal development and well-being.

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They offer a variety of online courses created by prominent figures in various self-improvement fields, helping in areas of relationship, entrepreneurship, personal growth etc. Their app functions as a hub to access these courses and potentially connect with a community or mentorship depending on the program. They have a customer base spanning over 100 countries, indicating a worldwide audience.

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I've been a core user for the past four years, started with sharing the subscription with my sister and then my company sponsoring for the product. I primarily used it for meditation and so a quest when I'm facing a challenge in a certain aspect, whether related to understanding myself better, getting better at work or managing relationships. I agree, some of the gyaan is quite generic and some is extremely EXTRA lol. But I do enjoy their meditations.

However, more than the quality of the courses, I also really enjoy their design & UI sense (and Performance Marketing, but Acquisition Project is over!). It really helps provide a premium experience and helps them charge WAY too much from their users. Therefore - making it ideal for my Onboarding project.

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Understanding the space of wellness - physical, mental and spiritual.

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Global Self-Improvement Market is poised for significant growth from 2023 to 2032, driven by the increasing emphasis on personal development, mental well-being, and lifelong learning.

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The market is expected to achieve a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of approximately 8% during this period. In 2023, the market is estimated to be valued at USD 41.2 Billion, projected to reach USD 81.6 Billion by 2032.

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The self-improvement industry caters to individuals and organizations seeking personal growth, skill enhancement, and overall well-being. It encompasses a wide range of categories, including personal development, health and wellness, career and education, relationships, lifestyle, and spirituality.

• Rising stress fuels demand for self-help programs in mindfulness and emotional intelligence.
• Lifelong learning is the new normal, with courses on leadership and communication.
• Remote work challenges are addressed with time management and work-life balance tools.
• Celebrities normalize personal growth, creating a wider audience for self-improvement resources.
• Forward-thinking companies invest in employee development through self-help programs.

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Mindvalley Subscription:

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Monthly = $29/month i.e. 2400 INR/month approx

Yearly = $99/year = 8000 INR/year approx

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How Mindvalley is different:

• Focus on personal development and well-being rather than traditional subjects
• Quest-based approach – programs start on a set date and are completed with a cohort of fellow learners 
• A feeling of community – your learning journey is supported by your peers and the wider Mindvalley network
• Daily microlearning – powerful 20-minute daily sessions that fit into any schedule and promote tangible, incremental growth
• Unique self-assessment which allows you to honestly establish a baseline, track your progress and receive curated personalized learning suggestions.

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What Mindvalley needs to improve:

• Pricing: Mindvalley's pricing might be a barrier for some in India compared to competitors like Unacademy and Udemy.
• Holistic Development: While Mindvalley offers courses in various areas, it might lack the specific focus on relationships compared to platforms like BetterHelp (therapy) or platforms offering couple's counseling.
• Global vs. Indian Context: While global instructors and content can be valuable, the lack of Indian context could be a disadvantage for some. Innerhalb addresses this gap by offering courses with a relatable Indian perspective.
• Niche Audience: Mindvalley caters to individuals seeking high-quality, in-depth personal development content at a premium cost.

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Mindvalley has different types of customer relationships:

1. Mass-market consumers who pay for the app subscription.
2. The second type of people have more capacity to spend and purchase Mindvalley offline events, certification courses, etc.
3. B2B where they work with organisations to offer their employees access to the platform.

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Insight from the interviews with power users: Mindvalley is slowly shifting to spend more time, effort and money on higher ticket value products, i.e. certification courses, offline experiences, lifestyle products etc.

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For the purpose of the case, we will only focus on consumers who purchase the Mindvalley platform subscription.

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You can access the user interviews (with retained / power users) here.

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Take a look at the customer journey map for Mindvalley users:

• User is acquired via word of mouth or performance marketing (i.e. on Instagram, Facebook, Google, and YouTube)
• He/she visits the website. Mindvalley asks the user to define their core goals, gives them a score, and gives them access to the platform. (Notice the first "Aha moment" is that it does not ask to sign up in the first stage, it tries to solve for JTBD. Their tech appears and the UI/UX interface is consistent, clear, and convincing.)
• It gives an option to sign up to try the experience free of cost (with some limitations). Users also have an option to do this experience on their mobile app.
• While there are emails to help the user understand the benefits of a Mindvalley subscription, the focus is still to keep providing value.
• Another Aha moment is when they get invite to exclusive webinars, i.e. Mindvalley Live and Mindvalley Masterclasses. This drives user engagement and builds more trust that Mindvalley will solve for the JTBD.
  

How did this happen?

Mindvalley laid out AHA moments across the customer journey that progressively earned user trust and proved at different occurrences that the product, Mindvalley subscription will solve what its hired for.

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• Linked here: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1R54zt8_DwJrNRN4VmKqrUAD54utWfY70YgoEFDPazfA/edit?usp=sharing

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Given Mindvalley is a freemium offering, the activation could be in 2 ways:

1. Help convert sign ups into paid users
2. Activating paid users to engage on the platform
   
   For the purpose of the case study, let's focus on #1.
   
   Let us start with the north star:
   
   When is a user called an activated user?
   It is when the user would know the core value of the product and has experienced the "aha moment".
   
   So, for Mindvalley, the Activation Metrics would be:

For a freemium product, the next question is, number of blocks created to help the user become a paid user. For Mindvalley, this would be applicable in different features of the app.

Early Engagement:

• Account Completion Rate: (% of users completing profiles and their Life Mastery Score) - Gauges initial platform exploration and shows they have their goals identified.
• Micro-Completion Rate: (% completing one video from a Quest / one meditation session) - Shows early engagement with core learning elements.
• Content Consumption Depth: (Avg. time spent on one Quest) - Indicates initial interest and content format preference. Email drip campaign can follow to nurture their interest in the particular course.
  

Learning & Progress:

• Module Completion Rate: (% completing individual modules) - Measures progress and content comprehension.
• Habit Formation: (Daily/Weekly login frequency) - Tracks user commitment to regular learning.
• Goal Setting & Tracking Activity: (Usage of goal-setting tools) - Shows user investment in self-improvement journey.
  

Community & Support:​

• Community Forum Participation: (% of users posting/replying) - Measures peer-to-peer learning and community engagement.
• Survey Responses: Short feedback triggers at key points during onboarding to see if the experience matches their expectations.
  

Additional Considerations:

• Segment user data by demographics, course type, and signup source for deeper insights. (Helps tailor onboarding strategies for specific user groups)
• Track user behavior beyond the free trial to measure long-term retention and platform usage.
• A/B test different onboarding elements (e.g., email sequences, welcome messages) to optimize user engagement.
  

By tracking these metrics, Mindvalley can gain a comprehensive understanding of user behavior during onboarding. This data can be used to refine the onboarding process, improve user experience, and ultimately increase user engagement and retention on the platform.

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This is what my Onboarding screen looks like (as an unpaid user).

Pros: ✅

• It says recommended for you & your new programs - helps with JTBD.
• It has my score, which acts as a reminder to why I signed up for the app.

Cons ❌

• It has no demo to understand where to begin. Causes confusion about what to start with.

Recommendation

• It should have an assistant that guides you with the platform interface and helps activate the user. For example:
• • It should first start with where the quests are, and what do they mean? Second, it should recommend their most popular quest for the goal THEY signed up for. For example: If they are looking to do Better Meditation -> Suggest Silva Mindset course by Vishen Lakhani. This allows the user to see the quality.
  • Second, move to Meditation, and then ask them to experience the meditations.
  • Lastly, move them to the community page and ask them to introduce themselves. This could be a network of New People at Mindvalley. This not only makes the user comfortable to use the platform, but also solves for helping them find more like themselves (and the community piece is an area that Mindvalley is struggling with!).
    
    THEY SHOULD NOT ASSUME THAT THE USER UNDERSTANDS THE FLOW. Guide them to experience the app for ideal onboarding experience.

• Daily notifications, email drip sequence that prompt user to the goal they signed up for.
• An automated message by the support group from the Quest they signed up for, in T+3 days, asking if they are facing any issues with the app.