Onboarding project | The KEN

I've picked The KEN for my Onboarding project, as I did acquisition with the same product.

Elevator pitches and context setting I have already covered in the Acquisition project, please reference to it, incase it is required.

Please feel free to skip to ICP definition for this project!

Let's Begin!

About The KEN

Why pick The KEN?

My story of discovering their unique style of writing

1. It was in 2022 when I first discovered KEN through my college placement preparation materials where a college senior had put down The KEN into reference materials. Also, when I spoke on a call with a few more seniors- majority mentioned it being a useful subscription to have since I was primarily targeting business roles.
2. With a strong word of mouth, I finally decided to give this a shot and I purchased the subscription while being a college student. I was already having a newspaper subscription so switching to KEN’s content was not too difficult for me as I had a habit of reading content which had longevity.
3. Impact? It very quickly became a part of my morning routine, where I spared 20 mins everyday to go through the article in detail. I waited very week to read The NUTGRAF edition by Praveen Gopal Krishnan.

The KEN’s performance till date

1. Total Subscribers: 5,00,000+
2. Average Rating of 4.8/5 (iOS) and 4.7/5 (Android)
3. Their Journey
4. 1. Raised Angel rounds in 2017-18 with notable participants like Vijay Shekhar Sharma
   2. Raised Series A $1.5M in 2018
   3. Raised Series B $2M in 2023

A room full of opportunity

1. Niche content with lower barriers to entry- While newspapers were rewarded for more information, digital is all about specialization, given that the time of the user is scarce. However, there is immense scope of exploration here as only 2% of the total user time spent on digital news was via Digital natives.
2. The Ad funded model of news has been disrupted- Globally the Ad funded model has been on decline as seen in the chart below. The revenue model of publishers has been disrupted globally and India is currently observing a similar trend at a smaller magnitude.

3. Trust in news has fallen in line with global trends:

Trust in news has dropped over time, with

social media being the least trustworthy channel. Not surprisingly, more Indian users are accessing news on Social Media (24%). Consumers seeking news are often flooded with advertisements and promotional content that looks like news. Enter The KEN, which cuts through all the BS, has no banners and Ad model, just a subscription based offering behind a paywall.

4. Emergence of new models in Digital can either aid as well as harm KEN’s business model: News aggregator models gives access for consumers to diverse news on multiple topics. If the ability to invest in news increases, unbundling and micropayments may come in the limelight but can hurt quality if it cannibalizes subscribers.

Let’s talk the ICP

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Define the ideal customer profile (ICP)?​

Define user goals and JTBD​

User Goals

JTBD Prioritization

What are the factors on which we can validate a JTBD and also prioritize for current impact?

1. Relevance: How relevant is the JTBD to solve a user pain point?
2. Urgency: How critical each JTBD is for the user's immediate success or problem-solving?
3. Complexity: Evaluating the complexity involved in addressing each JTBD
4. TAM: No. of users who will get benefitted from it
5. Alignment with Long Term Goals: How each JTBD fits in the KEN's long term vision.

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The KEN's recent development has seen the following major updates:

1. Expanding Content Depth and Breadth: The KEN has been continually enhance the quality and depth of its content by exploring new topics, industries, regions and even delivery mechanism (their recent podcast focus is getting better response previous to their failed attempts)
2. Growing Subscriber Base and Market Reach: The KEN has acquired a lot of users in recent times from campuses and corporates signifying a shift towards more reporting based articles than argumentative style.
3. Leveraging technology for enhanced UX: The KEN has been utilizing technology to offer an enhanced and personalized user experience, making it easier for subscribers to access and engage with content.

Based on the KEN's recent moves, it becomes very adamant that the best ICP for us will be to solve for The Curious Connector:

1. Relevance: Ramesh needs to make well-informed strategic decisions for his company. Insightful content related to his industry is directly relevant to his role.
2. Urgency: Ramesh currently has other options but most of them provide surface level content and not really covers depth
3. Complexity: Not that complex to design for these JTBD as The KEN's expertise is aligned on the same lines
4. TAM: Of the other 2 ICPs this has the Highest TAM with a decent willingness to pay, signifying huge opportunity to capitalize.
5. Alignment with KEN's vision: This ICP is tech-savvy, decent willingness to pay, and explores breadths of content on this platform.

Onboarding Teardown

Onboarding teardown is attached in the below PDF

Assumptions:

1. User is acquired through Organic Search
2. User persona is the Curious Connector

Onboarding Teardown The KEN.pdf

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Defining your Activation Metric

Hypothesis 1: When users complete the first article within the first session, they have a higher probability of converting into a paid subscription.

Reasoning: The completion of the first full article signals that the user is engaged with the content. If a user reads an entire article, it suggests that they find value in the type and depth of content offered by The Ken. This engagement is critical because it shows that the user is willing to invest time in the content, which is a precursor to subscribing. The quality and relevance of the first article read can set the tone for the user's future interactions with the platform.

Metrics:

Hypothesis 2: Sharing an article within the first week of the trial period indicates strong engagement and advocacy

Reasoning: If a user shares an article with their network, it indicates a high level of satisfaction and perceived value from The Ken's content. Sharing is a strong indicator of user endorsement and implies that the user sees the content as insightful enough to be passed on to others. This behavior not only signals activation but also aids in organic user acquisition through word of mouth.

Metrics:

Hypothesis 3: Saving or bookmarking an article within the first three days of the trial period suggests that the user finds the content valuable

Reasoning: The act of saving or bookmarking articles suggests that the user intends to return to the content later. This behavior indicates a deeper level of engagement, where the user sees ongoing value in the content. Users who save articles are more likely to become long-term subscribers, as they are actively building a personal library of valuable resources.

Hypothesis 4: Opening and clicking through an email newsletter within the first week of receiving it indicates sustained interest, which is a strong predictor of trial-to-subscription conversion

Reasoning: Subscribing to and interacting with email newsletters (e.g., opening, clicking links) demonstrates ongoing interest and engagement with The Ken's content. Email engagement can be a critical activation metric because it reflects the user's commitment to staying informed via The Ken's updates. Consistent interaction with newsletters can lead to a higher likelihood of converting to a paid subscriber.

Hypothesis 5: Reading 3 articles within the first week of the trial period significantly increases the likelihood of converting to a paying subscriber

Reasoning: Users who read multiple articles within the first week are likely finding consistent value in The Ken's content. This behavior indicates that the user is exploring various topics and getting a feel for the breadth and depth of the content offered. The more content a user consumes, the more likely they are to appreciate the unique insights and analyses, which increases their willingness to pay for continued access once the trial ends. Additionally, engaging with multiple articles may build a habit of returning to the platform, further solidifying the perceived value.

Metrics to Track:

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Thank you!

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Define the ideal customer profile (ICP)?

Do user calls to understand the customer for your product and come up with two ICP's.

(there are separate tables for both B2C and B2B products, put down your your ICP’s in a Table Format, use this as a reference.
This table makes it super clear for anyone to understand who your users are and what differentiates them. It also helps bring out the various details you have gone into understanding your users better)

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B2C Table

B2B Table:

Define user goals and JTBD

Understand user goals and their JTBD on the platform. When looking at user goals, look at 4 themes, user goals will always be within one of the four.

1. Personal Goals
2. Social Goals
3. Functional Goals
4. Financial Goals

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Do user research to validate or invalidate these goals.

You want to talk to users and understand why they're signing up. What's the end goal for them and for what job are they "hiring" your product for.

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Onboarding Teardown

What should the teardown include?

The entire onboarding process. Just like we did in the deep dive session —

• Start right from your homepage or App listing page
• Take screenshots of every single page and interaction throughout the onboarding right till activation.
• Start by putting yourself in your customer's shoes. Have empathy for their pain points and then analyze the page/screen.

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Here’s a list of things we’d recommend you evaluate your onboarding on:

• Does this page/screen help get my job done?
• How am I feeling while being on boarded for this product?
• What part of the onboarding experience is giving me that aha moment?
• What screens would you change/add and why?

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Also, evaluate your onboarding on the cognitive biases.

Don't worry, you don't have to include biases but it's a good practice to start tagging things to their respective biases.
(We identify issues when we are able to tag/name them, yes another bias)​

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Defining your Activation Metric

Hypothesize at least 5 activation metrics that could be there for your product. (More the better)

Example format for your hypothesis:

Hypothesis 1: <Enter your one/two lines>

Reasoning: In about 5-6 lines explain why this could be an activation metric

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After this, mention in detail all the metrics you'd be tracking​

Examples:

• D1, D7, and D30 retention:
• DAU / MAU
• Subscription rate vs retention
• Average TAT
• User Cohorts
• Acquisition source etc
• Product reviews

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