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Glossary
Product concepts

What is Activation?

Activation is the specific milestone in the user journey where a customer realizes the core value proposition of your product. It is a measurable behavior that distinguishes a user who has successfully onboarded from one who has merely signed up, serving as a strong predictor of long-term retention.

When to use it

Teams use activation metrics to identify friction points during the initial user experience and trial phases. Defining an activation event helps product managers focus on the 'Time to Value' (TTV), allowing them to prioritize features that help users reach their goals faster and solve high early-stage churn.

Example

A SaaS team identifies that their activation event is a user creating three tasks and inviting one teammate within their first 48 hours. They discover that while they get 1,000 signups per month, only 200 reach this activation milestone. By simplifying the invite flow and adding a 'Getting Started' checklist, they increase their activation rate to 35%, which correlates with a 15% improvement in their three-month retention rate.

How Planet Roadmap helps with Activation

Planet Roadmap allows you to track activation as a Key Result within the OKR tree view, making user success a visible part of your high-level product strategy.

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FAQ

How is activation different from onboarding?
Onboarding is the educational process of teaching a user how to use your tool, whereas activation is the specific outcome or behavior that proves the user has actually found value. Onboarding is the path, and activation is the successful destination.
How do I identify the right activation event for my product?
Analyze your most successful long-term users to find the specific actions they took in their first few days that churned users did not. Use cohort analysis to find the behavior with the strongest correlation to 90-day retention, such as completing a specific workflow or integrating a data source.

Related terms

Time to ValueRetentionChurnCohort AnalysisProduct-Market FitMonthly Active Users (MAU)Customer Lifetime Value (LTV)Net Promoter Score (NPS)

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