When a product is hard to understand, people can give up on you before getting started. Customers don’t know what to do first. Even your team may have a tough time explaining how things work.
But you can make it easier. A few small changes go a long way. Things like clear steps, simple words, feedback from customers, and short demo videos can help.
In this blog, you’ll learn what makes onboarding feel tricky and how you can fix it. We’ll share easy tips to make the process smoother for everyone.
When a product has a lot of features or steps, it can be hard for people to know what to do. They might feel lost right away. If your team uses too much technical language, things get even more confusing.
It’s not just the customer who struggles. Your team might struggle to explain every detail in the same way each time. That makes it harder to give a smooth, helpful experience.
Some onboarding processes take a long time to finish. The average onboarding for a new corporate client can take up to 100 days. That’s a long time to wait before someone feels ready to use your product with confidence.
The longer it takes to get started, the more likely people are to lose interest or get frustrated.
The first step to making complex product onboarding easier is simple: listen. When you open the door for feedback, customers will tell you what’s confusing. This helps you fix problems early instead of guessing what’s going wrong later.
Building a feedback loop helps customers feel heard. It also gives your team real insights to improve the onboarding process. Over time, this makes your product easier to learn and more enjoyable to use.
Here’s how to do it, step by step:
Start asking for feedback during onboarding, not after. A good time to ask is right after a major step, like setting up their account, completing their first task, or using a key feature.
Keep the questions short and easy to answer. You can ask:
Use simple tools like Google Forms, HubSpot surveys, or in-app popups to collect answers. If you do onboarding over video or live calls, leave a few minutes at the end to ask these questions out loud.
Ensure customers know their input matters. Add a line like, “We’re still improving our setup steps, and your feedback helps us make things better.”
Once you’ve gathered feedback, review it often, weekly if possible. Don’t wait until there’s a major issue. You’re looking for patterns. For example:
You can track this feedback in a shared document or customer success tool. Tag common themes like "setup confusion," "missing info," or "needs visual help" to stay organized.
This helps your team stay focused on what matters most, instead of just guessing what users need.
When you make a change based on feedback, tell people. It shows you're paying attention and builds trust. You can do this in a few ways:
For example: “Thanks to feedback from our newest users, we’ve added a checklist to help you finish setup faster.”
Even small messages like this can make a big impact. They turn a one-time survey into an ongoing conversation, and that’s how real improvement happens.
The second way to make onboarding easier is to show, not just explain. Demo videos help people follow along, step by step. They take the pressure off your team and give customers more control.
This is especially useful when you're onboarding complex services. Videos break things down in a way that’s easier to understand than long emails or help docs.
55% of people say they’ve returned a product because they didn’t understand how to use it. That’s a huge number and a big reason to use video.
Here’s how to make your demo videos count:
One video should teach one thing. That keeps it simple and easier to follow.
If someone just signed up, give them a quick welcome video showing how to set up their account. Later, you can send short videos that explain how to do more advanced tasks.
Here are a few ideas for focused videos:
You don’t need to make it fancy. A screen recording with a voiceover is enough, as long as it’s clear and friendly.
Speak in a casual tone, like you’re helping a friend. Avoid technical terms unless you explain them right away.
Instead of saying “navigate to the user settings page,” try “click your profile photo, then choose Settings.”
Even better, tie each step to something useful. For example:
Real examples help people connect the tool to their day-to-day work. Also, use helpful visuals. Add zoom-ins, arrows, or highlights so viewers know exactly where to click. Use subtitles or text on-screen for key steps so people can follow along without sound.
The best videos are the ones customers actually see. If they can’t find it or don’t know it exists, it’s not going to help.
Put videos in the flow of onboarding, right at the point where customers might get stuck or have questions. For example:
The goal is to place each video right where the customer needs it. Try to make it feel like the video is showing up just in time.
Your product will grow and change over time, so your videos should, too. If a button moves, a screen looks different, or a feature is renamed, update the video as soon as possible. A small change like that can throw off a new user.
Use customer feedback to keep track of which videos work and which don’t. If people keep asking about something that’s already in a video, it might mean the video is too long, too fast, or unclear.
You don’t need to redo everything from scratch. Just keep your files organized and editable so you can swap out clips or update voiceovers when needed.
Once you’ve set up a strong feedback loop and added demo videos, the next step is to make everything else easier to follow. Sometimes it’s the little things that make the biggest difference. Clear steps, simple words, and easy access to help can go a long way.
63% of customers say they consider the company’s onboarding program when deciding whether to buy. That means a smoother onboarding experience doesn’t just help retention. It also helps you win more deals in the first place.
Here are more ways to simplify complex product onboarding:
Don’t give customers everything all at once. Split the onboarding into clear, bite-sized tasks.
Use checklists, progress bars, or guided steps to show what comes first, what’s next, and what’s done. This gives customers a clear path to follow.
For example:
This helps people stay focused and feel a sense of progress, even if the full setup takes a while.
Skip the fancy words. Choose the ones people say.
Instead of “authenticate your credentials,” say “log in to your account.” Instead of “deploy the integration,” say “connect your tool.”
You can also explain new or advanced terms with a short pop-up or hover tip. And if you’re using a chatbot or guide, write it like a real person talking. This makes customers feel more comfortable and less overwhelmed.
Some people like to explore and learn on their own. Give them a place to find clear answers anytime.
Start with articles and videos that answer the most common questions during onboarding. Keep each one short and specific. A good rule is one question per page.
Examples:
Organize your content by topics or tasks, and add a search bar to make it easy to find.
Even with clear steps and guides, some people still need a real person to talk to. That’s normal.
You can schedule short welcome calls, offer live chat during setup, or host weekly Q&A sessions for new customers. Even a 15-minute check-in can build trust and answer key questions.
If you don’t have time for live calls, try adding a quick message that says, “Need help? Chat with us or book a setup call.” The goal is to make sure people never feel stuck alone.
Helping customers get started with a complex product doesn’t have to feel overwhelming. Listen to their feedback, show how things work with short videos, and keep each step simple and clear to build their confidence.
A smoother experience means fewer support tickets, happier users, and better long-term retention. Onboarding is your first chance to show customers you care about their success, so make it count. Even if your product is complicated, the path to using it shouldn’t be.
Keep refining as you go. The easier you make it to get started, the more likely people are to stay. And when customers feel supported early on, they’re more likely to become long-term champions for your product.
Origin 63 helps growing teams use HubSpot to build smarter, more strategic onboarding systems. From automated checklists to in-app videos and feedback tools, we’ll help you make onboarding simple, scalable, and effective. Let’s do it right together.