Onboarding users and collecting their basic details is one of the first and most important steps in your chatbot journey. In this blog, we will cover five common onboarding methods used by Glific NGOs to simplify how users join the chatbot, along with two methods to ease the collection of user details during the registration process.
We’ve also included two custom solutions from our NGO partners, Quest Alliance and Udhyam, that streamlined their registration data collection process.
User Onboarding methods:
- Sending Keyword to Chatbot number: Share the phone number and the keyword (message to be sent to start the conversation) for registration (or any flow you want users to access) with the users.
- Benefits-
- Most of the users are familiar with the idea of saving number and sending a message
- User will save the Chatbot number which makes it easy for them to search number on Whatsapp & interact with it in future
- Drawbacks-
- Multiple steps & (Comparatively) time taking i.e high resistance
- Few users might not know how to search a saved number of whatsapp without previous conversation history.
- Keyword embedded link: Create a custom link that directs users to the bot with the keyword auto-populated in the chatbot. Users simply have to click ‘Send’ for the flow to start. This link can be sent via email, WhatsApp groups, or embedded in the website. Here is a documentation on creating a custom link.
- Benefits-
- Saves users’ time from manually saving number
- Useful when you have an existing WA group to forward link
- Auto populated keyword saves from the risk of user forgetting the keyword
- Drawbacks:
- Technically-challenged users might be concerned about clicking on a random link thinking that could incur charges)
- Users might not understand that they have to “Send the message” for flow to get started
- High chances of user not saving number making it difficult for them to search and interact with the Chatbot in future
- QR Code scanning: Convert the above created link into a QR code using any free QR code creator site online and share it with users (You can screenshot QR code generated here)
- Benefits-
- Saves users’ time from manually saving number
- Useful in situations where onboarding is happening in-person with a large group
- Auto populated keyword saves from the risk of user forgetting the keyword
- Drawbacks-
- Technically-challenged users might not know how to scan
- Basic/ Old smartphones may not have inbuilt scanners
- Users might have concerns about potential charges as scanning is often linked with payment apps like GPay or Paytm work
- Users might not understand that they have to to “Send the message” for flow to get started
- High chances of user not saving number making it difficult for them to search and interact with the Chatbot in future
- Giving Missed Call: You can initiate a flow for the users once they give a missed call to the Chatbot number This is one of the least resistance methods which can be achieved by integrating with Exotel. Here is a blog by the organization Reap Benefit, who were able to do massive onboarding in a short duration using this approach
- Benefits-
- Almost all the users know how to give a regular missed call
- User don’t need to remember keyword
- Very useful in large scale projects where you are partnering with other organizations/ government
- Drawback-
- Requires integration with IVR systems like Exotel which incurs additional cost
- Inability to send different keywords to different groups based on missed calls
- Uploading user contacts from your end: If you have a list of users from whom you’ve already obtained written or documented consent (via a website or other means) and want to initiate onboarding, you can use this approach. You can upload contacts directly from the Glific platform and start the flow yourself without the need for the user to initiate your flow. Here’s a document explaining how to do it.
- Once the user responds, it is highly advisable to take consent again from the user on Whatsapp and update settings to “Opt-in” on Glific.
- We do not recommend initiating the first conversation from your end without having written/ documented consent, as this may lead to users reporting or blocking the bot, potentially resulting in Meta blocking your Chatbot permanently.
- Even with prior consent, there’s still a risk of users reporting or blocking the bot, which could lead to your chatbot being blocked. To minimize this risk, send reminder videos or photos about the program to help users recall their signup and reduce the chances of them reporting or blocking the chatbot.
Easy ways of collecting user details during Registration: Once users join the chatbot, NGOs often collect basic details such as name, language preference, city, and school name to help personalize content further. It’s also crucial for NGOs to obtain this data in a clean format (avoiding spelling/ selection mistakes by users) for monitoring and evaluation (M&E) purposes. Below are three techniques used by different NGOs that can automatically capture some of these details in a single step, easing their workload.
- Reverse geolocation: This feature allows you to capture users’ city, village, or block-level details through their WhatsApp location pin. Users can share their current location (provided their GPS is on) by simply clicking on an interactive message. Using Google Maps reverse geolocation APIs, we can obtain specific details about their location. Here is the document explaining how to implement this in your flows.
- Keyword parser: Using this method, you can send different keywords to different users for the same flow. Based on the keyword they enter, you can update existing information about the user without needing to ask them. This is useful in cases where you work with multiple partners and already have certain information about each partner organization (such as organization name, city, type, etc.). Instead of asking all details, you can confirm details from the user making it a quick & smooth process.
Here is a blog on how Saturday Art Class implemented this solution which saved almost 50% of their user registering time
Other Custom solutions built by Udhyam, Quest Alliance: Both organizations are open to sharing their code with you for further customization according to your requirements. Please reach out to the Glific team if you would like us to connect you with them.
- Quest Alliance (QA) solution: QA’s chatbot focuses on building computational skills in underprivileged students. To simplify registration for stakeholders connected to schools (teachers, students, and parents) and reduce data errors, QA created a webhook that retrieves school details (name, block, village, city, state, etc.) using the UDISE code, which is available in an open database for every Indian school. Users only need to enter the UDISE code, and all relevant school details will be fetched from the website to QA’s database, minimizing spelling mistakes.
- Udhyam’s solution: Udhyam’s chatbot aims to develop entrepreneurial mindset in underprivileged students. To enhance the user registration experience and reduce data errors, they created a webhook that pulls specific details from a Google Sheet containing pre-mapped options. This allows users to see relevant choices based on their previous selections, rather than getting all options at once, which could confuse users and increase the number of steps required to complete the action
For example, Udhyam operates in multiple states across India, with students attending various schools in each state. Each state contains many districts, each district has several mandals, and each mandal hosts numerous schools. To enable students to choose their school name, all mandal options (which can number in the hundreds) must be provided. Another solution is to have students type their school name, but this often leads to spelling mistakes and data errors. To reduce the number of steps, the chatbot provides students with options mapped to their previous selections at each stage, making the selection process easier.
On a related note, here are a few common onboarding learnings from NGOs:
- In-person or face-to-face online sessions lead to better & faster results
- Good explainers / content helps
- Start with a video or audio explaining the value the chatbot provides (the “why” of the chatbot)
- Avoid jargons like chatbot, flows, keywords that might confuse your users
- Share Videos of how Chatbot works, as Chatbot has a few different features (like interactive buttons/list) which aren’t there in a regular whatsapp
- Simplify content and reduce the number of decisions users need to make.
- Counter-intuitive approach- don’t ask any/ too many questions initially; instead, focus on showing the value of the chatbot.