FORMEL Skin Onboarding

In 2022, I redesigned the onboarding experience for FORMEL Skin, aiming to improve patient engagement and set clearer expectations at the start of treatment.

Context
After completing a purchase, new patients landed in a “waiting area” — the period between submitting their anamnesis and receiving a doctor’s prescription. At that time, this space only featured a short video from our head doctor explaining the process (questionnaire, purchase, and delivery). Our analytics revealed that most people were not watching it.

This lack of engagement meant patients were entering treatment without a clear understanding of what to expect. We saw onboarding as the key opportunity to meet their excitement with relevant, motivating information.

Background

Data from 01.10.2021 - 31.12.2021

Data (01.10.2021 – 31.12.2021):

  • 780 video views out of 4,129 new customers

  • A significant number of users canceled their subscription on the same day as their purchase.

  • Customer care feedback indicated that new patients often didn’t understand what they could do in the Customer Login Area (CLA) — one patient didn’t even realize she had an account.

We assumed that same-day cancellations were partly due to the waiting area feeling underwhelming, considering the money they had just spent.

The Challenge

New FORMEL Skin patients needed a way to:

  • Understand the treatment process and timeline

  • Set realistic expectations

  • Learn how to apply their products correctly

  • Stay engaged until their first delivery arrived

Hypothesis

If we revealed the full CLA and added onboarding content — such as what to expect, ingredient information, and application tips — at the peak of user excitement, we could increase engagement, build trust, and improve long-term retention.

Research

New User’s Interviews

  • Customer segment

    FORMEL Skin New Customers who:

    • have just purchased a new subscription in the last 24 hours and canceled in 1 day?

    • gender: women and men in equal measure

    • living in Germany, Austria, or Switzerland

    • fluent in German/ conversational English

    Research goals

    • We want to understand what users are expecting to see after they finish the purchase while they wait for the doctor’s feedback

    • How does finishing the purchase and arriving at the Waiting Area feel?

    • Learn likes, disappointments, and pain points that users find within the Waiting Area/CLA

    • Discover users’ motivations to visit the Waiting Area/CLA before getting their package

    Research questions

    1. We want to understand what users are expecting to see after they finish the purchase while they wait for the doctor’s feedback

      1. What is the user expecting to happen ‘behind the scenes with their order?

      2. What are users expecting to see right after completing the purchase?

      3. What are users doing right after completing the purchase

      4. Do users find current information useful

      5. Do users see/read current information

    2. How does finishing the purchase and arriving at the Waiting Area feel?

      1. How does arriving at the waiting area compare to finishing the purchase? Is it rewarding? exciting? disappointing?

    3. Learn likes, disappointments, and pain points that users find within the Waiting Area/CLA

      1. What did they like about the WA?

      2. What did they expect to see that they didn't find?

      3. What was difficult to find?

    4. Discover users’ motivations to visit the Waiting Area/CLA before getting their package

      1. Why do users come back to the Waiting Area after finishing the purchase

      2. How do users come back to the Waiting Area after finishing the purchase (trigger)

    Recruitment criteria

    Doctors send a message to the patient along with their first ‘diagnosis’ inviting them for an interview with us + Calendly link to schedule an interview. Offer a 20 euro discount.

    Our goal is to interview:

    • at least 10 users (with a minimum of 6 people) this is proving to be a challenge, only 3 people in the last 2 weeks

    • gender: women and men in equal measure

    • students and professionals

    • living in Germany, Austria or Switzerland

    • fluent in German/ conversational English

    Timeline

    1. Brief provided to the Product Team: Jan 20

    2. Research start date: Jan 24

    3. Recruitment begins: Jan 20

    4. Interviewing begins: Feb 2

    5. Feedback from the Medical Team:

    6. Interviewing ends: Feb 18

    7. Synthesis begins: Feb 14

    8. Synthesis ends: Feb 25

    9. Report presentation: Feb 28

    • Time per session: 30 minutes

    • Number of participants: 10 participants by the end of February 18

    Part I [5 min] Introduction

    Welcome and introduce participants to the interview. Give a short description of the research scope, the context, and the purpose of the interview. Participants and facilitators open their cameras and introduce themselves. The facilitator takes the lead, introduces the observants who will be taking notes, and starts with a short introduction.

    Ice-breaking questions:

    • Why did you join FORMEL Skin? What skin goals do you have?

    • How did you learn about us?

    • What kind of treatment were you using before?

    Part II [10-15 min] Interview

    Group A. Waiting Area questions:

    We’ll be talking about the website you landed on right after you finished uploading your photos. To the best of your capabilities, please put yourself in that place in time a few days ago…

    Expecting

    1. What do you think is happening ‘behind the scenes' with your order right after you finished uploading your photos?

    2. Did you understand how the FORMEL Skin concept works by the time you were on that page?

      1. NO> did you see anything here that helped you better understand it?

      2. YES> Where did you see that information before? did you see anything here that gave you further information?

    3. What did you expect to see thereafter you finished paying and uploading the photos?

    Likes, disappointments, and pain points

    1. What do you remember seeing on this page? did you learn anything new?

    2. Did you watch the video? Why or why not?

      1. If yes, did you find the video helpful? Why or why not?

      2. Do you normally watch such explainer videos on other platforms?

    3. Was there something you were looking for that you didn't find or was difficult to find?

    Feel

    1. Remember how were you feeling after finishing the order… what were you hoping for?

    2. How do you feel about the information presented on that page?

      1. Was it helpful?

      2. How do you feel about it?

    Motivations to visit

    1. Have you returned to the website after your purchase?

      1. YES>What for?

      2. NO>Why?

    2. What made you come back?

    Group B. Cancellation on day 0:

    1. how did you learn about FORMEL Skin from?

    2. What did you want to achieve with us?

    3. Is there anything specific thing you liked or disliked about us?

    4. What convinced you do the first purchase?

    5. Do you remember what made you cancel your subscription?

    6. If applicable: what is your relationship with subscriptions? do you use them?

    7. Is there anything you’d like to share with us?

    Part III [5 min] Wrap up

    • Anything else that we didn’t ask?

    • If you had a magic wand, what would you like to see?

    • thank you so much etc!

Analysis

  • Myth: Same-day cancellations meant dissatisfaction.
    Reality: Many used promotions to test the product cheaply and canceled immediately, but this didn’t mean they wouldn’t return.

  • Most didn’t watch or remember the onboarding video.

  • Users expected information about their routine, formulas, and potential results.

  • They wanted to see that their doctor was a real person.

Opportunities Identified

  1. Get to know your doctor – Introduce the assigned doctor to build a personal connection.

  2. Skin-care tips – Offer advice on caring for skin while waiting for the first shipment.

  3. Treatment steps – Clearly explain our method to reinforce trust.

  4. Treatment duration – Set expectations for how long improvements may take.

Prototypes & Testing

We designed and tested a new onboarding experience that included:

  • A personalized treatment timeline based on the patient’s questionnaire.

  • Profile and reviews of the assigned doctor.

  • An overview of the daily routine with product tips and ingredient information.

Key Finding from Testing:
Myth: New users wouldn’t want to read about acne or ingredients.
Reality: Users were eager to learn, as long as the content was concise and easy to navigate.

Impact & Conclusions

  • Cancellations on day zero remained largely driven by coupon/test behavior, but understanding of the treatment process increased significantly.

  • Engagement with onboarding content rose, leading to better product application and higher chances of treatment success.

  • Reactivation after the “testing period” improved, even though voucher/campaign performance remained the same.

    The redesigned onboarding transformed the waiting period from a passive gap into a proactive, trust-building moment in the user journey.

Impact