This Onboarding Change Increased Completion From 40% to 91%

A SaaS company had a problem: 60% of new users abandoned their onboarding flow before completion. Those who completed it had 85% retention. Those who didn't had 12% retention. The onboarding completion rate was essentially determining their business success.

They tried everything: shorter forms, better copy, video tutorials, incentives for completion. Completion crawled from 38% to 42%. Still disastrous.

Then they made one change that seemed trivial: instead of showing progress as "0 of 8 steps complete," they started showing "2 of 10 steps complete." They counted two setup steps the system had already done automatically (creating account, setting up workspace) as completed steps.

The number of fields to fill stayed exactly the same. The effort required was identical. Only the framing changed.

Completion rate jumped to 91%.

This is the endowed progress effect in action: people are more motivated to complete tasks when they believe they've already made progress. And understanding this principle transforms how you design any multi-step experience.

The Psychology of Started Tasks

Humans have a powerful drive to complete tasks they've started. This is the Zeigarnik effect: uncompleted tasks create psychological tension that motivates completion.

But here's the critical insight: the perceived starting point determines motivation.

If a task feels like it's at 0%, starting requires overcoming inertia. You're beginning from scratch. The full effort looms ahead.

If a task feels like it's at 20%, continuing feels easier than starting. You've already invested effort. The completion is closer. Momentum exists.

The endowed progress effect means that artificially crediting users with initial progress(even for steps they didn't actually do)increases completion rates dramatically.

The Loyalty Card Study

The classic research demonstrating this effect used coffee shop loyalty cards:

Group A: Received card requiring 10 purchases to earn a free coffee. Card started empty.

Group B: Received card requiring 12 purchases to earn a free coffee, but with 2 stamps already filled in. Card started "partially complete."

Both groups needed exactly 10 purchases to earn their reward. But Group B(who felt they'd already made progress)completed the card at significantly higher rates (82% vs. 19%).

The endowed progress changed behavior even though the actual effort required was identical.

Why It Works

Several psychological mechanisms explain the effect:

Sunk Cost Fallacy: Once you've invested in something, you're more motivated to continue. Even if the initial investment was artificial (you didn't actually do those first two steps), your brain treats the perceived progress as real investment.

Goal Gradient Effect: Motivation increases as you approach goal completion. Starting at 20% means you're closer to completion, which triggers higher motivation than starting at 0%.

Completion Drive: The Zeigarnik effect creates tension around incomplete tasks. Starting with partial completion means the tension exists immediately, pulling you toward completion. Starting at zero means no tension until you begin.

Reduced Perceived Effort: 8 remaining steps feels more manageable than 10 remaining steps, even though you're doing the same 8 either way.

Application to Onboarding

The SaaS company's change worked because onboarding is exactly where endowed progress is most powerful:

The Original Flow (40% Completion)

"Welcome! Complete these 8 steps to set up your account:
☐ Enter company information
☐ Add team members
☐ Configure settings
☐ Import data
☐ Set up integrations
☐ Customize dashboard
☐ Complete profile
☐ Take product tour"

Progress: 0 of 8 complete (0%)

Users saw a long list of uncompleted tasks. The effort required felt overwhelming. Many abandoned immediately.

The Revised Flow (91% Completion)

"Welcome! Let's finish setting up your account:
☑ Account created
☑ Workspace initialized
☐ Enter company information
☐ Add team members
☐ Configure settings
☐ Import data
☐ Set up integrations
☐ Customize dashboard
☐ Complete profile
☐ Take product tour"

Progress: 2 of 10 complete (20%)

Users saw progress already made. The effort required felt more manageable. The completion percentage was higher. The momentum existed from the start.

The number of steps users actually completed was identical (8). But the framing transformed perception and motivation.

Design Principles for Endowed Progress

Principle 1: Credit Automatic Actions

Look for things the system does automatically during signup or initial access:

• Account creation
• Default settings application
• Basic profile setup
• Initial data population
• Template installation
• Workspace creation

These are steps in the user's journey even if the user didn't manually complete them. Count them as progress.

Principle 2: Frontload Easy Steps

Structure sequences so the easiest steps come first:

Bad sequencing:

1. Import all your data (hard)
2. Configure advanced settings (hard)
3. Enter your name (easy)

Good sequencing:

1. Enter your name (easy)
2. Choose a template (easy)
3. Invite teammates (easy)
4. Import data (hard)
5. Configure settings (hard)

Getting users to 60% complete with easy steps creates momentum that carries through harder steps.

Principle 3: Make Progress Visible

Users can't be motivated by progress they can't see. Make progress indicators prominent:

• Progress bars at the top of every screen
• Percentage complete clearly displayed
• Completed steps visibly checked off
• Remaining steps clearly enumerated
• Time estimate for completion

Principle 4: Celebrate Progress Milestones

Don't wait until completion to provide positive reinforcement:

• 25% complete: "Great start! You're one quarter of the way there."
• 50% complete: "Halfway there! You're doing great."
• 75% complete: "Almost done! Just a few more steps."

Each milestone provides dopamine and reinforces completion motivation.

Principle 5: Minimize Backtracking

Nothing is more demotivating than seeing progress decrease. Once progress is shown, it should never go backward.

If users skip steps, don't decrease their progress percentage. Instead, track skipped steps separately and allow completion later without penalizing current progress.

Principle 6: Show Relative Effort

Indicate which steps are quick and which take longer:

• "Quick setup (2 mins)"
• "Basic config (5 mins)"
• "Advanced setup (10 mins)"

This helps users allocate mental energy and choose when to complete harder steps.

Beyond Onboarding: Universal Applications

The endowed progress effect applies to any multi-step process:

Event Registration

Standard approach: "Complete registration: 5 steps remaining"

Endowed progress approach: "Finish registration: You've selected your ticket type, now complete 5 more steps"

Framing the ticket selection (which they've already done) as a completed step increases completion rates for the remaining fields.

Conference Engagement

Standard approach: "Earn conference champion badge: Complete 10 challenges"

Endowed progress approach: "Earn conference champion badge: You're 30% there! (Registered = 2 challenges, attended opening = 1 challenge, 7 more to go)"

Attendees who see progress already made are more likely to complete remaining challenges.

Content Consumption

Standard approach: "Course completion: 12 modules to complete"

Endowed progress approach: "Course completion: Introduction complete! 12 modules remaining"

Seeing the intro as a completed step (even though it was required to access the course) increases course completion rates.

Profile Completion

Standard approach: "Your profile is 0% complete"

Endowed progress approach: "Your profile is 25% complete (Name and email from signup)"

Starting at 25% dramatically increases the likelihood users will complete the remaining 75%.

Sales Pipelines

Standard approach: "Stage 1 of 5: Initial contact"

Endowed progress approach: "Stage 2 of 6: Discovery scheduled (Initial contact complete)"

Framing the initial contact as a completed stage increases progression through remaining stages.

Implementation Framework

To implement endowed progress in your experiences:

Step 1: Audit Your Current Flow

Map out every step in your process and identify:

• Which steps are technically "done" before user engagement (account creation, defaults, etc.)
• Which steps are very easy and could be moved earlier
• What progress percentage users actually see at each stage
• Where abandonment is highest

Step 2: Identify Progress Credits

Find legitimate steps you can credit as "already complete":

• Automatic system actions
• Required pre-steps (signup to access the flow)
• Implicit decisions (viewing content = interest)
• Default selections

The key word is "legitimate",you're reframing actual progress, not inventing fake progress.

Step 3: Restructure Sequence

Reorder steps to maximize early progress:

• Move easiest steps first
• Credit automatic steps as completed
• Front-load quick wins
• Save harder steps for when momentum exists

Step 4: Design Progress Visualization

Create clear, prominent progress indicators:

• Visual progress bar
• Percentage or fraction (3/10 steps)
• Completed items checked and visible
• Remaining items clearly enumerated
• Milestone celebrations at key percentages

Step 5: Test and Measure

A/B test your changes:

Control: Original flow with zero-based progress
Test: Revised flow with endowed progress

Measure:

• Completion rate (primary metric)
• Time to completion
• Step-by-step abandonment rates
• User sentiment about the process
• Quality of completed data (ensure progress framing doesn't reduce completion quality)

Step 6: Iterate Based on Drop-Off Points

Monitor where users abandon even with endowed progress:

If abandonment spikes at specific steps, those steps need redesign (simplified, made optional, or moved later in the flow).

The endowed progress effect increases motivation, but can't overcome truly problematic steps.

Common Implementation Mistakes

Mistake 1: Fake Progress

Creating "steps" that don't actually exist just to show completion.

Bad: "Step 1: Welcome screen (complete!)" when welcome screen did nothing.

Good: "Step 1: Account created" when account actually was created.

Fake progress feels manipulative if users notice. Credit real progress only.

Mistake 2: Over-Crediting

Starting at 80% complete when users have done almost nothing.

Problem: Reduces the motivational benefit. If you're already 80% done, the remaining 20% feels insignificant and easy to abandon.

Sweet spot: 15-30% initial progress provides motivation without making completion feel trivial.

Mistake 3: Hidden Progress

Implementing endowed progress but not visualizing it clearly.

Problem: Users don't know they've made progress, so they don't benefit psychologically.

Solution: Make progress highly visible and referenced explicitly ("You've already completed 3 steps!").

Mistake 4: No Milestones

Showing progress but not celebrating it at meaningful points.

Problem: Progress feels abstract rather than rewarding.

Solution: Add celebration messages at 25%, 50%, 75% completion with encouraging copy.

Mistake 5: Backtracking

Allowing progress percentage to decrease if users skip steps or go back to edit.

Problem: Extremely demotivating to see progress decrease.

Solution: Lock in progress and handle skipped steps separately from the completion metric.

Mistake 6: Unclear Remaining Steps

Showing progress percentage but not what's left to do.

Problem: Users don't know how to complete, even though they're motivated to.

Solution: Always show both completed and remaining steps with clear descriptions.

Advanced Progress Techniques

Technique 1: Dual Progress Tracks

Show both overall progress and current-section progress:

"Overall: 45% complete (5 of 11 steps)
Current section: 67% complete (2 of 3 steps)"

This provides both long-term context and short-term achievement opportunity.

Technique 2: Optional vs. Required Separation

Separate required steps (needed for completion) from optional steps (enhance experience):

"Required steps: 7 of 10 complete (70%)
Optional enhancements: 2 of 5 complete (40%)"

This allows users to "complete" the core flow while having additional optimization opportunities.

Technique 3: Conditional Progress

Show different progress paths based on user choices:

"Basic setup: 6 of 8 steps (you're on the fast track!)
Advanced setup would require: 6 of 14 steps"

This rewards choosing simpler paths while making advanced paths feel accessible.

Technique 4: Comparative Progress

Show how user's progress compares to others:

"You're 60% complete. The average user completes this in 3 more steps."

Social comparison provides additional motivation beyond the progress itself.

Technique 5: Time-Based Progress

In addition to steps, show time investment:

"8 minutes invested so far. Estimated 4 minutes remaining to complete."

Time framing emphasizes sunk cost ("I've already spent 8 minutes") and proximity to completion ("just 4 more minutes").

Measuring Success

Track these metrics to assess endowed progress implementation:

Primary Metric: Completion Rate

Percentage of users who start the flow and complete it.

Target improvement: 30-100% increase (e.g., 40% → 52-80%)

Secondary Metrics

Time to Complete: Are users completing faster? (Should decrease slightly)

Quality of Completion: Are users rushing through to finish? (Monitor data quality)

Drop-off by Step: Where do users abandon? (Should see reduction in early-step abandonment)

Return Completion: Do users who abandon return to complete? (Endowed progress should increase return completion)

Qualitative Feedback

Survey users about the experience:

• "Did the process feel long or manageable?"
• "At what point did you feel committed to finishing?"
• "Was progress tracking helpful?"

Endowed progress should make processes feel more manageable and create earlier commitment.

The Broader Lesson

The principle underlying endowed progress applies beyond onboarding:

Humans are more motivated to continue than to start.

Design experiences that make users feel they've already started, already invested, already made progress. This transforms "should I begin?" into "should I finish what I've started?",a much easier question to answer yes to.

The company that increased completion from 40% to 91% didn't reduce effort or add incentives. They simply reframed where users were in the journey. That reframing changed everything.

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The hardest part of any journey is starting. The endowed progress effect solves this by making users feel they've already started before they realize they've begun. By crediting automatic steps, front-loading easy wins, and visualizing progress prominently, you transform multi-step processes from overwhelming to achievable. The effort doesn't change:the perception does. And perception drives behavior.