I admit it—we weren’t prioritizing our own in-app and email experiences. No clear owner, no process, and a whole lot of we should really fix that.

Sound familiar?

For a lot of teams, in-app engagement can start strong and fade into the background. Without a system to make it a habit, things slip. So we’re making some big changes to make Appcues a built-in part of how we plan, execute, and improve engagement. No more afterthoughts.

Here’s our new process to make engagement a habit—and how we’re making sure it sticks.

Step 1: User experience is a shared responsibility

User engagement isn’t just marketing’s job or product’s job—it’s something that spans teams. Instead of treating in-app experiences as one-off projects, we made it a shared accountability between many teams, with specific goals for product and product marketing.

In most orgs, product and product marketing are aligned on adoption—but they come at it from different angles. PMM thinks about the "why"—the user’s context, their goals, and how messaging moves them forward. Product owns the "how"—how features fit together, where users get stuck, and what needs to change in the core experience.

To unify these perspectives, we kicked off a cross-functional meeting focused on adoption. The goal? Get every team thinking beyond their own department and working toward a shared, seamless user experience.

Want do the same? Here’s a simple framework to help you start having the same conversations at your org.

Cross-functional Meeting Agenda

1️⃣ What adoption means for us

• How do we define adoption for our product?
• What are the key actions that signal a user is successfully adopting?

2️⃣ Current adoption challenges

• Where are users dropping off?
• What friction points do we already know about?
• What signals tell us when a user is struggling?

3️⃣ Departmental priorities & perspectives

• What does success look like for product, marketing, CS, and sales?
• Where do our goals overlap, and where do they diverge?
• How do our teams currently try to influence adoption?

4️⃣ Opportunities to unify our approach

• What gaps exist between teams that create a fragmented user experience?
• Where can we collaborate to create more seamless adoption flows?
• What are our next steps for aligning on engagement, messaging, and in-app experiences?

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‍‍Step 2: A set of rules for creating better in-app & email experiences

Even if ownership of in-app messaging is consolidated, the reality is that many teams contribute to user experiences—each with their own approach. Without clear guidelines, engagement efforts can feel disconnected, inconsistent, or misaligned with what customers actually need.

So before making changes to process or execution, we took a step back and established new ground rules for what good messaging looks like, both in-app and out. These aren’t rigid rules—they’re a shared standard that helps everyone create better experiences, faster.

The goal? Consistency. With a shared set of guidelines, teams don’t have to start from scratch every time. They can confidently build messaging that feels cohesive across every channel, while still serving their specific goals.

Want to do the same? Here’s a version of our checklist that might work for you:

User Experience Checklist

• Strong visuals & copy: Keep it clear, engaging, and easy to scan.
• Consider more channels: Not every message belongs in-app. Think about how email, push notifications, and other channels should support the experience.
• Focus on the user: Messaging should align with the customer journey and their context, not just internal goals. A good experience matters just as much as the outcome.
• Make it behavior-driven: No generic blasts. Every message should be triggered by user actions or meaningful segmentation.
• Clear CTA: What should the user do next? Make the action obvious and tied to a clear benefit.
• Test to learn: Experiment to learn faster. Try different formats, content types, and use data to understand what resonates.
• Measure always: Set goals before you launch. Track what’s working, what’s not, and adjust.
• Add delight: A little personality, fun, or surprise makes engagement more human.
• Document & share: Log what’s been built, what’s worked, and what hasn’t—so the next iteration is even better.

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Step 3: A repeatable kickoff process

Some in-app experiences are quick wins—others, like fixing our free trial experience, are bigger efforts that require focus and alignment across teams. When there’s a lot to tackle, moving fast doesn’t mean skipping steps—it means getting on the same page first, so we can execute with clarity.

That’s why we created a structured kickoff process for major initiatives. It helps us align early, clarify priorities, and make sure every experience is built with intent. We’re not reviewing every single in-app message this way, but when we’re tackling something big, this process ensures we’re solving the right problems and moving faster as a team.

Want to do the same? Take our template to get started:

User Engagement Campaign Kickoff

1️⃣ What we’re trying to do

• What problem are we solving? Why now?

2️⃣ Current state

• What's in place today? Where are the gaps?

3️⃣ What we want to accomplish/measure/improve

• What success looks like and how we'll track it

4️⃣ What area of the customer lifecycle this affects

• Acquisition, activation, retention, expansion, etc.

5️⃣ Considerations, blockers, and data needs

• What dependencies, risks, or open questions exist?

6️⃣ Proposed new experience and timeline

• What we’re testing or implementing, and how long it’ll take.

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Step 4: A no-fail way to share learnings

One of the biggest reasons engagement efforts stall? No one is tracking what’s working (or what isn’t).

That’s where Made with Appcues comes in. We created it because it forces us to share what we’re learning—publicly, on a regular cadence. Because we’re Appcues, that makes sense for us. Now that we'll be constantly experimenting with our own product, sharing insights helps both our team and our customers.

For your team, that probably doesn’t make sense. But having a system for tracking results, documenting what messages were launched, and sharing insights internally is key. Whether it’s a shared doc, a Slack channel, or a regular meeting, teams need their own way to force shared learnings—something that keeps engagement from becoming an afterthought.

Pro Tip 💡 Your Flow Performance Metrics page in Appcues is a great place to start. Create a recurring calendar reminder to check how things are performing, then share key takeaways in a company-wide Slack channel. Regular visibility keeps engagement top of mind and helps your team learn what’s working (and what’s not).

Now that we have team alignment and the building blocks of a structured process, the next step is to keep a closer eye on impact. We’re rebuilding our internal dashboard to measure progress across departments and attribute results back to Appcues.

Because if engagement is going to be a habit, it needs to be measurable.