I have a confession to make. I am into puzzles. Jigsaw puzzles of 1000-1500 pieces that you spend days and days assembling. Meditative and weirdly satisfying activity that, believe it or not, turns the anxiety off. There’s a particular moment when you already can recognize the picture, imagine it, and start obsessively looking for a missing piece and voila - you find it, place it in the gap and it fits! The moment when the piece you were looking for is finally found and completes the picture. You silently (or sometimes not so silently) exclaim “Aha!” as you feel satisfied with your discovery. 

If you just shrugged thinking that puzzles are not your cup of tea, that’s all right. It’s just one possible example to explain what an aha moment feels like. 

As a design agency for SaaS companies, we know how the understanding of aha moments can help businesses deliver more value to their clients and grow accordingly. In this article, we will explain how to craft aha moments in your product. So, keep reading.

The magic and science behind aha moment

That very moment when we find a connection we have believed to exist, the picture is completed, and our brain loves it. The science behind it is the same that brought Newton to gravity discovery when the apple hit his head. Our brain projects different theories and when one gets proven - we experience the aha moment. 

The “aha” feeling is caused by emotions as they drive the majority of our actions. Keep this in mind because emotions also drive your customer’s actions. Therefore, aha moments develop a product that ideally resonates with your customer's pain points and needs. 

Now, let’s try to define aha moment.

What is an aha moment? 

As a psychological term “Aha moment” has become quite popular recently and is often used in daily situations, media, and business. To point more at the human side of emotions, there's a similar term  “aha” expression that explains much more.

Dictionaries define an aha moment as an instant of sudden realization or insight. We also say “aha moment”, meaning the second when the solution of the problem becomes clear. And this is exactly why we talk about aha moments in product design. However, for your solution it does not matter what aha moment definition you use - more importantly is how you can make users experience such moments in your product, right?

We can talk about two kinds of aha moments. First one is what you, as a creator, experience while designing your product. You may discover this eureka moment when you realize what you need to do to make your customers' lives easier. 

The infographic below shows bright aha moment examples of celebrities and entrepreneurs that created successful products. 

For example, Jan Koum, founder of WhatsApp, could not afford to call his father in Ukraine as often as he wanted, so he created the product that solved this problem for him and many other users. 

Another important type of aha moment is the one when your user realizes your product's value at the right time. You've got to figure out what exactly your users like and build your product around that. Here are some tips on how to do it.

How to find your product’s aha moment? 

From the customer's point of view, aha moment occurs when they experience the following things:

1. By experiencing the core function of a product, they understand what it is all about
2. A task that might have taken hours previously, has been accomplished in minutes
3. Achieving certain milestones on the way to progress that feel like sudden realizations

There are techniques to create more of aha moments product owners and product designers should be aware of. Those pleasant discoveries keep users attached to digital products and make the user experience more satisfying. 

When a customer signs up for your product, they start thinking about how it can help them with a problem right away. In most cases, they have a pretty good idea of what they want to achieve. If you've done your marketing right, prospects will understand what you're offering and want to learn more about it.

A user's light bulb starts flickering when they realize they have something to gain from your product/service. The realization can come to them actively or subconsciously. Regardless of how it happens, the aha moment is what turns a window shopper into a real customer. And that is what you hunt for!

You have to figure out what kind of behaviors or actions correspond with the value discovery. When you identify high correlations, let those aha-inducing behaviors lead your adjustments. You can even indicate them in your product roadmap.

Understand your real users and create more of what they like

You have to talk to your customers if you want to understand their true aha moment with your product. Find out what makes them tick. 

Here are some characteristics of these types of customers:

• They aim to be satisfied and happy
• An exceptional result is what they want

It makes sense that people like this love to get  a one-of-a-kind experience from a product, so you need to pay attention to what they're struggling with. When you speak with users, try to identify the type of success story that looks appealing to them.

Your users need to be heard, but how can you reach them? A simple email is the quickest way to get their attention.

Analyze their responses carefully. You will gain insight into the user experience that would lead to a successful product, which makes identifying the eureka moment much easier.

Do not ignore your churned users, learn from their pains

Next, you'll have to talk to churned customers. Certainly, it's the most painful part of the journey, but you can learn useful lessons.

Your first step should be to comprehend why people leave. Most often, it is because the product is undervalued. As a result, the user felt bad because the product didn’t provide what was promised. Another possibility is that your product isn't right for the customer — something that happens a lot too. 

Combining these two reasons makes, another one when the customer doesn't know how the product works or doesn't understand its capabilities. Negative feelings or mental reactions towards the product can also create a problem. The customer might have felt confused or dissatisfied while using the product, which changed the way they perceived it.

Your churned users are a great source of insight into your product's aha moment. The goal is to get a sense of what their user stories look like. 

Analyze patterns and act from there

Look at your value metrics. But before that, identify the user behavior patterns. Here's a tip: Think about (and list) what someone will need to do to benefit from your product. Write down ALL the values that your product yields.

Check out the response of both your loyal and unhappy customers. Doing so will assist you in identifying effective customer journeys. Here's how:

• Write down all the features that your product offers
• Analyze what features your best users started using early on, kept using, or stopped using
• Make a note of the features that were adapted and those that were not
• Focus on features that make your users like and use the most

Looking out for moments of friction is crucial here. Such moments occur when the user encounters a problem. It could be a malfunctioning feature, which ends up with more time to complete a simple and quick task. Friction moments are the most insightful and can help indicate what your users want and what they struggle with. 

The aha moment is detectable through a thorough analysis of how users interact with your product. Understanding how people interact with your product, what they do with it, and how it benefits them, will lead you to improved retention.

It’s time to craft aha moments in your product

By recognizing what is an aha moment of your product, you will be able to provide delightful milestones for your users making them come back again and again. 

To create more pleasant and unique moments for your users, you also need to have a strong product vision and get to know what your users would be happy to have and how you can address their needs with your solution. Only thought-through products can win the customers’ hearts and succeed.

Want real examples? Read our article to learn from the best: Calendly, Monday, and Canva create aha moments for their users. And when you need some help with creating a unique design for your product - contact us and we will be glad to help.