Chameleon

Our employee spotlight for the month of March features our mighty Product Manager, Harrison Johnson! ?? Harrison has been busy building out our newest feature that will help our customers get value faster… ?interactive demos ? We're gearing up to launch them more widely soon and are excited to share them with everyone! He also brings a refreshing mix of curiosity, clarity, and care to our team. He asks the tough questions, offers thoughtful feedback, and nudges all of us to think a little more creatively. We really appreciate how he encourages open discussion and shows up as a true team ally. (p.s. He’s celebrating his 1-year Chameleon anniversary next week (!!) so be sure to send some early love ??) Get to know him below! ?? ?? What are you passionate about outside of work? My dog, yoga, hiking, travel, running, history, and comics! ?? Fun Fact? My wife and I met in pre-school and then re-met in college only to realize we were in the same class as kids (see picture at the end of the carousel)! ???What project at Chameleon are you most proud of? Two things: getting to rebuild a product from scratch (Demos coming soon!) with what I learned from Driveway was a unique opportunity to create value for Chameleon’s customers. I'm also proud of rolling out a pod structure and switching from Trello to Linear for better visibility into customer feedback for our team. ???What is your favorite part of your job? My favorite part of working on the Product team is the early AM chats with our Designers in Europe while everyone else in EST is asleep. ???Here's what our Senior Designer, Valentin, has to say about him… “Working with Harrison is an absolute pleasure! His insights and expertise as a product manager are truly inspiring. Our daily chats are always a highlight of my day—full of wisdom, humor, and great energy. Grateful to have such an amazing colleague and friend!”

Your modals aren’t underperforming because of bad copy. They’re underperforming because they’re modals. In our analysis of 550M+ user interactions, we found that embedded “Cards” consistently outperform one-step modals—especially when it comes to driving action. ?? CTA click-rate with image: → Embeddables: 44% → Modals: 29% ?? And even when using video, embeds still win out. Why? Because users are tired of being interrupted. Embeds blend into the flow of the product. Modals block it. And in 2025, self-serve UX wins—not forced walkthroughs or disruptive pop-ups. If you’re still relying on modals to drive engagement, it’s time to evolve your onboarding strategy. ?? Read the full Benchmark Report → https://lnkd.in/dzJhv5Uz

For years, product tours were the default for onboarding. Click here, do that, next, next, next… But this year’s data? Brutal. We analyzed 550 million user interactions for the 2025 Chameleon Benchmark Report, and the numbers don’t lie: ?? 70% of users skip product tours entirely. ?? 10+ step tours? Only 18% of users finish them. ?? Self-triggered tours see 2–3x higher engagement. Product tours aren’t dead, but the old-school, one-size-fits-all approach? It’s melting. Get all the report: https://lnkd.in/dzJhv5Uz

No hype video with orchestral music. No cinematic voiceover. Just 5 G2 Leader badges earned the old-fashioned way: ?? by actually helping teams ship better UX. Because when your product is built for real in-app communication, you don’t need a hype machine. Just honest work. And a few honest reviews. ??

We didn’t invent “digital adoption.” We just made it less painful. Because onboarding shouldn’t feel like a side quest. Tooltips, tours, and checklists should actually help users move forward. Here’s what happens when you build with that mindset: ? 5 seasons straight as a G2 DAP Leader ? 2 seasons as a Momentum Leader ?? A roadmap shaped by a PM who cares more about outcomes than optics Thanks to our customers who shape our product and leave the kind of reviews we forward to the whole team. ??

In Austin next week? Love product marketing and free breakfast? Don't we all?! Our Director of Marketing, Kirsty Finlayson, will be in Old West Austin on Thursday, March 27th at 8 am to bring the Product Bites tour back to Texas. Want in on it? RSVP here: chameleon.io/events/austin ??

What do free walking tours and in-app product tours have in common? The best ones don’t push—you discover at your own pace. They guide, not dictate. They engage, not overwhelm. And the most memorable ones? They make you feel like part of the story. I learned this firsthand leading free walking tours in San Francisco, 7 years ago. I didn’t just point at landmarks—I put people inside the city’s history. And years later, as a PMM, I see how great product tours work the same way. ?? Build tours within your visitor’s world. ?? Show a clear path forward. ?? Embed questions to keep engagement pulsing. But here’s the problem: Too many product tours feel like walking tours on life-support, where the guide just rattles off facts with no curiosity, no connection. That’s why I’m excited for Chameleon’s User Onboarding Benchmark Report—actionable data on what makes a product tour actually work. Clear onboarding cushions stellar product demos. And this report backs it up. (link below) #Ad #Sponsored

The last of the Lenny's Newsletter Boston meetup series ?? was last night, and this group of people in product was smart, energetic, and wonderful, as usual! It has been so fun to partner with Lenny Rachitsky to host this event series and get to know all of you. ??

How does your in-app communication compare to the best in SaaS? The long-awaited Chameleon Benchmark Report is here... and let’s just say, the future of product tours isn’t looking great. ?? ???? https://lnkd.in/dmyRbgJN Your resident marketing girlie has spent six weeks knee-deep in 500M+ user interactions to bring you the data (and the tea). The least you could do is give it a read. It’s long, but I promise—it’s spicy. ??

r/productmanagement – who hurt you? ?? I get it, most product tours suck. They hand-hold you through the obvious, interrupt your flow, and make you want to rage-click “skip.” But here’s the thing: onboarding doesn’t have to be a UX crime. We just analyzed 550+ million in-app experiences to figure out what works. Our sixth annual benchmark report is packed with data, insights, and the cold, hard truth about what makes users stick around. If you’re still forcing people through clunky tours… well, the numbers don’t lie ?? See if you beat the benchmarks ?? https://lnkd.in/dYfZg34G