Acquiring new customers is only part of the challenge. The real key to success lies in retaining these customers and maintaining long-term, successful partnerships.
This is where client onboarding, also known as customer onboarding, comes into play.
Building a strong relationship through onboarding with your clients from the outset is crucial, as 86% of the clients say they remain loyal when onboarding is offered.
Looking for Client Onboarding Software? Check out SoftwareSuggest’s list of the best Client Onboarding Software solutions.
Let us understand how effective onboarding can transform customer relationships, along with some examples.
Think of customer onboarding as a VIP welcome to your success club. Instead of a dry checklist, create a personalized experience that gets the customer excited about working with you. Introduce key team members and explain their roles. This fosters trust and builds rapport. Provide clear roadmaps, resources, and tools to help them achieve their goals quickly.
What Is Client Onboarding?
Client onboarding is the comprehensive process of integrating new clients into your organization and creating the conditions for a productive working relationship. One of the most important components of any business is the client orientation program, as it directly impacts the client’s perception of working with the company, which in turn impacts sales.
If you own a small business or are a freelancer, you probably have your way of welcoming new clients. You send them an email, call them to chat, and then send them another email summarizing your conversation about working together.
However, if you have a larger organization or sales reps going through an established sales process, both you and your customers need a more effective onboarding process. Such a process ensures a positive customer experience for every new customer.
Why Are Client Onboarding Processes Important?
The way you onboard new clients sets the tone for your future working relationship with them.
This underscores the critical role that effective onboarding plays in customer satisfaction and, ultimately, business growth. Here’s why it’s important to invest in a well-structured customer onboarding process:
1. Increases Revenue Potential
A seamless onboarding process reduces uncertainty and inconvenience for new customers so they can hit the ground running and reap the benefits.
A good onboarding process creates an environment of trust and satisfaction, which leads to referrals and organic growth.
2. Strengthen Customer Relationship Management
Customers who don’t enjoy doing business with you or your company will simply look for someone else. In fact, one of the 10 most common reasons why customers end their business relationship with a company is a bad relationship.
However, we can’t relate this to the onboarding process. In the first few days or weeks, your process can clarify expectations. A customer who has the right expectations is in the perfect position to have a good experience.
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3. Improves Project Efficiency
Establishing clear communication protocols during the onboarding phase ensures that everyone knows who to contact, how often, and through which channels. This promotes smoother collaboration and reduces communication breakdowns that can delay progress.
When companies know their customers’ needs and the timeline for the project in advance, they can allocate resources effectively and ensure that the right people are working on the right tasks at the right time. In this way, team productivity is maximized, and project efficiency is optimized.
4. Reduces Churn
By equipping your clients with the knowledge and tools they need to succeed, you minimize the risk of them becoming frustrated and abandoning your services.
A strong onboarding process from the start can help your business reduce the risk of early churn and position you for long-term success.
10 Steps for a Successful Client Onboarding Process
Now that we’ve defined the importance of onboarding new customers let’s look at how to onboard a new client.
A successful customer onboarding process involves several important steps to ensure that clients have a positive experience from the start. Below are ten key steps to consider when onboarding clients:
1. Send a Friendly Welcome Message
Start the onboarding process for new clients with a warm and friendly welcome message. This can be in the form of an email, a phone call, or even a personalized video message. The aim is to make the customer feel valued and that they are looking forward to the partnership.
2. Gather Information About the Client’s Business
Gather all the necessary information about the customer, including their goals, preferences, and any specific requirements they may have. It is advisable to send an automated client onboarding questionnaire or form, as these can be reused and are less likely to be stolen.
Organizations should ask questions in questionnaires such as:
- Vision for their companies
- Point of contact at the client's business
- Their background in marketing/SEO
3. Assign a Point of Contact
Designate a specific point of contact, such as an account manager or customer success officer, who will be responsible for managing the client relationship. This person serves as the customer’s main point of contact for all questions and concerns and ensures a consistent and reliable communication channel.
The point of contact can proactively reach out to the customer to offer support and updates, optimizing the client’s experience. Having a dedicated point of contact helps build trust, as customers know exactly who to contact for any issues or updates.
4. Get Your Team Involved
Choose the best team or person for the new client based on the resources you have available. If your project involves multiple team members, introduce them to the client during the onboarding process.
Schedule a brainstorming session with all the people working on the new client’s projects. Motivate the team to come up with different ideas and strategies to help the client achieve their goals. The collaborative method creates a deeper understanding of the client’s business and generates innovative concepts.
5. Schedule an Onboarding Meeting
Schedule an onboarding meeting to discuss the client’s goals, expectations, and specific requirements. This meeting can be held in person or virtually and should serve to set the stage for the entire onboarding process.
During the meeting, the client’s goals, requirements, and expectations should be analyzed in more detail. The purpose of this first meeting is, therefore, to introduce your agency’s working style to the client. Provide details of your working methods, your capacities, and any limitations.
6. Set Clear Expectations
Clearly outline what the client can expect from your services, including timeframes, deliverables, and other important details. Set up the project in the project management software or workflow software, create a client onboarding checklist, and share it with the team.
Setting expectations is important because they;
- Align Goals and Objectives.
- Allocate Resource Effectively
- Prevent Conflicts
- Builds Trust
- Maintains transparency between the agency and the client
7. Establish Communication Methods
Establishing and executing communication channels that are tailored to the specific needs of each client, as well as the capabilities of the marketing agency, facilitates the creation of a collaborative, transparent, and trusting atmosphere necessary for long-term success.
Remember that there are two sides to this process. A communication strategy must be developed that benefits both the client and the agency. Working with one client on Slack, another on WhatsApp, and so on is ultimately inefficient for your team. Create a clear communication flow that keeps the client up to date on project status and key metrics.
8. Implement an Effective Reporting System
The customer onboarding procedure requires the establishment of reporting systems. If executed properly, the reporting system will streamline the process and add value without taking up extra time, allowing your company to provide the client with the data they need.
For each report, you only need to write a summary at the beginning. This will save you a lot of time each month and create a more open and personalized relationship with your customers.
9. Follow Up and Collect Feedback
Schedule regular follow-ups to gather customer feedback on the onboarding process and your services overall. Use questions to help you identify areas for improvement. For example;
- How satisfied are you with the onboarding process?
- What was your first impression of our company and our services?
- Were the onboarding steps clear and easy to follow?
- Did the onboarding process meet your expectations?
- Was the contact person assigned to you helpful and approachable?
- How helpful were the induction materials and resources provided?
- Would you recommend our onboarding process to others?
By taking remedial action on the above issues and resolving complaints or problems in a timely manner, the Company demonstrates its commitment to service excellence and customer success. Due to its flexibility and responsiveness, the customer sees the company as a trustworthy and considerate partner.
10. Check-in call
Conduct a check-in call with the customer and your team after 30 days. Schedule regular meetings in the future to make sure you are always up to date on how things are going.
Discuss any upcoming actions, both for your team and for the customer. Clarify responsibilities and deadlines to ensure that everyone involved is on the same page. With regular, well-prepared check-in calls, you can ensure that your customers feel supported, informed, and valued throughout the onboarding process.
You May Also Read: Customer Lifecycle Management (CLM): The Ultimate Guide
Best Practices for Improving Client Onboarding
A good client onboarding process is the cornerstone to building strong customer relationships and maximizing business success. Below are some customer onboarding best practices to consider as you refine your approach:
1. Measure Your Current Onboarding Flow
Elevate your current onboarding procedure to determine its pros and cons. Track metrics such as:
- Time to project initiation
- Customer satisfaction scores
- Number of customer support tickets during onboarding
These metrics can be used to measure the effectiveness of your onboarding measures.
2. Develop a Comprehensive Onboarding Plan
Create a structured onboarding plan that outlines each step of the process, from initial contact to project kickoff. Here’s a detailed breakdown of how to develop a thorough onboarding plan:
| Structured Onboarding Plan | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1. Define Onboarding Goals - Set Clear Objectives - Identify Key Metrics | 2. Understand Client Needs - Client Segmentation - Client Goals | 3. Create a Step-by-Step Onboarding Process |
A comprehensive plan ensures that nothing is overlooked and that the process runs smoothly.
3. Establish Effective Communication Channels
Ensure that multiple communication channels are available for customers to contact. These include email, phone, chat, and face-to-face meetings.
It doesn’t matter what industry you are in, as it has been proven time and time again that effective communication with your customers increases customer loyalty, satisfaction, and sales.
4. Personalize the Onboarding Experience
Personalizing the onboarding experience is critical to making customers feel valued and understood. Tailor the onboarding process for new customers to the customer’s schedule and pace and make sure they feel comfortable with the speed and depth of the onboarding.
By focusing on personalization, you can create a more engaging and effective onboarding experience that meets each customer’s unique needs and builds a strong foundation for a lasting relationship.
5. Leverage Technology and Tools
Leverage technology and tools to streamline the onboarding process. This can include:
- Online Portals and Self-Service Resources
- Project Management Software
- Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems
- Automated Workflows
- E-Signatures and Digital Documents
- Communication and Collaboration Tools
Remember: Technology is a powerful tool, but it shouldn’t replace human interaction. Use these tools to enhance the onboarding experience, not replace face-to-face communication or building a relationship with your customers.
6. Continuously Evaluate and Refine
Customer onboarding isn’t a one-time event but an ongoing process that requires continuous evaluation and refinement. Don’t rely on a single source of information. Use surveys, email feedback forms, or conduct in-depth interviews with customers after they have completed the onboarding process.
By actively soliciting feedback, tracking metrics, and iterating on your approach, you can ensure your client onboarding strategy remains effective and delivers a positive experience that sets the stage for long-term success.
7. Create Clear Onboarding Documentation
Clear onboarding documents are essential to ensure that new customers have all the information they need to get off to a successful start with your products or services.
Create a map of the entire customer onboarding process to identify the key touchpoints where documentation is needed. Determine the specific content that customers need at each stage, such as setup guides, training materials, FAQs, and support contacts.
Client Onboarding Examples
A well-designed client onboarding process can be tailored to various industries and business models. Here are a few examples of showcasing different approaches:
1. Canva
Source: canva
The onboarding process for customers of this graphic design platform is excellent and simplifies content creation.
Customers provide information about their goals and the type of solution they are looking for when signing up with Canva. The customer can then use Canva’s customized list of content formats and examples to better understand and meet their needs.
2. HelloFresh
Source: hello fresh
HelloFresh offers its customers the convenience of home-cooked meals without having to shop at the supermarket with its meal kit delivery service. The company adapts its onboarding process to the specific needs and expectations of each customer.
When taking out a subscription, the customer receives a questionnaire in which they must specify their preferred type of meal, the frequency of delivery, and the number of parcels to be delivered to their home.
3. Arrow
Source: arrow
At every point of the journey, even at the beginning, you should give your customers the certainty of what comes next. Arrows places great emphasis on onboarding clients by delegating tasks and extending assignments.
Arrows point out that every task you assign to a customer should start with a clear action, a deadline, an indication of the person responsible for completing the task, and, if possible, the action of the task should be able to be completed immediately on the page.
Once the customer has completed each task, they are automatically redirected to the next task. The fact that the user does not have to decide what to do next helps them to continue pursuing their goals.
Wrapping Up
Only some customers will have a perfect experience when they sign up. But let us assume that you are constantly optimizing and improving your current process. In that case, it can only get better; your customers will be happier and more successful, and your company’s overall relationships will improve.
A good onboarding process creates a strong relationship between you and the customer, which in turn helps to build loyalty and retain customers.
This guide is not intended to be followed word for word. Instead, we hope that the tips in this article will provide you with some insights and interesting information that you can try out in your work. By following the client onboarding workflow, you can improve client satisfaction, reduce churn, and drive long-term success for your business.
Dharmik Joshi is an ardent learner of business management and channels his passion for articulating ideas into writing. With a wealth of experience spanning 2 years in content creation, he remains committed to staying abreast of industry trends and evolving content strategies. He thrives on the dynamic nature of digital marketing, constantly looking for fresh approaches to captivate audiences and deliver measurable results.
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