One of the most important things you can do when onboarding a new customer is to set clear expectations. What can they expect during the process? What will happen after they're fully onboarded? You want to maintain the customer's interest and enthusiasm immediately after the sale. Please provide them with a timeline of what they can expect during the process and how long each step will take. Be honest and admit the process may move more slowly, and those new priorities may be identified throughout.
By being upfront and honest about what to expect, you'll help ensure that your customer has a positive experience and is more likely to continue doing business with you. Here are a few tips for setting expectations:
-Be clear about what you need from the customer. If you require specific information or documentation, ensure they know that upfront. You'll want to waste as little time as possible in onboarding, so the more prepared they are, the better.
-Explain what the onboarding process will entail. Please give them a rundown of each step so they know what to expect. If possible, use a project management tool like Asana or Trello to outline the process and track progress.
-Let them know what kind of support they can expect after they are fully onboarded. Will you be available to answer questions? Will you provide ongoing training? Ensure these support options are detailed explicitly in the quote or contract.
-Make sure you follow up with the customer after they're onboarded. This shows that you care about their experience and want to ensure everything goes smoothly. Use survey tools like SurveyMonkey or HubSpot to check in with them and see how they're doing.
Make it easy for customers to find the information they need
When onboarding a new customer, making it easy for them to find the information they need is essential. Otherwise, they may become frustrated and give up on using your product or service. There are a few ways to do this.
First, provide a clear and concise tutorial that walks the customer through the basics of using your product or service. The tutorial could be a video, a series of articles, or even a live demonstration.
Second, ensure all the information is well organized and easy to find in the user interface. For example, provide clear links to support every page if you're a SaaS platform. If you do not have a public knowledge base, create private documentation for your customers, and share it at the beginning of the onboarding process. Google Drive, Dropbox, or Microsoft OneDrive are good options for this.
Finally, provide contact information for customer support in case the customer has any questions or problems. While they won't completely replace an onboarding specialist, a support rep can help answer questions, provide resources, and troubleshoot urgent issues.
Taking these steps can help ensure that your customers have a positive experience with your product or service.
Onboarding new customers is one of the most critical steps in ensuring long-term success. According to Rosetta Consulting, highly engaged customers buy 90% more often, spend 60% more per transaction, and have three times the annual value for companies compared to other customers. That is why it is so vital to properly onboard new customers.
It can also be one of the most challenging, especially for poorly trained teams. A lack of consistency can lead to confusion and frustration, both for the customer and the team member. Customers may feel like they are no longer a priority now that they have already paid.
To avoid this, it is essential to train your team on how to properly onboard new customers. The training should cover all aspects of the onboarding process, from initial contact to post-sale follow-up. By ensuring everyone is on the same page, you can avoid costly mistakes and create a seamless experience for your customers. A well-trained team appears significantly more professional, knowledgeable, and prepared to handle customer issues. The customer will be more confident in your services, and you will have a better chance of keeping them long-term.
Once your customers have completed the onboarding process, they must stay in touch and ensure they're happy with your product or service. A survey is a great way to gather feedback and identify areas where your customers need more support. Some good onboarding surveys include questions about the customer's overall experience, satisfaction level with your product or service, and any recommendations they may have. Customers are often happy to see you are interested in their feedback, allowing you to identify areas for improvement.
You can also use survey results to improve the onboarding experience for future customers. You can make adjustments to your onboarding system, tutorial materials, or customer support offerings by analyzing your survey results and looking for consistent complaints or requests.
In addition to surveys, you can stay in touch with customers by sending occasional emails or hosting webinars. By visiting engaged with your customers, you can build loyalty and ensure they continue using your product or service.
It's essential to track how well your onboarding process works to make changes as needed. You can use HubSpot to manage your onboarding process with the Projects tool or Custom Objects. You can track this in a few different ways.
First, track the overall completion rate of the onboarding process. This will tell you how many people are finishing the process and give you an idea of whether or not it's working for them. Look at the lifetime value of the customers who complete versus those who don't, as well as the churn rate of customers who don't complete. You'll likely see that the completion rate directly impacts customer loyalty.
Second, track specific completion rates for each task in the onboarding process. This will help you identify which tasks are causing people to drop off, so you can change those tasks. Try to make them more easily achievable or replace them with different tasks.
Finally, track survey responses from people who have completed the onboarding process. This will give you detailed feedback on what people liked and didn't like about the process so that you can make changes accordingly. However, because customers may not have enjoyed a particular part of the onboarding process, you should not necessarily remove it. Sometimes, customers need to be slightly pushed to accomplish what they need to and truly become self-sufficient.
By tracking these things, you'll be able to keep your onboarding process practical and up-to-date.
These five tips will help you create a smooth and successful customer onboarding process. But remember, the key to a great onboarding experience is setting clear expectations and making it easy for customers to find the information they need. And don’t forget to train your team members to properly onboard new customers. Finally, follow up with customers after completing the onboarding process to ensure everything went smoothly. Doing all of this can ensure that your onboarding process is working well and helping you achieve your business goals. Have you tried implementing any of these tips? We want to hear about your experiences!