If you want a painless customer onboarding process, then you should offer simple signups, smart tutorials, and comprehensive support
The customer onboarding process is your opportunity to make a great first impression. If a customer can set up an account, provide relevant information, and learn the basics without a hassle, you're in good shape. However, if any of these steps feel cumbersome, awkward, or inconvenient, that customer can just as easily take their business elsewhere.
Generally speaking, your business should have a customer onboarding plan if you sell a product or service that requires an ongoing commitment between both parties. For example, software as a service (SaaS) almost always requires customer onboarding. Customers need to learn how to use the program, while developers need to provide ongoing support for it.
No matter what your business sells, there are a few best practices that can keep both you and your customers happy. There are also a few tools that could help you along the way.
Want to connect new customers to first value faster and more reliably? Check out our guide, The Complete Guide to Customer Onboarding.
Stages of the customer onboarding process
There is no "one-size-fits-all" solution for customer onboarding. That's because a huge variety of products and services need it to function properly. Smartphone apps, enterprise software, medical organizations, and even video games all make use of the process, to some degree.
Still, the general flow of the customer onboarding process remains similar, even across different industries. The exact number of steps may vary, but the underlying principles don't.
Help customers sign up
In some cases before a customer can use your product or service, they may have to sign up for an account. This process should be as quick, streamlined, and noninvasive as possible. Highlight the signup section on your website's landing page. Make sure the page loads quickly and without any formatting issues, on both a computer and smartphone. State what information you need, and whether that information has any special requirements. For example, tell a user their minimum password length before they type one in — not with an error page after the fact.
The initial signup should also be as short as possible. A name, e-mail address, and password will usually do. Asking for a whole laundry list of credentials — especially an address and credit card number — can scare prospective customers away.
Send a welcome email
After a customer has created their account, they should receive an automated email about it. This message can serve two functions. First, it confirms that the account creation was successful. Second, it can help set the tone for your future relationship. A perfunctory "account created" email will get the job done, but adding some flavor could go a long way. You can address the customer by name; you can add a message that conveys the tone of your business; you can even include a login link so that they can get started right away.
No matter how you format your welcome message, you should probably automate the process through an appropriate piece of software. Your employees don't want to spend all day writing customized welcome messages, particularly if people register at odd hours.
Encourage the initial login
Creating an account is only part of the process. Next, you need a user to actually log in and start using your product or service. This is particularly important if they need to provide clerical details or payment information.
There are two ways to do this. The first, as mentioned above, is to include a login link with the welcome e-mail. The second is to redirect a user to a login screen on your website immediately after the signup process. The exact sequence may vary depending on whether you require verification or two-factor authentication, so be sure to consult with your website manager.
Give a brief tutorial
Perhaps the most important part of the customer onboarding process is teaching the customer how to actually use your product or service. This step will look different for every business, but the fundamentals are the same. When the customer logs in for the first time, they shouldn't see the regular landing page, bereft of context. Instead, they should see a series of tooltips, or a software wizard, which can teach them the basics. You can even give them a dummy assignment to complete, just to show them the full suite of options available.
Of course, users should be able to skip this step, as they may already be familiar with what's on offer. They should also be able to revisit it later, if they need a refresher.
Offer ongoing support
No matter how intuitive you think your product is, someone is going to encounter an issue with it. A well-organized support section on your website is an invaluable tool. The ability to talk to a real human being is even better. If a customer can’t solve their problem, they might take their business elsewhere, especially early on in the process. Reassuring customers that help is available, and showing them how to access it, can go a long way.
Check in periodically
The more value that a customer can get out of your product or service, the happier they'll be. As such, you should e-mail them regularly to check in. These messages can include updates, tips, testimonials, or anything else that your customer base might find useful or interesting. Just take care not to spam their inboxes — and make it easy to opt out.
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How to digitize the customer onboarding process
Depending on what your business does, your customer onboarding process may involve digitization. This is the process of taking physical assets, such as paper records, and creating digital copies of them. While digitization won't apply to every business, it can be especially useful for established companies with lots of legacy paperwork, as well as any organization that requires physical, signed contracts from customers.
To digitize documents, the first thing you'll want is a high-quality scanner, such as the RICOH fi-7300NX. With rapid scanning speed, high resolution, and built-in Wi-Fi connectivity, this device can bridge the gap between your physical and online resources.
Scanning software such as PaperStream NX Manager can further streamline this process. This program can coordinate multiple scanners, either in the same office or in the cloud, automatically naming and organizing files. This could be especially useful for businesses with multiple physical locations and a lot of sensitive paperwork.
Did You Know?: Looking to upgrade your fleet of printers but not sure what to do with the old ones? Our guide to printer recycling will help. Click here to learn more.
Our recommendation: RICOH fi-7300NX
Those who need a scanner to assist with the customer onboarding process have no shortage of options. We take great pride in having spent the last 50+ years researching, designing, and developing some of the most advanced and powerful electronics in the world, including our professional grade fi and SP series of scanners.
Built to purpose for the most demanding document handling jobs, fi and SP scanners are capable of processing tens of thousands of pages per day at the highest levels of accuracy. Their intuitive integration capabilities with all existing work suites can help minimize time-to-value for businesses looking to invest in tools that will pay dividends for years to come.
If you're looking to digitize your business's paper records, then the RICOH fi-7300 NX is an excellent choice. This device can scan up to 60 pages per minute, with resolutions up to 600 DPI. With USB, Ethernet, and Wi-Fi connectivity, employees can scan and retrieve documents, even if they don't have a computer handy. At less than 12 inches across, it also fits easily on most desks. Click here to learn more or shop the rest of our production scanner line.
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