The customer onboarding process is the first and best opportunity to show the value of your product
Closing a sale is just the first step of your relationship with a customer. The second is onboarding — introducing them to your product and showing them its value first-hand. This stage is as crucial for businesses as the marketing funnel, but it requires its own strategy. So what is customer onboarding, and how can brands tailor it for their market?
Want to connect new customers to first value faster and more reliably? Check out our guide, The Complete Guide to Customer Onboarding.
What is customer onboarding?
Customer onboarding is the process of introducing customers to a product and nurturing them in its use. It begins when the sale occurs and ends once the customer uses the product to achieve their goals. Onboarding strategies can vary to include in-depth tutorials, hands-on training, and milestone rewards. However, the precise implementation can vary by business or industry.
Beyond this customer onboarding definition, a successful strategy should account for two objectives:
- Educating the customer: Onboarding educates customers about product features and benefits. They should know what to expect, how it works, and where to turn if there are any problems.
- Gathering information: The onboarding process runs smoothly when businesses gather the right data. This information might come from sales, customer records, or an onboarding survey. The right onboarding strategy supports the education component and helps businesses customize tutorials.
Why is customer onboarding so important?
Multiple studies show a connection between positive onboarding experiences and long-term customer satisfaction. According to Salesforce, 70% of customers say service agents who are aware of sales interactions are very important to keeping their business. Meanwhile, 84% of customers say being treated like a person, not a number, is very important to winning their business. Such customers can become brand advocates when you make a good impression.
Onboarding techniques can produce this excellent first impression by prioritizing speed and convenience. Customers might also prefer brands to offer personalized interactions that reflect their individual preferences. Accounting for these details during onboarding increases the likelihood of customer success.
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What goes into a successful onboarding strategy?
The customer onboarding journey looks different for every product. A content management platform for entire organizations might guide users through several in-depth tutorials. Meanwhile, a mobile app for individual customers may only need to highlight a few key features. In both cases, however, certain principles can bring clients up to speed.
Successful onboarding techniques include some, if not all, of the following elements. For advice on designing a custom strategy, read our blog “How to Develop a Customer Onboarding Process.”
Choosing the right model
The first step is choosing the right method for onboarding your target customer. Complex products typically demand hands-on training. Others use documentation or self-guided tutorials. For this category, onboarding processes can generally fall into one of three models:
- Self-serve: Onboarding that users complete independently using self-guided tutorials or automated procedures.
- Low-touch: Onboarding that consists of a combination of self-guided training and in-person teaching. For example, a customer can onboard by completing a self-guided training module. Afterwards, they might access support services to better understand advanced features.
- High-touch: Onboarding from a dedicated customer manager or representative. This individual works one-on-one with customers to show them all relevant product features.
Crafting the initial walkthrough
This step is the one most people imagine when they picture onboarding strategies. In short, go beyond the marketing pitch and introduce the product to customers in a practical way. Onboarding should also highlight key features so customers can independently operate the product. Walkthroughs should be consistent and comprehensive, but not inflexible. That way, businesses can update onboarding with product updates or personalized elements.
Collecting feedback
Feedback is the information collection component of onboarding that can help companies make product and service delivery improvements. First and foremost, it helps ensure that your business is onboarding customers effectively. However, it can also reveal product inefficiencies, incorrect product use, or gaps in your features or services. Post-onboarding surveys and follow-up emails are an excellent start. High-touch onboarding models can also incorporate feedback collection opportunities.
Acknowledging and rewarding usage milestones
Customers benefit when they see the value they gain from a product, even during onboarding. That’s why some businesses offer reward notifications, virtual high-fives, and other signals during and after the walkthrough. These notices can reinforce the customer’s understanding of the product while emphasizing their gains. For example, a business might automatically deliver training certificates to customers by email, along with statistics for how frequently they’ve used the product.
Using technology to enhance the onboarding experience
Technology is a fixture of onboarding in an age of remote training sessions. These processes enhance the onboarding experience by quickly bringing customers up to speed. Businesses with an onboarding strategy should consider the ways technology can add value.
Technology can even assist a high-touch, in-person onboarding process. Consider the information collection stage. Businesses can use document scanners to capture information from driver's licenses or paperwork. Customers can also automate information delivery to secure data or preserve privacy. These benefits can streamline onboarding and improve the overall quality of each customer experience.
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Note: Information and external links are provided for your convenience and for educational purposes only, and shall not be construed, or relied upon, as legal or financial advice. PFU America, Inc. makes no representations about the contents, features, or specifications on such third-party sites, software, and/or offerings (collectively “Third-Party Offerings”) and shall not be responsible for any loss or damage that may arise from your use of such Third-Party Offerings. Please consult with a licensed professional regarding your specific situation as regulations may be subject to change.
