The Importance of Customer Onboarding

Onboarding...It may sound boring, but it’s not!

Here’s the deal: you’ve done all the marketing leg work and you finally got the sale so you’re going to stop impressing the client now that you have them hooked? I don’t think so! To minimize the initial churn (buyer’s remorse, not meeting expectation, etc) between acquisition and the client’s first success, smart businesses focus on onboarding: the process by which you help a customer go from point A to point B and thensome.

This is the time to build on their excitement for pulling the trigger with you with some key onboarding steps to build advocacy from day one. Onboarding helps the client find their way within your product or service or outline their relationship with the same. You should describe the ideal, entire process that these new clients will go through as they work with you.

This will help to kick off the start of the customer journey. When you can answer ‘what’s next’ for your clients and make the transition to working with you as smooth as possible for them, you’ll see the impact of happier customers and higher retention rates. For e-commerce, of course, you have an order confirmation that comes right after the sale.

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But (unless you’re Amazon Prime) the customer’s order won’t be in their hands for the next couple days. What else could you do to build your brand during this moment of silence? Ahh glad you asked; here are some ideas!

1. Send relevant content to your blog Depending on your average ship time, provide valuable information to them while they wait. For example, if you’re a home décor company you could send your favorite trending color combinations or give ideas for hosting the perfect party (during which they can show off their space).
2. Add a refer-a-friend program to your site let them share that they just booked or bought from you.
3. Send a ‘Why did you buy?’ email to find out what drew your customers in and caused them to choose to work with you. Don’t assume you know what that reason was, you must ask!
4. Introduce key members of your team via email think about who will the customer be interacting with mostly. This is a really great way to help build a connection with customers you may never get to meet in person. I recommend doing this on a short video so it feels more personal!
5. Have a welcome booklet include a letter from the owner, important things to know, company beliefs, and even a code to reorder. Have this in both printed and digital versions so clients have something tangible from you as they get started!
6. Send a handwritten note. This is a scalable option I promise! You can either delegate a member of your team to do these for new purchasers or you can outsource to a company that does it for you. This takes contact with you offline and gives positive vibes to your customers.
7. Ask how they are liking their purchase Once their order arrives, make sure to send an email a day or two later to ask how you’ve lived up to their expectations thus far. If they haven’t tried it yet, this may be the push they needed to fully start on their journey with your company.

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Great customer onboarding is a journey. Remember every touch matters, especially once people have spent money with you.

You can’t settle on the old stand bys of the order confirmation, shipping and order delivered emails anymore. To make the most of these first moments you can stand out by putting thought into how you start your relationship with new buyers.

To have a truly effective customer onboarding flow you need to be ready to constantly test and improve your process. It may take time to figure out what works best for your buyers, but it’s well worth the effort.

‍Contact Charisma Communications a full-service marketing firm in Tampa to impact all aspects of your customer experience-starting with your client onboarding!